People often assume I started Ka kā wā because I wanted to make chocolate. The truth is, It all started with a cup of cacao.

Long before there was a brand, a website or a chocolate bar, there was a simple daily practice. A cup of cacao made slowly. A quiet moment before the day began. A chance to pause, breathe, and remember that not everything in life needed to happen at full speed.

I wasn't looking to start a business. I was simply looking for something that helped me feel more present. The daily ritual came first. Everything else grew from there.

The more time I spent with cacao, the more curious I became.

Where did it come from?

Who grew it?

Why did one origin taste so different from another?

How did a fruit, yes chocolate is a fruit, growing on the other side of the Pacific become something that could create such a profound moment of connection?

Those questions slowly led me deeper into the world of cacao.

I started learning about fermentation, roasting and stone grinding. I discovered the remarkable diversity of Pacific cacao and the people who have been growing it for generations. I realised there was an entirely different way of thinking about chocolate—one that honoured the bean, the grower and the place it came from.

At some point, curiosity became action. I wanted to make chocolate that reflected the experience I had first found in a cup of cacao. Not chocolate designed around convenience. Not chocolate made to be eaten without noticing.

Chocolate that invited people to slow down.

Chocolate that still carried the character of the bean and the story of its origin.

That's how Ka kā wā began.

Not with a business plan.

Not with a factory.

Not with ambitions of becoming a chocolate maker.

It began with a quiet daily ritual and a simple question: What do I need today to support my wellbeing?

Today, every bar we make still begins with that same intention.

Because Ka kā wā has never really been about chocolate. It's about paying attention and working with intention. Creating sacred space again with our kai, not rushing, being present.

Paying attention to what we're eating.

Paying attention to where it came from.

Paying attention to the people who grew it.

"He rongoā he kai, He kai he rongoā." - Food is medicine. 

And perhaps, for a few quiet moments each day, paying attention to ourselves.

The chocolate is simply the form that journey happened to take.