Cacao Market

Any new chocolate shop is a little bit of good news as far as I'm concerned and while this corner store on Kawabata street near the Higashi Gion area seems more French/American than Kyoto - I'd been keen to take a peek since I first noticed it back in October 2013. 

So one warm day in April when I was in the area and needing something refreshing we stopped off at Cacao Market, casual sister cafe to Kyoto's Mariebelle store,  for a frosty chocolate treatette. 

Which was bloody excellent. Rich AND refreshing... not an easy achievement. I chose the Aztec Iced Chocolate but I could have had spicy or white as an option. 

There's a selection of hot chocolate of course, chocolate bars, chocolate cakes, chocolate desserts - er you get the picture.  There's also coffee, tea and non chocolate cold drinks for those non chocolate types. I don't know any such people myself. 

However - if you do happen to be in the area at meal time - they do have a couple of savoury items too - sandwiches, burritos - I know - random. But they did smell good!

Chocolate slabs, bark and individual chocolate candies are prepacked or you can buy them by weight - filling your own choice of tin or bag from the central distribution unit - see image above.  

Just a little tempting....

 Kinda wishing I bought the mint chip balls but the maple bacon version wasn't bad...

 And when you've fed your chocolate craving and purchased some for Ron... (as in later-on for the non Aussies!) go for a walk to your east and discover the wonders of Higashi Gion - the northern part of Kyoto's famous Gion Geisha quarter.

If you are in the Gion area around dusk you never know who you might bump into.