cocanu chocolate

Craft Chocolate Swings into Gear

"THE LOCAL CRAFT chocolate-making community is preparing itself for a boom. In the way that Portland charcutiers, cheesemakers, and distillers set up shop in the last decade and made nationally renowned names for themselves, local chocolatiers, bean-to-bar chocolate makers, and chocolate purveyors have—seemingly independent of one another—put the elements in place to make Portland's chocolate scene a niche explosion in the coming years...

... Now eager to compare local products, Lindley brought out samples from Portland's own Cocanú, Woodblock Chocolate, and Mana Chocolate.

'Bean to bar' is a term you hear here and there, and it's fairly self-explanatory: The farm-fermented cacao beans (read: stored along jungle roads while birds roost on them) come to the chocolate maker whole and raw, and are then put through the labor-intensive stages of sorting, cracking and winnowing, refining and conching, aging, and tempering, before they are crafted into the final edible product, all under one roof. It's unusual for a single outfit to do the bean processing and then produce a retail confection, as there is a traditional division between the engineering-type mindsets that do the dirty, noisy, machine-driven work, and the artist-type mindsets that create the final product. The "farm-to-table" ethos that drives so much local food production, of course, means we have a disproportionately high number that do just that. Mana is one, as is Woodblock, and Sebastián Cisneros of Cocanú was off hunting beans in Ecuador at press time—so that will soon be three, out of around 36 bean-to-bar companies nationwide..."

by Chris Onstad

"SMALL-BATCH SENSATIONS

We scoured the artisanal-food landscape to unearth the most irresistible finds (just in time for gift-giving season)...

...9.THE DARK SIDE Studded with organic cacao nibs and Pop Rocks, Cocanú's dark chocolate Moonwalk bar takes us all the way back to 1979.
$5, coca.nu..."

"If there's a better place for chocolate lovers, well, then I haven't been there. Cacao is an emporium of all things chocolate, including shelves of gilded chocolates and artfully wrapped bars, many of which you've probably never seen before, and a menu of drinking chocolates served in little mugs.

Don't let the wide array overwhelm you—the shop is meant for exploration. In fact, owners Aubrey Lindley and Jesse Mannis will let you sample anything you want. 'We don't want people to think they're getting ripped off by fancy chocolate,' said Lindley, who gave us a tour of the shop one recent morning...

...Another made-in-Portland chocolate: CocaNu. 'This is poetry,' said Lindley as he spread out all of the square-shaped bars in front of us, each of them wax-sealed by Sebastian Cisneros, the chocolatier himself. He makes the Palo Santo Bar by infusing a block of the wood, burned for ceremonial purposes, into the chocolate. 'Woman in villages in Ecuador smell like this holy wood.' It was smoky in a wood-burning way and, admittedly, it did have some transportive powers..."

"Chocolate City, USA

Sebastian Cisneros of Cocanú dove into his youth in Ecuador, and how the piles of cacao along the sides of the road could be magically transformed into something delicious and mysterious."

The co-owner of Portland's Cacao Chocolate shops showcases the diverse flavor profiles of America's new chocolate makers.

by Allison Jones

“Plus bobo que sophistiquée, Portland est la capitale verte des Etats-Unis : véeritable laboratoire d'idées, elle entend bien changer la donne pour que demain soit éthique! Architecture verte et mobilier recyclé, collection d'œuvres d'art et tendance "From Farm to Table", design proche des savoir-faire locaux et café torréfié maison, Portland mise sur des codes écologiques, artistiques et stylistiques pour séduire une clientéle peu consumériste. Petit tour d'horizon des adresses qui comptent...

...COCANU; : CHOCOlAT PLUS-QUE-PARFAIT.
Ancien collaborateur de Cacao, l'Équatorien Sebastián Cisneros a récemment lancé sa propre ligne de carrés de chocolat. Produits chez lui, sous le nom de Cocanú, ils révolutionnent l'univers du chocolat avec des mélanges uniques, et discrets, comme le Picasso où se mélange un chocolat d'origine équatorienne 72% avec du poivre de Cayenne, du gingembre, du piment et de la noix de coco, ou le Holy Wood, un chocolat d'origine bolivienne 68% infusé de bois de Palo Santo – une essence vénérée en Equateur. Un petit génie de la chocolaterie est né.
http://coca.nu”...

by Marie Le Fort

"Référence verte de la côte Pacifique américaine, Portland est célébrée pour ses mouvements artistiques indépendants, son penchant pour le Slow Food et ses élans de communautarisme civique. A la fois proche des gens et de la Terre, des saisons et de la création, elle se découvre comme une capitale écocentrée pleine de bon sens. A Portland, on mange vert, on roule vert et on consomme vert. Tout le monde voit, parle, pense et respire vert. La ville aurait-elle trouvé une solution au développement urbain durable!?...

...COCANU (3)
L'Equatorien Sebastián Cisneros a récemment lancé sa propre ligne de chocolats. Produits chez lui, ils révolutionnent cet univers avec des mélanges uniques et discrets, comme le Picasso qui mêle un cru équatorien avec du poivre de Cayenne, du gingembre, du piment et de la noix de coco, ou Holy Wood, un chocolat d'origine bolivienne infusé de bois de Palo Santo, une essence vénérée en Equateur. Un petit génie de la chocolaterie est né !
http://coca.nu"...

by Marie Le Fort

"Cocanu makes the moment memorable. This Portland-based artisanal chocolate company produces mind-bending combinations like cayenne, ginger, pimentón and coconut — or the truly fascinating marriage of dark chocolate infused with bits of smoky Ecuadorian wood. $5 at specialty markets or from www.cocanu.com."

via EXPERIENCELIFE.COM

"Most chocolate lovers are well aware that the dark stuff is naturally packed with antioxidants, the health-boosting compounds that are thought to protect against heart disease, cancer and stroke.

But over the past several years, chocolatiers have been cooking up more potent recipes, adding to chocolate a variety of superfoods, supplements and spices that purport to perform all manner of health related functions...

...Portland's Cocanu infuses its Holy Wood bars with aromatic palo santo wood from Ecuador..."

by David Kaufman

"To please a true chocolate lover, head to Portland, Ore.

That's the lesson learned after sampling the country's latest crop of top-drawer bars and truffles. Why this city's responsible for producing the best in choco-show remains a mystery. 'There is less fear here about breaking rules,' said Jesse Manis, co-founder of the Cacao shops, where the spotlight is placed on carefully selected small-batch producers (many of whom are his fellow Portlandians). With his counsel and delicious inspiration from his neighbor chocolatiers, we've created the ideal care package:

1. An employee of Mr. Manis's, Sebastián Cisneros launched Cocanú, a line of sleek, tile-shaped bars. Try his most recent additions—the Holy Wood, a 68% wild chocolate from Bolivia, infused with Palo Santo wood to pick up notes of mint and coconut, and, newer still, the Gardel, a 72% Arriba strain from Ecuador flavored with hazelnuts and Fernet Branca ($5 each, coca.nu)... "

by Charlotte Druckman

"You won't find one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets inside any of these artisanal chocolates. What you will discover is something equally rewarding: the most original, creative, and delicious sweets on the planet. All made right here in America...

...{ 10 } Cocanu
Portland, OR
Sebastian Cisneros is a storyteller of sorts, thoroughly scouting his chocolates (the more obscure, the better) and blending them with "secret" ingredients such as coffee, Pop Rocks, or Fernet-Branca. Bar, $5; coca.nu"...

by Charlotte Druckman

"Kim Hastreiter's Edible Gift Picks for 2011...

... Bolivian dark chocolate made with Ecuadorian Palo Santo wood by Cocanú. $5 at coca.nu"

by Kim Hastreiter

"Un chocolatier qui utilise des matières premières produites par des artisans de partout dans le monde et qui imagine et rèalise lui-même ses emballages, voilà le profil de Sebastián Cisneros, fondateur de Cocanú chocolate. Basé à Portland, en Oregon, son atelier distribue des chocolats à Los Angeles, San Francisco et Seattle.

« Cocanú est encore un one-man-show à l'heure actuelle donc, en attendant que l'équipe s'agrandisse, je produit tout À l'interne, explique Sebastián Cisneros. L'emballage est influencée par de nombreuses sources indépendantes telles que des avions en papier, les hayacas et à la géométrie euclidienne. Écologique et recyclable, il a été revu récemment pour atténuer les difficultés de faisabilité du concept précédent, tout en restant proche de la nature du chocolat.»"...

by Mixeur

"Intensely sweet and often waxy, white chocolate is typically categorized by the sophisticated cacao cognoscenti as an inferior confection.

But a few chocolatiers have embraced these black—er, white—sheep, turning out high-quality sweets in a paler hue. Here are the ones that will make it into our Halloween loot this year...

...Cocanú: At this company in Portland, Oregon, chocolate matchmaker Sebastián Cisneros blends couvertures from top producers to create wild (and delicious) combinations. For his Othello bar ($4), he tames the saccharine personality of white chocolate with bitter cacao nibs and a touch of coffee from nearby Coava Coffee Roasters."

via Tasting Table

"WORKSHOP Cocanú chocolates tell stories. Romulus Remus V combines 73 percent cacao with coffee because 'cacao and coffee are brothers.' Picasso evokes spicy hot chocolate. In Moonwalk , trashy Pop Rocks crash a high-end chocolate party. 'I respect craft, but chocolate should make you happy,' owner-maker Sebastián Cisneros says. cocanu.com"

via Portland Monthly

A chocolate maker transforms the raw cacao bean into the silky stuff that we know as edible chocolate; a chocolatier goes a step further, using that same tasty chocolate as a base and carefully blending it with compatible strains or additional flavorings to create something new. Sebastian Cisneros falls into the latter camp.

His line of chocolate bars, Cocanú, features complex combinations of spices. The spicy Picasso infuses a rare raw, dark strain made by Picari in Mr. Cisneros's homeland of Ecuador, with cayenne and smoked paprika.

Then, there's the Othello, which starts sweet with a wonderful white chocolate from Venezuelan producer El Ray, and 'for the tragic finish,' Mr. Cisneros says, hits you with coffee from Coava, a micro roastery in Portland, Ore., where he currently resides. From $4 per bar, cocanu.com"

by Charlotte Druckman

"Not your ordinary bunny delivery, this basket is filled with single origin chocolates and fancy caramels from one of Portland's premier chocolate counters.

Easter is one of my favorite holidays—it still feels old-fashioned to me, bringing to mind pastels, parades, parasols, pretty dresses, supper with family and friends, and…baskets of candy, of course. Whether you eat ham or not, surely, you can't turn down a malted milk egg. Last week, I stopped by Cacao, one of Portland's premier chocolate shops, to check out their spring picks...

...I also discovered another new local brand called Cocanu."

by Teri Gelber

"Valentine's Day is all about romance. And by 'romance,' I mean sex. Whether you're trying to get sex or you're trying to comfort yourself because you're not getting any, chocolate is your friend—and Portland's artisan chocolatiers, shopkeeps and chefs wanna help you get some. Whatever the mood or reason, the following will supply your wildest cocoa fantasies:...

...it's almost a disservice to put Cocanú (cocanu.com, available at Cacao, 414 SW 13th Ave., 241-0656) in the "fun" category. The local chocolatier creates some of the most deftly devised blended bars in Portland. But then again, it came up with the Moonwalk ($4): Cluizel's Concepcion single-origin chocolate from Venezuela seeded with chocolate nibs and Pop Rocks. It's seriously good chocolate, but it's all fun and shit, too. "

by Nick Zukin

"With two downtown locations (414 SW 13th Ave and 712 SW Salmon St, tucked in a corner of the Heathman), Cacao Drink Chocolate is a sea foam green and milky brown fantasyland for choco-files...

... 4) What other Portland chocolatiers, candy stores, or even restaurants help inspire you and keep you creative?"

We work with many talented, local chocolatiers who inspire us in their own way, such as Elizabeth Montes at Sahagun, David Briggs at Xocolatl de David, Sebastian Cisneros at Cocanú, and John Depaula at Depaula Confections. We're also inspired by Evoe, Cheese Bar, Olympic Provisions, Kir, Por Qué No, Biwa, Nong's Khao Man Gai, little t american baker, and the list goes on and on and on..."

by Anna Sachse

"...Cocanu

If you're a chocolate-lover that lives anywhere near Portland, you've probably been to Cacao, the chocolate shop just off Burnside on SW 13th. (If not, grab your coat and leave now.) You may have met the slender, quiet Ecuadorian clerk named Sebastian. He is Cocanu.

While not a truffle maker, I felt that his product was so good that it had to be included. He has a line of bars in wonderfully chic packaging, some meant to imitate the drinking chocolates Cacao sells. Others merely take quality, interesting chocolates from couverture makers, such as Felchlin, normally not available in bars and turn them into retail items that anyone can enjoy. Some blend couvertures to create a new chocolate flavor. And some of the bars are a bit more unexpected. I've tried them all, and everyone was excellent...

by Nick Zukin