Kad Kokoa review: New Chocolate Bar in Bangkok

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Kad Kokoa review is our first chocolate bar review. And I can guarantee, not the last one. Chocolate lovers can compare Kad Kokoa, Bangkok to heaven on earth. Read more to find out why.

The place is already nice even though it is still evolving. Exterior with a distressed brown and blue wood looks totally shabby. By the way, that wood was brought down from Chiang Mai. It was a part of an old house and now it has a totally different purpose. Large windows let in plenty of light, what makes space warm. Not only that. It enables you to see straight through to the neighboring house, where they make the chocolate. The production house is also a shop, where you can buy the sweet delights. All the chocolate samples we had there were excellent. They use 70% cocoa and all the other ingredients are organic and local.

Kad Kokoa view to production
You can see directly to the production house, where your chocolate is made.

Kad Kokoa is first “beans to bar” place in BKK

They are new in town and actually the first “beans to bar” café in Bangkok. They focus on Thai cocoa beans here, and, interestingly enough, they can grow everywhere in Thailand. Not only in the beautiful hills with perfect morning fog and clouds, but also in lower standing places. This brings character and differentiation to the cocoa and we were astonished by the contrast in samples. It was difficult to choose our favorites because they are all so delicious.

We were talking to one of the workers there and he has a lot of knowledge about chocolate. He explained to us the process of fermentation and the way they produce chocolate. From what we've heard and seen, we can attest that Kad Kokoa produces high-end chocolate and nothing they do is left to chance. In Asia, dark chocolate is not very popular, but lately, chocolate is becoming trendy and locals are getting more familiar with this sophisticated delicacy. At Kad Kokoa, they offer a great guide to this food from the heavens. For those with genuine interest and a passion for everything gourmet, this is the place to go. Every day we go, we learn something new, the information available here are abundant. To top everything off, we even had the privilege to try cocoa honey for the first time.

Space in Kad Kokoa, Bangkok
Space here at Kad Kokoa, Bangkok is light, spacious and shabby.

Cocoa Honey

This honey is extremely rare and very unique. In the beginning, the dulcet taste is intense and its complexity can really be felt. Full-bodied would be a simple description of it. Talking about full-bodied, this honey was reminding us of wine. We could taste some flowery notes and fruitiness at the back, but its woody overtones reminded us of maple syrup. The taste is more like a fermented drink than honey. The acidity is present, nicely integrated. It is completely different from any honey we have ever tasted.

Chocolate afternoon tea

Back at the café, we decided to have a chocolate version of high tea. We turned to the hot milk chocolate and iced pure dark. For the chocolate drinks, they use their own chocolate ganache, which they mix with milk. The iced pure dark isn’t just for chocolate lovers but also for those who like coffee or refreshing drinks. It is not too sweet, it is rich in flavor and it is actually surprisingly refreshing. Bangkok is extremely hot and this drink is spot on for that climate. Vivi likes hot beverages more, so she gave a chance to hot chocolate milk, presented with beautiful latte art on top. Her drink was very tasty with tart notes and rich sweetness. There was also some nutty flavor mixed with berries in a creamy texture. Heaven. What we liked the most was that the chocolate drinks weren't too heavy and we felt great after consuming them. We wouldn’t even mind having seconds.

Kad Kokoa afternoon "tea"
We invented a chocolate afternoon "tea here. I hope they will keep this invention.

All the desserts are made on location, only the Pain Au Chocolat is made at a nearby bakery. This pastry was delicious, crunchy and had a luscious filling of Kad Kokoa's single origin chocolate.

The link to the afternoon tea were their homemade scones. One was with lemon zest and other with chocolate. Scones are a demanding pastry and the bakers here just need a little more practice to perfect the scone craft. The texture was too crumbly and the taste was odd. However, the chocolate one was better, especially when we added their jam. Even with the jam, it was still just all about the chocolate - we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Flavored chocolate

They not only produce chocolate and pastries, but also chocolate bonbons filled with different flavors. Vivi's favorite was the orange candy, where the middle was filled with orange zest. The second one had a filing of single malt Glenmorangie Signet Whisky: the whisky was trivial in the back and the chocolate ganache in the foreground. The perfect bon-bon! The last one we tried was the Thai tea flavor, it was special as well. The strong flavor of Thai tea works well with dark chocolate. We liked that the bonbons weren't too sweet, not even the Thai tea.

Kad Kokoa Bon bons
Bon bons filled with quality ingredients.

Thai tea and chocolate made a comeback with our beloved macarons. The first one was the Thai tea macaron with its renowned taste that quickly melted away. The chocolate one was just perfect. How could it not be, with airy meringue and luscious chocolate filling? We ended our chocolate frenzy with zesty yuzu macaron that left us in a state of bliss. Our entire experience here contributed to that feeling, and if you would like to feel the same, we urge you to visit Kad Kokoa the next time you find yourself in BKK. We will not be surprised if they have a successful branch the next time we return to Bangkok. The quality is a warranty for success and so is their passion for chocolate.