 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|||||
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|||||
 
 Klahhane Chocolate bars are solid, organic dark chocolate bars flavored with the finest local and/or organic ingredients available. The cocoa pods that adorn the bars speak to the pure chocolate flavor that is playing well with others inside every wrapper. Klahhane Chocolate is handmade on the Olympic Peninsula by local chocolatier, Yvonne Yokota. Each of the six bars features a wrapper with a unique photo by renowned nature photographer and local treasure, Pat O'Hara. Klahhane Chocolate grew from a kernal-or should we say a "pod"-of an idea springing forth at Renaissance, a center for vitality and wellness featuring massage, classes, and a tea and coffee bar in Port Angeles, Washington. Here's the story of these six one-of-a-kind chocolate bars and how chocolate forces around the world and the love for fine, local fare inspired the creation of Klahhane Chocolate, the Chocolate with a Northwest Attitude. The Bars Each bar is made with organic, anti-oxidant-rich dark chocolate. The cocoa content is 65%, placing Klahhane in the super-healthful range of dark chocolates while preserving the silky smooth chocolate experience loved by people around the world. Many milk chocolate fans love Klahhane for this reason.
Additional ingredients distinguish each bar:
Lush Coconut Lemongrass The most exotic of Klahhane chocolates, this bar features crunchy coconut enrobed in smooth dark chocolate kissed by the essence of lemongrass. Earthy Lavender Spice If you've ever walked through a field of lavender you know the heady aroma of earthy, not sweet, lavender. You'll find that experience here in this bar complimented with a piquant finish of black pepper. Robust Espresso Lemon The combination of rich chocolate and the darkest of coffees have been pleasing palettes the world round ever since chocolate found its way to Italy and its tiny cups of crema-topped espresso with lemon twists. Prego! Savory Hazelnut Sink into this luscious combination of Northwesterners' favorite nut and pure organic chocolate. Zesty Orange Mint When chocolate plays with zesty orange and lively mint its clear, refreshing personality shines! Toasty Cocoa Nib For the chocolate lover who just can't get enough chocolate in their chocolate, chocolatier, Yvonne Yokota spoils us by loading this bar with the pure unadulterated crunchy cocoa nib, toasted to chocolately perfection. Klahhane FAQ's
When we began to discuss the idea of a local, organic chocolate bar, Yvonne Yokota crafted several test bars. Faithful Renaissance customers bravely gave of themselves to test and offer feedback on the bars throughout the spring and summer of 2008. The flavors we offer now are a reflection of that selfless process. Renaissance is owned by Lynn Keenan, a former University of Washington researcher. Just about everything there, from the menu items to the chocolate bars goes through this rigorous, sacrifice-for-science kind of process in which the people willing to provide feedback really determine what ends up being offered there. Who is Yvonne Yokota? Yvonne is a much-loved chocolatier living in the Dungeness Valley of Sequim, Washington. Formally trained as a marine biologist, she has long been interested in chocolate. During her travels around the world she has methodically sought out the best chocolates available. Over many years she has put together this considerable research knowledge and her love of fine artisan craftsmanship to create her current business: crafting fine, handmade chocolates. Yvonne searches out the finest ingredients available and is committed to using organic or local ingredients when possible. Increasing awareness of the many fine chocolates available around the world through their use in her combinations of flavored truffles, and Klahhane bars, is a passion that when exercised always bears good things for people in her sphere. Who is Pat O'Hara? Pat's adventurous career as an environmental and fine art photographer has rewarded him with a reputation as an international professional leader and a local treasure here on the Olympic Peninsula. His color photography has been showcased in seventeen books, including collaborations with Harvey Manning and Tim McNulty. His extensive publication history also includes trade books, magazines, calendars, greeting cards, posters, advertisements, electronic mediums, and now, fine chocolate bars! His work and formidable career have garnered him numerous awards, most notably the Photography Gold Medal presented by the New York Art Directors Club, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association. Nikon USA selected Pat to be one of the initial photographers featured on its Legends Behind the Lens portfolio series. While Pat has traveled the world 'round to capture the power of nature's wonders, from the rugged backcountries of North America's National Parks to the pristine Beringian Heritage International Park straddling the Arctic Circle, many believe he saves the most intimate, artful eye for his own home, the wild Olympic Peninsula. What is Renaissance? Renaissance is a center for vitality and wellness featuring massage, classes, and an organic tea and coffee bar that sits high on the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Port Angeles, Washington. Something happens when you spend the better part of a day, day after day, in a location like this: it relentlessly inspires a passion for place. When it came time to name our own chocolate bar, we knew it had to speak this passion. What is the origin of the name, Klahhane? Nobody speaks this passion for place better than our ancestors. The Salish and Chinook people who have lived here for millennia, the French adventurers who traded with them, and the Irish settlers who sought to live among them created a pidgin language--the Chinook jargon--and in that language the strong, melodious word Klahhane (Kla-haw'-ny) describes the out-of-doors, loved by all the generations. What in the world is a "Northwest Attitude"? It's a combination of this connection to place, especially the out-of-doors, with a love of the local and handmade. It's an understanding of the rightness of organic farming for both the grower and the (lucky) consumers. We know we're not the only ones who feel that the personal is political, but we take it seriously and enjoy some measure of pleasure knowing that we can shape the direction of planetary and community stewardship by the choices we make regarding the foods we eat and ways we spend our money. That's saddling a chocolate bar with a lot. But then, we have high expectations of our chocolate.  The Business Realities Unfolding Behind Klahhane Renaissance is a small center for health and vitality offering a variety of bodywork services and wellness classes. Since our place stands perched on the bluff above the Strait of Juan de Fuca we also operate an organic tea and coffee bar with an inspiring view north across the Strait to Vancouver Island. Chocolate rounds out our trifecta of the good life's elements. Especially fine organic and local chocolates. The world of fine and organic food sales is changing. At Renaissance we've seen this in the world of organic chocolate in just the two and a half years we've been open. We used to sell a wide range of organic chocolates and this constituted a healthy part of retail sales in our first year of business. Local people who wanted to buy organic chocolate had few places to purchase it and we were one with a wide selection. When Hershey's purchased Dagoba-the largest producer of organic chocolates, they changed the way Americans buy organic chocolate bars. For the consumer this was terrific-practically overnight good, organic chocolates were made accessible to anyone within traveling distance of a grocery store. Now, it's possible to buy Dagoba organic chocolate anywhere one can buy Hershey's. Hershey's purchase of Dagoba addressed the distribution and production issues that the small Ashland, Oregon company could not. America's increasing appetite for organic chocolate did the rest! The same movement was at work, though a bit differently, for Larabar-the organic raw foodbar made by Lara Merriken in Boulder, Colorado. Their popularity grew to cult status, thanks in part to a network of small health food and outdoor equipment stores offering Larabar around the country. Renaissance was one of them. But when Lara began selling her bars in quanitity to Costco, the landscape changed, for both the consumer and the early sellers of Larabar. The consumer could purchase Larabars (in an albeit limited number of flavors) from Costco at virtually the same price that Lara sold wholesale to smaller retailers. Except for customers who wanted specific flavors not available at Costco, this virtually eliminated the customer base for small retailers. This summer Lara sold her company to General Mills. Costco and any store carrying General Mills products will be able to carry Lara's full line now. This sounds like it may be leading to a whining session. But no! These are good changes because they allow increasingly more Americans to access healthful food at a decent price. It also increases the number of people living and working in agricultural areas who can live in environments freer of chemical pesticides and herbicides than they have for 80 years. This is undeniably good news, and the right direction for food production to take. For the small business-owner, these kinds of changes perpetuate the environment in which we thrive; where we do what we do best. The best small businesses thrive and move in environments of creativity and innovation, we can act quickly and responsively to change and emerging needs. This is exactly what fueled the creation of Klahhane Chocolate. Well, this and an obsession for good chocolate! While the addition of organic and fine foods into the food conglomerates' offerings means good things for all people world wide, it leaves a hole. Part of what we bought when we purchased a Dagoba chocolate bar, was the small batch, the hand-crafted fineness of it. The original founder of Dagoba and Dagoba customers alike may be assured that Hershey's will not interfere with the creative genius of the Dagoba chocolatiers, but honestly, when they must make 5 million, rather than 5,000 of each of their exotic bars, can the quality truly stay the same? More importantly, when we give fine organic chocolate as a gift, do we really want to give our loved ones a bar they could buy tomorrow on a 2-for-1 special at the Safeway checkout? And, though we may love Dagoba and are pleased that they remain located in nearby Ashland, Oregon, can we really think of them as a small, local company now that they're traded on the New York Stock Exchange and every bar we buy supports execs at headquarters of this tasty multinational? Even with the availability improvement made possible by Costco, Hershey's, and General Mills, our appetite for local, small batch, and high quality, organic chocolates persists. Given that, Klahhane Chocolate is the culmination of the perfect (chocolate) storm. Think of it: a momentum-building desire to buy locally-grown/crafted foods and goods, especially organic foods; A local chocolatier who is remarkably gifted and connected to the sources of the finest organic cocoa in the world; A local café that is often mistakenly called a chocolate store and is in persistent pursuit of the next great chocolate bar; and A regional love for the place we call home--including a National Park that is our backyard--and a photographer so gifted as to be able to capture its very essence. Klahhane Chocolate could almost not not happen!  |