I’ve known Yukari for some years now and have taken part in her beautiful cacao ceremony a few times. It is something special and if you ever have the opportunity to take part, I highly recommend it. Because I don’t want to minimize, even slightly, from the magic of the moment, I won’t go into detail about the ceremony here. 

I will give you a few hints though. Yukari comes from a family of chocolate makers, and her grandmother was a tea master. Having grown up assisting both, she decided to combine the art of chocolate and the art of tea and created her own cacao ceremony. 

If you are lucky enough, as we were, to visit her outside Fukuoka, she has a purpose built room in her grandmothers old house, now transformed into a stunning setting for the ceremony, It is surrounded by forest, with minimal decorations inside, perfect for focusing on the task at hand. 

Slowly, Yukari guides you through the experience. You watch her expertly transform chocolate disks, which she makes herself from beans sourced around the world, into water based drinking chocolates. The movement of the matcha whisk she uses to mix the chocolate is both therapeutic and enchanting. Every detail, as in traditional tea ceremonies, has been carefully considered, the serving vessels, the whisk, everything.

The silence is not uncomfortable but restorative, a moment where you are given permission and encouraged to fully engage all of your senses in what you are watching and experiencing.

Depending on what stage you are in the ceremony, you are presented with a range of wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets made by Yukari herself. Many have a connection to cacao, using nibs or pulp, or a connection to the season as is common in tea ceremony wagashi. Through sips of chocolate and bites of sweets over the course of an hour, you are gently taken through the story of chocolate, from farm to final creation. 

You need a car to get to Yukari, although she is increasingly also presenting her ceremony at events around the world. However, experiencing it here, in her own space, is something entirely different. After the ceremony, just down the hill is the chocolate factory her parents started, Cacaoken, now expanded into a café serving a wide range of chocolate desserts. Nearby is a famous temple, Tochoji Temple, famous for its huge wooden Buddha. You are also still within easy reach of central Fukuoka. I highly recommend making a day of it. You won’t be disappointed. 

CacaoGoto: https://www.cacaogoto.com/