Slow Baja - Talking Chocolate at Casa Cacao in Tijuana

Episode Date: May 10, 2020

Recently Slow Baja spent a day exploring Tijuana. We had a great time eating, drinking, and recording. Our first stop was at the charming Casa Cacao for a late breakfast. The artisanal chocolate shop and mole restaurant -located just a few doors off of Ave. Revolution is a tiny slice of Oaxaca. Owners, Rosa, and Jose were eager to share their love and knowledge of cacao and its many healthful properties. We dined on enmoladas, tlayudas, and tamales with house-made salsas, and moles. Locally roasted dark coffee and traditional hot chocolate were an unexpected surprise. The conversation ranged from the healthful properties of cacao and dark chocolate to the state of the economy in Tijuana. Please note we taped this conversation in January 2020 -before social distancing and shelter-in-place orders due to COVID-19 were in place. Casa Cacao Calle 2da #8172 Zona Centro 22020 Tijuana BC [phone] casacacaotijuana.com

Hey, this is Michael Emery. Thanks for tuning into the Slow Baja. This podcast is powered by Tequila Fortaleza, handmade in small batches, and hands down, my favorite tequila. Hey, this show comes to you from Casa Cacao in Tijuana, Jose and Rosa. Couldn't have been kinder to us. We wandered in, sampled their wares, had. had a lovely brunch and can't wait for Tijuana to open up so we can all get back to good food and good friends there. Enjoy the show. Okay, this is Michael Emery here with the Baja Sessions, Slow Baja, and I am in a chocolate

shop. Casa cacao. Casa cacao in Tijuana with my new friend. Jose. Jose. Yes, Jose. Jose, is this your store? Is this store of my wife?

Yeah, BNBN.Bin. Can you tell me about it? Tell me about your business. Yes. We, in this store, we have different cacao products. Normally, chocolate, dark chocolate, natural. We know artificial flavor, no color, original from Mexico. And the different ingredients is natural ingredients with cinnamon, almond,

and in case with chocolate, of course, with sugar. But the tradition in Mexico is to combine the cacao with chili and corn. This is the base of the chocoatl with the mayas chocotols, produce the cacao with chile and corn in the name of this drink, the food of God, chocoatl. This is why today we have chocolate in the world, chocolate in the world, because the Spanish, when find Mexico,

find America, find the natives, and the life of the Mayas, practically replica in different other parts of the world to put the plant of the cacao in Africa and Indonesia and Philippines and Brazil and in 300 years process. But the kings see how the monks produce the chocolate with water and sugar, but not with milk the first time. But in Mexico and in the Maya area, all the culinary art today is, It's important, the chili and the corn together with the cacao natural.

This is why we have molle. The mole has 16 ingredients, different rosters of the chilas, but with cacao inside and chocolate inside. It's very, very, very delicious. 16. 16. 16, yeah. 16, yeah.

Okay, bien, bien, bien. Normally have, like, pepper, chocolate, cacao, soy, oil, season and seed, banana, onion, peanuts, Rainsies salt, walnuts, almond, garlic, cinnamon, spices, different. But in Mexico, have another town spray Hispanic drinks like a tejate in Guajaca, posol in Tabasco, or Taskalate in Chiapas. The combination is corn, cacao, achiote, and other parts is with Cimei, cacao and other parts is with cacao and corn, and other part and more roaster the cacao, the pozole, with cinnamon and sugar.

And Guerrero, like I was, Acapulco area, is with rice and cacao. The name is chilate. And this is only natural products and natural food from Mexico. And it's very important to healthy today. The cacao have many big benefits. The cacao head magnesium scene, iron, reduce the stress, reduce the anxiety. And open the arteries, open the arteries. Open the arteries, yeah.

And, yeah, sorry for my English. Your English is excellent. You told me you didn't speak English. This is excellent. And the other important thing, the medical hair association of the United States recommend 30 grams of dark chocolate every week. Wow, I'm going to have to. I want to see my doctor about that. One big problem, yeah.

El Bueno for Corazon. Yes, exactly. I was just asking Jose about his work when he's not here in the chocolate shop, and he told me he was a corporate attorney, but he is almost retired. And I was asking about the economy here, and the economy, you said, is uncertain. A little bit. Practically, it's in the world economy impact. for the, but the most important in case, Tijuana is,

the most important is Tijuana is being here to California, being here to the United States. This is the most, the most important for this border, for this city, because California, and the people from Tijuana and people from California, is the same people, same culture, practically. We have to love thy neighbor. Because Tijuana have on the,

A hundred thirty years of foundation. Before, it's the same California as is Baja California. Right. And the people to participate in the pioneer here in Tijuana is U.S. people. Right. All the investors with the casinos, with race track, with bars and bars and different, And, how do you say, Lugarets to

Divertice? Places to come to visit practically with U.S. investors when they start Tijuana. Yeah. Mexicans and U.S. people. And how is the tourism now?

The tourist is good. Not like 70s or 80s, but the tourist today is practically more people from foreign and other countries like a Europe or or Asia coming to Tijuana because visit San Diego and visit Tijuana too. They did a big thing here where they years ago they really,

they used to not really promote Tijuana for tourism, but now it's promoted all over Mexico for Tijuana tourism. So a lot of people from Mexico now come to Tijuana for tourism because Americans weren't coming down for so long. So they put a lot of money into. to investing into tourism for Mexico to come to Tijuana. And so you see a lot more Mexican tourism in Tijuana than you used to see. It used to be all Americans.

But now it's more Mexicans that are coming here, which is good. But it's now trying for me and people like Ted and you trying to get people to come back to Tijuana from the United States would be great too. Because people really need to come back. What I think is the interesting story, at least that I'm hearing, is the food, gastronomia. And that is your business as well with molays and chocolates. Exactly. And so what can you tell me about eating, drinking, and being in Tijuana for food? Basically, Tijuana now have more knowledge with a gastronomy, with a culinary art.

Start, start, please. Ted, you have to eat. And try to promote, to put more attention and compete with international quality, international food. but to put more, to put more very high the value of the Mexican gastronomy. Now, now the coffee example, the coffee, not only the chocolate, the coffee is, this city has very knowledge, very knowledge, and produce high quality, the coffee is coffee. Roaster. Yeah, roasting.

Yeah, roasting. More knowledge now and produce. Of course, Baham has coffee in the farms, because it's coming, for, tropical area. But exactly that tourists have put more attention

to come to Tijuana to receive this quality of the good shops and good restaurants. And can you tell us a little bit about what we're eating right now? Yes, you have

the traditional molle and molars with black molle. The black mole is more little, the chile is more roasters but with chocolate flavor too spicy but not too spicy and the molle coloradito is little more spicy because the chiless is not two roasters okay but you have two tamales import very successful here in in casa cacao one is three cheeses tamal and the other tamal is

veggie tamal we have gorditas the gorditas is handmade here And the traditional salsa cacao, the salsa cacao had many seeds, is antioxidants here, and two chilas. But this is basically very antioxidant salsa for the seas. Okay. And the chocolate, traditional chocolate, natural chocolate too. Well, thank you very much, Jose. I appreciate it.

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