Charlotte Kryska, owner of HAPA Chocolat, sees the world through the eyes of cocoa farmers. When she was growing up in San Jose, her family spent every vacation traveling, with frequent trips to Europe, including Germany, France, and the Czech Republic. And since she’s part Japanese, they also visited Japan.
Kryska dreamed of a culinary career, particularly in pastry making, and attended Le Cordon Bleu in London. “I always wanted to live in London,” she says, “and when I proposed the idea to my parents, they said, ‘Of course!’ »
At school, she became interested in chocolate and the fact that she had to write a final paper on the subject further piqued her curiosity. The process of growing beans and how they reflect the terroir where they are grown, much like wine does, was endlessly fascinating.
Returning home, she took a job at Alexander’s Patisserie in Mountain View, where she was an assistant chocolatier in a two-person department. After two years, the head chocolatier left for another job and Kryska stayed for another two years. The idea of having his own chocolate bean business began to ferment.
In 2020, she considered launching her new business, but it proved ill-timed. In late 2021, Kryska began working as a baker for Voyager Craft Coffee in San Jose, making four kinds of croissants, which have become legendary among Voyager customers.
“I do classic butter, chocolate croissant with a layer of chocolate, and then I have a guava and cream cheese croissant. At first it was a seasonal activity, but everyone wanted it, so it has become a standard now. I also make an egg croissant filled with scrambled eggs. I am very proud of my croissants.
She’s even more proud of her chocolate bars, all of which are made in Voyager’s kitchen, located in San Pedro Square. She felt last year was a good time to revisit her chocolate business idea, and Voyager was happy to let her use the space, as long as she continued baking those croissants.
Kryska offers bars in four flavors: spice cake with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cocoa from Ecuador; Cherry on top of the Dominican Republic; roasted almond praline from Colombia; and MBP, with mango, banana and pineapple, and cocoa from Uganda.
For three of the four bars, she turns to San Francisco-based Dandelion Chocolate for its raw chocolate. “I went to their very first storefront on Valencia Street, I really liked what they were doing and I followed them,” says Kryska. “I really liked their business practices, plus they offer products in bulk and they only use two ingredients: cocoa and sugar. It’s hard to work but worth it. They source from 10 different countries and their buyer, Greg, goes to the farms, meets the people and sees if they are a good fit. Sometimes it’s a one-off, and other times they’re part of the regular supply.
Her other supplier is Raaka in Brooklyn, an artisan chocolate purveyor she met while taking a bean-to-bar class in New York last year. Raaka prides itself on making its unroasted dark chocolate from scratch, using traceable, high-quality, transparently traded single-origin cocoa.
“They don’t roast their beans,” Kryska says. “Roasting impacts flavor; it brings out the caramel and nuts. Unroasted beans give you a brighter, fruitier profile.
Thanks to Raaka, Kryska found a chocolate from the Dominican Republic that served as the basis for her Cherry On Top bar.
For those who want a learning experience with their treats, HAPA Chocolat offers a sample pack for $40 that includes a bar of each flavor and a small board game to take people on a taste adventure.
“I want people to learn how to taste chocolate and be able to take it seriously or just have fun,” says Kryska.
Individual bars sell for $10 on the HAPA Chocolat website, with free local delivery on orders over $40.
“At first, the Spice Cake was the most popular, and now the toasted almond praline bar is doing very well,” says Kryska. “There are other bars I want to make, especially a salty, spicy ginger bar, but I need to find the right chocolate that will be a good base for those elements.”
Developing each unique flavor is a labor of love. “For the Cherry On Top, I did nine different tests to get the bar exactly where I wanted it,” says Kryska. “The process involves a lot of other palates, including my boyfriend Sam, plus a good friend who is really good at choosing flavors, and my aunt Coline (Le Conte, editor and publisher of Edible:SiliconValley magazine), which helps with taste and is a great supporter.
Eventually, Kryska would like to have her own brick-and-mortar store and would love to be part of this coveted class of bean-to-bar makers. Her current kitchen setup doesn’t allow her to do this, so she’s looking for the right place available, probably in the South Bay. For now, visit www.hapachocolat.com.
