Apricot Bloom 62%

Ingredients: Cacao*, cane sugar*, apricot*, cardamom, Calendula officinalis aka garden marigold petals* | *means organic

The first iteration of this bar began in our kitchen over a year ago as simply “Cardamom & Apricot” — the sun-sweet, honeyed chew of apricot and the lemon-mint sparkle of freshly ground green cardamom folded into dark chocolate. As winter shyly peeks over the seasonal horizon, this bar still reminds us of late summer evenings: warm, lifted, and a little golden around the edges.

In March, we traveled through Alta Verapaz, Guatemala visiting cacao farmers in the valleys near Cobán. At higher elevation in the surrounding hills, where cacao no longer thrives, the crops change to terraces covered with cardamom bushes. Guatemala is the top exporter of cardamom globally, and Alta Verapaz is the heart of that thriving trade. We even had dinner at Kardamomuss Cobán, a cardamom-themed restaurant where nearly every dish — from sweet appetizers to grilled meat — leans into the ingredient. Of course, we tried (and loved) the cardamom-spiced hot chocolate.

For this season's return, we’ve added marigold petals. In India, coincidentally where cardamom first took root, marigold is known as genda, and in Mexico, it’s called campasúchil — in both places, the flower carries meanings of remembrance, renewal, and celebration. 

Across continents, marigolds mark thresholds. A golden flourish across the top of each bar, it’s a sweet symbol of transitions — farewells, and new beginnings.