About

Holy Cacao (pronunciation: Kah-Cow)

Holy Cacao was born from the tastes of fine desserts in New York. I moved there after finishing my undergrad at UT and completing my masters at Penn. During my 7 years in New York City, I discovered some wonderful treats. Namely, City Bakery, home of world famous, Drinking Chocolates. This is not your standard powder or syrup variety. This was a fine, thick and buttery smooth chocolate that is served along with homemade marshmallows. This drinking chocolate literally creates lines around the block even in the warm months! Additionally, Serendipity is equally famous for its Frozen Hot Chocolate. This dessert shop has been luring chocoholics since the days of Jackie Onassis and Andy Warhol! There is still a wait of more than an hour on any given day.

After 7 years away from my home of Austin, I had the irresistible call back. Recognizing a void for this type of chocolate in Austin I decided to start a fine desert shop. A good friend of mine, Cammie Spillyards, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, inspired the vision of cake balls. She had tasted these and recognized the trend in her travels around the country and world.

As the study of chocolate progressed, it was discovered that cacao, the tree that produces the pod ultimately responsible for chocolate has a rich history of its own. The scientific name Theobroma means “food of the gods”. The word cacao itself derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word cacahuatl, learned at the time of the conquest when it was first encountered by the Spanish. The Maya believed that the kakaw (cacao) was discovered by the gods in a mountain that also contained other delectable foods to be used by the Maya. According to Maya mythology, the Plumed Serpent gave cacao to the Maya after humans were created from maize by divine grandmother goddess Xmucane.

As you can see, chocolate, or cacao, has had a long spiritual connection to humans. Thus, “Holy Cacao”. In a play on words, we discovered Holly, the Holy Cacao Cow.

Holly the Holy Cacao Cow

We hope that you enjoy our sweet confections and will tell your friends about us. Stay tuned to the website for our soon to be announced south Austin location! Until then, drop us a note and tell us what you think!

Ellen, John & Holly