Craft, Celebration, and a Year in Chocolate

When the last holiday wrappers settle and the world finally grows quiet, we pause.
The days between Christmas and the New Year have their own kind of magic — reflective, unhurried, warm in a way that has nothing to do with temperature. It’s the perfect moment to look back on the year through the lens of craft, flavor, and community.

Winter has a way of awakening the kitchen.
On cold mornings, the air inside Makenu fills with the scent of crushed peppermint, roasted pistachios, and dark chocolate warming slowly over a double boiler. The aromas of peppermint, roasted nuts, and warm chocolate are the way our kitchen announces that winter craft has begun.

Before the storefront. Before the café. Before the logo was sketched or the first bar was molded, there was a spark.

Every Makenu bar begins in heat. But not just any heat. The kind that hums with intention. That coaxes cacao into becoming something more.

A Journey from Bar to Bean

Tracing Makenu’s Roots in Uganda

It’s early May 2023. The Ugandan air is warm and fragrant as Makenu co-owner Tucker Juan heads deeper into the countryside. Lush hills roll toward the sky, goats graze along the roadside, and the day hums with the kind of color and rhythm that can’t be rushed.