Back in 2014, David Menkes became obsessed with Desmond Jadusingh’s Bachelor’s Hall cacao after tasting what David considered the best chocolate he’d ever had in his life. David decided to wait until he was “good enough” to work with this extremely delicate and nuanced cacao.
Five years later, David finally got his wish – cacao from Desmond in Jamaica was air-freighted and he began carefully working with it. It’s hard to overstate the incredible emotions that come along with this bar. Paying over four times the commodity price for the cacao, this chocolate is the realisation of a dream.
David and Corey met in high school in Southern California. They didn't date, but were really close friends for years. Corey always had a passion for the environment while David has been obsessed with graphic design and traveling. They did finally start dating in 2006 and married in 2010, moving back to Los Angeles from Northern California. In 2011, they travelled to St. Lucia on vacation and happened to stop at a cocoa plantation where they got to taste the pulp from cacao pods and saw cacao fermenting for the first time. By 2013, the couple was running a bean to bar chocolate blog called Little Brown Squares which exclusively featured reviews of bean to bar chocolate bars.
By early 2014, David was thinking of getting into the agroforestry business and took a cacao bootcamp class hosted by Madre Chocolate in Oahu, Hawaii. There, David learned not only how to grow and cultivate cacao trees, but ferment cacao and run a batch of chocolate through to completion from bean to bar. Returning afterward to LA, David began purchasing small quantities of cacao beans from chocolate makers and brokers and started making his own batches soon after. During this time, David was working as an artist at DreamWorks Animation where he had founded the DreamWorks Chocolate Society. Eventually making chocolate that the Society loved, he started selling his bars to his fellow employees.
By 2016, their little apartment had become overwhelmed with equipment and the couple needed to move everything out. They found a solution in a shared kitchen just down the street, and moved their operation there. By 2017, they were able to purchase the kitchen and by 2018, they took over the entire space and renovated the retail area, having their grand opening in September 2018.
LetterPress chocolate work closely with farms that are sustainable, do not use pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and when possible, agroforestry projects where cocoa grows in conjunction with other native species.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Join WaitlistWe will inform you when the product arrives in stock. Please leave your valid email address below.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.