Somage Fine Foods has been creating ethically sourced, organic products for 12 years. This year it’s celebrating ten years since the launch of its Kali chocolate line.
To celebrate it’s bringing a hot chocolate and chai pop-up to Collingwood, transforming a garage space into a cafe for three weeks in November.
Interiors studio Larritt-Evans is behind the fit-out that could become permanent if the pop-up is a success.
“[There are] couches, a little bit of marble and [it’s] decorated with flowers,” Somage business development manager Zi Xie tells Broadsheet. “It’s just got that homey, inviting look to it. It’s something that’s catching the attention of a lot of people walking past. [The space] smells so good because of the chai and the chocolate.”
Previously only available wholesale, Somage’s Kali Original 33% drinking chocolate and Chamellia’s 9 Spice Chai will be available in 200-gram retail tubs at the pop-up. Two new products, Kali Dark 60% drinking chocolate and Chamellia’s Turmeric Fresh Chai, will also be available.
“We released [the 60% darker drinking chocolate] for two main reasons,” says Xie. “We saw that there was a changing of palettes and consumers were requesting a darker, more complex chocolate.”
The new 60% darker drinking chocolate is made from Venezuelan criollo (cacao), Swiss couverture chocolate, coconut-blossom nectar and panela sugar, and is gluten-free.
“It was 18 months in the making, sourcing rare cacaos from around the world,” says Xie.
She says that Chamellia avoids liquid concentrate in its chai because the fresh, kibbled and grated herbs bring out the intensity of the spices.
“It makes the product really fresh. The turmeric has been really well received because it’s a caffeine-free version. It has ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, and sweet and certified organic honey that is steamed with the milk and then strained out.”
The chai is available hot as well as iced.
The pop-up runs for three weeks from October 30.
Kali & Chamellia
16 Montague Street, Collingwood
Hours:
Monday to Thursday 9am–3.30pm
Stephanie Vigilante 
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