For months cacovu was a bit player. Kinda like the guy who’s in every crowd scene of the high school musical, but has 2 speaking lines the whole show, hi 16-year-old me. Cacovu was like that every time I took it to a farmer’s market. Tables full of other stuff and over in the corner a weird brown liquid for sale. Easy to miss and easier to forget. On a good day I sold 5 bottles, on a great day, 10. That’s not how stars are born.
After every market I wondered, what if cacovu had a one-woman (go with me on the gender) show? A local fermentation festival gave her that break. This wasn't a typical farmers market crowd looking for carrots and eggs. These were people who seek out unusual beverages. Kombucha brewers, fermentation hobbyists and craft drink enthusiasts. These people actively explore foods and drinks. I wanted to see what they thought of my brew.
I showed up at the fest with a smile, a camera and four expressions of cacovu. I filmed first-taste reactions all day, 41 by the time I stopped recording. The most common reaction, unprompted, from person after person: "It's like drinking chocolate." Not "it tastes like chocolate." Drinking chocolate. As if the thing they'd only ever eaten as a solid had suddenly become a liquid.
One woman smelled it, sipped it, paused, and said, "Oh my god, that's so smooth. Sold." Then she added, "I've tried one of those chocolate coffees before. Doesn't hold a candle."
Another started skeptical. She smelled it, tasted it, and her eyes changed. "I take back everything I said. It's delicious." She’d assumed that it was like other “cacao cold brew” products she’d seen for sale in her neighborhood. Cacovu wasn’t that.
A man who likes his drinks bitter tried the puro (just cacao and water, nothing added) and nodded. "It almost tastes like coffee. And I'm the kind of guy who likes that."
One woman said it tasted like "a dark chocolate bar that just is enhancified." Enhancified is not a word, I checked. But I knew exactly what she meant.
A woman who recently cut sugar completely told me, "This is really good." She was looking for something with depth and flavor that didn't require sweetness to be enjoyable.
Not everyone loved it. One taster tried the cocktail version (not for sale, just sampling) and said flatly, "No, I don't like. Sorry." No, it’s not for everyone, even the adventurous.
Another tried the same thing and called it "a better espresso martini." That's the thing about this product, the range of expressions means there's usually a version for you, even if the first one you try isn't it.
The Mama Vira expression was the breakout star. It’s named for the woman who drank cacao every day on a farm in the Dominican Republic and lived to 99. It’s spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and hits the palate just right. One woman called the drink “sexy”. That works. Another woman said it reminded her of Christmas. It always reminds me of its namesake, miss you bisabuela.
I shared the Mama Vira spice recipe with anyone who asked. People were surprised I was willing to share it. I just told them that it's not for keeping secret, it’s for showing how good my drink can taste when you treat it right.
This was cacovu’s coming out party. Center stage all by herself. Nothing to hide behind, nothing but taste propping her up. How’d she do? Sales quadrupled from the best farmer’s market days. Not bad for a former bit player to sell out the house.
The product didn't change. The stage did. When cacovu shared the spotlight, it got overlooked. When it owned the stage, people said things like "sold" and "I take back everything I said" and "sexy."
The question is no longer "did she get the part?" The question is "where’s the next stage for her to shine?”
Disclosure: I write these posts. AI helps me edit them.