Kakao Origin started because we were frustrated.

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Kuala Lumpur was importing everything—coffee from Ethiopia, tea from Japan, wine from Europe. Meanwhile, Malaysian farmers were growing some of the best cacao in the world, and no one here seemed to care. It was all being shipped out, processed elsewhere, and sold back to us as "premium chocolate" with someone else's story on the label.

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We thought that was backwards.

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So we started sourcing locally. That's it. That was the plan.

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We spoke to producers working with farmers in Chemor, Perak. In Semai and Triang, Pahang. In Kota Marudu, Sabah. Small operations. Seasonal harvests. Beans that tasted like the places they came from—mineral, fruity, earthy, floral. The kind of complexity you only get when cacao isn't mass-produced.

 

We weren't trying to build a movement. We were just trying to make something honest.

Then we realized chocolate had a perception problem.

 

People treated it like candy. Like a guilty pleasure. Something you hid in a drawer and ate when no one was looking.

 

But cacao isn't candy. It's been used as medicine for centuries. It improves blood flow. It contains theobromine, which gives you focus without the jitters. It's loaded with magnesium and antioxidants. The Mayans drank it before ceremonies. The Aztecs called it the food of the gods.

 

Somewhere along the way, industrialization buried all of that under sugar and milk powder.

We wanted to dig it back up.

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2023: We opened at Central Market.

Not because it was trendy. Because it made sense. Pasar Seni is a heritage site—a place where Malaysian culture has always lived. If we were going to build something around Malaysian cacao, it needed to be rooted in a place that actually meant something.

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We built the Kakaology % System because we were tired of guessing what people wanted. You pick the origin. You pick the percentage. You pick the adaptogens—turmeric, ginger, collagen, whatever your body's asking for that day. We make it exactly how you need it.

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No upselling. Just a conversation and a drink.

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We realized we'd accidentally built something that wasn't really about chocolate.

It was about space and connections. The kind you don't get much of anymore. Space to sip and savour. To feel something other than productive or distracted. To remember what it's like to enjoy something without guilt attached to it.

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That's when it clicked: we're not in the café business. We're in the alternatives business.

An alternative to coffee culture, which is burnt out and over-caffeinated.
An alternative to sugar-loaded "treats" that make you feel worse an hour later.
An alternative to spaces that prioritize speed over presence.

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Kakao Origin is what you choose when you're done pretending that faster and louder is better.

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2026: We're opening a flagship at Dayabumi, KL.

Minimalist design. Wood, steel, stone. A ritual bar where every drink is made with precision  so our baristas can focus on the part that actually matters—being present with you.

 

It's not an expansion. It's a deepening. More of what works. Less of what doesn't.

This is where we are now.

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We're not trying to scale into every mall in Malaysia. We're not chasing trends or trying to go viral. We're just trying to keep making something real, in a world that increasingly isn't.

Malaysian cacao. Small farms. Honest sourcing. Functional drinks. Calm spaces. No compromises.

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If that sounds like what you've been looking for, come sit with us.

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We'll make you something that actually does what it's supposed to.