60 gram bar - Austin, TX
Not your typical white chocolate situation.
First: the color. A deep, almost inky purple from real ube (Filipino purple yam), which already tells you this is going somewhere interesting. Then you flip the bar over—and it’s covered in crisped rice. Not sprinkled. Not subtle. Fully committed.
The flavor follows through on that promise. It opens soft and creamy, with that familiar, comfort of a mellow, not-too-sweet white chocolate—but quickly shifts. Warm horchata spices come forward—cinnamon, a little nutmeg, a hint of clove—giving it that rice pudding-meets-churro kind of vibe. Then the ube settles in: gently earthy, slightly nutty, grounding everything so it never tips too sweet.
And the texture? This is where it gets fun. As the chocolate melts, the crisped rice kicks in—light, toasty, and very present—turning it into something closer to a snack than a delicate chocolate bar. Crunchy, creamy, spiced, and just a little unexpected.
It’s nostalgic, but hard to place. Familiar, but not quite anything you’ve had before. The kind of bar you keep breaking off “one more piece” of…mostly for research.
Why It’s Special
This bar is a cross-cultural flavor story done right. Filipino ube meets Hispanic horchata, all carried by the structure of craft white chocolate. The spices are balanced (not overpowering), the ube is real (not artificial or candy-like), and the crisped rice adds both texture and a subtle toasted grain note that ties everything together.
Also worth noting: the back of the bar is generously coated in crisped rice, giving it a level of crunch you don’t usually see in craft chocolate. It leans indulgent, snackable, and just a little playful—without losing its sense of craft.
About Kesshō
KESSHŌ—named for the Japanese word for “crystal”—is built on the idea that great chocolate, like a crystal, forms through time, balance, and precision.
Co-founders Liang Wang and Mark Huetsch bring a uniquely cross-cultural lens to their work. Liang, trained in pastry and chocolate in Tokyo, and Mark, with a background spanning computer science and Chinese studies, first built their creative partnership in Beijing, where they founded a bakery known for reimagining Asian ingredients in new ways.
Their journey into bean-to-bar chocolate began in 2018, driven by a fascination with sourcing, transparency, and flavor. Today, working out of Austin, Texas, Kesshō continues to explore the intersection of cultures—bringing together ingredients, techniques, and traditions into chocolates that feel both thoughtful and unexpected.
Each bar is part craft, part conversation.
Ingredients: Cocoa Butter, Cane Sugar, Ube Powder, Rice Syrup Solids, Toasted Rice, Whole Milk Powder, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Sea Salt, Nutmeg, Allspice, Clove
Contains: Milk
Made in a facility that also processes tree nuts, wheat, sesame, and eggs
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