Our story
From a discovery in India to a life with cacao
We are Tamy and Rachel. Partners in life, travel buddies and the two women behind CacowGirls. What started with a discovery during a trip through India grew, in two years, into something that now travels with us almost every day.
Cacao is no longer just something we sell. It is in our kitchen, comes with us when we travel, is part of our mornings and will soon simply travel with us to Portugal.
It started in India
That is where we discovered AmmaCacao
During one of our trips through India, we discovered AmmaCacao. We tried their ceremonial cacao and Cacao Bars and were pretty much sold straight away.
The cacao from India had a soft, round and warm character that felt very different from the cacao we knew before. And the Bars suddenly made cacao incredibly easy. One portion for one cup, combined with herbs, Ayurvedic extracts and functional mushrooms.
What we especially liked was that something so easy to use could still stay so close to pure cacao.
Not to make cacao more complicated, but to help more people discover a way of drinking cacao that immediately felt right to us.
That is how CacowGirls started.
And the name?
Why CacowGirls?
The name CacowGirls is really a mix of different worlds that come together for us.
We love freedom, adventure and choosing our own path. We are not very good at following a fixed plan for life and would rather decide for ourselves where we live, how we work and what adventure comes next.
A little wild. A little stubborn. And above all, free.
That is the cowgirl part.
At the same time, the idea for CacowGirls started in India, where cows have a special and sacred place. We liked the connection with the Netherlands, the country we come from, which is of course also known for its cows.
Add our love for cacao and suddenly there it was: CacowGirls.
Cacao + cowgirls = CacowGirls
Most people hear the name once and remember it straight away. The spelling sometimes needs a second look, but that little twist is exactly what makes it ours.
And just like our logo, CacowGirls has two sides: cacao and slowing down on one side, freedom and adventure on the other.
Two years later
Cacao became part of our everyday life
About two years later, cacao has become much more than the product we once started a webshop with.
There is hardly a day when cacao does not show up somewhere.
Sometimes we drink it at the table in the morning. Sometimes there is a cup next to the laptop while we work. Sometimes it comes with us in the car or when we are out for the day.
For us, cacao does not have to wait until there is time for a full ceremony.
A mug in the morning counts. A travel cup on the road counts. A cup next to your laptop counts. And sitting somewhere together during a walk counts too.
Our little cacao moment
It naturally became part of our time together
At home, we now simply call it having our cacao.
It is often how we start the day. Sitting together for a moment before everything else begins.
Sometimes we talk about what is going on. Sometimes new ideas for CacowGirls suddenly appear. Sometimes we make plans. And sometimes we just drink cacao and barely say anything.
It does not need to solve anything and it does not have to be deep every time.
But it is a small moment when we consciously spend some time together.
Our kitchen
We keep finding new ways to make cacao
After two years, we are still not done experimenting.
We are always trying new ways to make cacao. With regular milk, plant-based milk and tea. With herbs and spices. Stronger, softer, lighter, more spiced or simply pure.
Sometimes an experiment is definitely not worth a second cup.
And sometimes we look at each other after the first sip and know: we need to remember this one.
Many of the combinations that eventually end up in our cacao recipes start exactly like this. In our own kitchen.
The next chapter
Soon, the cacao is coming with us to Portugal
As we write this, we are about to leave the Netherlands behind and move to Portugal for an open-ended period of time.
The two of us, our two cats and everything we think we need for the next chapter.
And yes, of course the cacao is coming too.
In the camper
A small pan, cacao and something to froth it with is basically all we need.
On the road
In the car, during a walk or somewhere new where we feel like sitting down for a while.
We do not know exactly how long we will stay in Portugal or where we will go afterwards.
That is exactly what we like about it.
CacowGirls simply travels with us
We want to keep discovering, tasting and learning. New places, new people, new ways to use cacao and probably many more new recipes. Everything we pick up along the way can eventually become another little part of CacowGirls.
Sharing cacao
From our kitchen to other tables
We like sharing what we enjoy about cacao with other people.
Rachel, for example, uses cacao around her Rebirthing Breathwork sessions. We serve it during moments with others and take cacao with us when we meet somewhere.
Sometimes cacao is right at the centre of a ceremony.
Sometimes there are simply a few mugs on the table.
Both are valuable to us.
What we believe
Cacao can be special without becoming complicated
We love the history, traditions and knowledge around cacao. And we also love the moments when cacao becomes part of yoga, breathwork, meditation or reflection.
But we do not believe you need to know how to create the perfect cacao ceremony before you are allowed to enjoy a good cup of cacao.
Cacao can be special.
And it can also simply sit next to your laptop.
Or come with you in the car.
Or go into a travel cup for a walk.
Or replace coffee on a completely normal Tuesday morning.
That is exactly how cacao found a permanent place in our own lives.
CacowGirls
What you find here, we use ourselves
From our Cacao Bars to pure ceremonial cacao from India and Peru: we want to understand what we sell, how it tastes and how it can fit into everyday life.
That is why we keep tasting, preparing, comparing and trying new combinations.
CacowGirls grows with us. And we are nowhere near done discovering.
Keep exploring
Shall we have a cacao?
Want to know which cacao fits you, how to prepare it or what is inside our different Cacao Bars? In our Cacao Guide, we have brought together everything we have learned along the way and use ourselves.