Kodagu · Karnataka · Western Ghats

yāka

artisan chocolate

Tree-to-bar chocolate, made by Shreya Bojamma. An expression of origin — shaped by craftsmanship, community, and the natural world of Kodagu.

yāka artisan chocolate bar at Kumaran Estate Illustration by Rupesh Nanaiah

Illustration
Rupesh Nanaiah

The meaning

yāka — the field where saplings of paddy are raised. A nursery. A beginning. yāka is tree-to-bar chocolate that weaves together the journey of cacao, from fermentation to flavour, as an expression of origin.

The maker

Shreya
Bojamma

01 Shreya Bojamma at Kumaran Estate

Shreya Bojamma · Kumaran Estate · Kodagu

YAKA is shaped by a deep appreciation for craftsmanship, community, and the natural world. Through tree-to-bar chocolate, it weaves together the journey of cacao — from fermentation to flavour — while celebrating the people, the landscapes, and the traditions that shape each harvest.

“Each harvest is an expression of origin.”

[Shreya’s background — her Kodava roots, where she studied and trained, and the path that led her to cacao. To be added in her words.]

Her work is about creating experiences that celebrate the richness of Kodagu — and contributing to a future where communities and landscapes thrive together.

At Kumaran Estate, Shreya found space, organically grown cacao, and kind hands. She makes yāka there, by hand — a humble beginning, and an honest one.

The early yāka wrapping — handmade yellow paper, green twine

The first wrapping. Hand-stamped, hand-tied. Before the illustration, before the name was fully formed.

70%

Cacao · Single Origin · Kodagu

2

Ingredients · Nothing more, nothing less

50g

Small batch · Hand-processed · Kumaran Estate

yāka

“the field where saplings of paddy are raised”

A nursery. The tender beginning of things. It is the name Shreya chose — because before the harvest, before the bar, there is the quiet work of raising something with care.

From tree to bar

How yāka
is made

Every bar weaves together the journey of cacao — from fermentation to flavour. What follows takes weeks and cannot be hurried. These are the hands, the steps, and the moments that make each harvest an expression of origin.

Cacao blossom on trunk
01 — The tree

In flower at Kumaran

Cacao flowers directly on the bark. Each flower, a future pod.

Harvested cacao pods in cart
02 — The harvest

Plucked by hand

Freshly harvested, waiting for the hands that open them carefully.

Hands breaking open a cacao pod
03 — The opening

The pod, opened

Broken open by hand. The white-pulped seeds inside, still fresh.

Violet interior of a split cacao bean
04 — The reveal

Inside the pod

Deep violet. Most people never see this.

Women separating cacao pods at Kumaran Estate
05 — The community

The hands at Kumaran

The women who open every pod and begin the fermentation. The community behind yāka, before Shreya touches the bean.

Fresh cacao seeds laid in banana leaf
06 — Fermentation

Laid in banana leaf

Seeds laid in banana leaf to ferment. Ancient, natural, essential.

Shreya Bojamma at the drying tray
07 — Drying

Shreya at the drying tray

Sun-dried and checked by hand. Patience at every stage.

Cacao nibs close-up
08 — Winnowing

The nib

Cracked, winnowed. Every shade of the palette in one image.

Roasted cacao beans in steel tray
09 — Roasting

Sun-dried and roasted

The flavour being born. Deep, complex, irreversible.

Cacao nibs being fed into the grinder
10 — Grinding

Into the grinder

Winnowed nibs fed into the grinder. The point where the bean becomes chocolate.

Chocolate paste forming
11 — The paste

Becoming chocolate

The liquor forms. Slow and deliberate.

Shreya tempering chocolate on granite, smiling
12 — Tempering

On cold granite

Shreya tempering on granite. The smile says everything.

The finished yāka bar held in hand
13 — The bar

Held by the hands that made it

Blossom to bar. The same hands throughout.

yāka 70% finished bar at Kumaran Estate
14 — yāka

The finished bar, in the place it was born

70% dark. Made by Shreya Bojamma at Kumaran Estate, Kodagu. Two ingredients, nothing more.

The chocolate

Fine, raw,
unapologetically
simple

An ethical, craft-focused, conscious community serving raw and fine chocolate. Each bar is a portrait of the cacao it came from — the altitude, the soil, the season. Two ingredients. Nothing else.

yāka 70% dark chocolate bars

Western Ghats Dark

70%

A single-origin dark chocolate made from organically grown cacao at Kumaran Estate, Kodagu. Two ingredients — cacao beans and unrefined cane sugar. Nothing else. Each 50g bar is small-batch and made entirely by hand.

OriginKumaran Estate · Kodagu
IngredientsCacao beans · Unrefined cane sugar
Weight50g · 70% cacao
Kumaran Estate exterior, Hakathur, Kodagu

Visit Kumaran Estate

Come and see
where Shreya
makes yāka.

These experiences celebrate the richness of Kodagu — and a future where communities and landscapes thrive together. Come and understand chocolate from the tree up, in the place it is made.

Visits are small, personal, and confirmed directly by Shreya over WhatsApp.

01Half day

The Farm Tour

02Full day

Chocolate Making Workshop

03Full day · Meal included

Farm to Table

Walk the cacao groves at Kumaran Estate with Shreya. Learn to read the pod, understand fermentation, trace the journey from harvest to the drying shed. Ends with a guided tasting of raw cacao and finished yāka chocolate side by side.

Duration3 – 4 hours
Group size2 – 8 guests
IncludesGuided tasting · Raw cacao and finished chocolate
SeasonYear-round · Harvest season recommended
Cacao in flower at Kumaran Estate

Work alongside Shreya through every stage of the yāka process — winnowing, grinding, tempering, moulding. You will leave with bars you made yourself and an understanding of what it takes to make chocolate honestly.

Duration6 – 7 hours
Group size2 – 6 guests
IncludesBars you make yourself to take home
SeasonYear-round · By appointment
Shreya tempering chocolate

The complete experience. The farm tour, the workshop, and a meal prepared at the estate using ingredients grown on the land — ending with a dessert course built around yāka chocolate. Unhurried. Seasonal. Made for the day you are there.

DurationFull day
Group size2 – 8 guests
IncludesTour · Workshop · Seasonal farm meal
SeasonSelected dates · Harvest season preferred
The community at Kumaran Estate

“We do not run schedules. Every visit is confirmed personally by Shreya and shaped around the group that is coming. Reach out and we will find a day that works.”

The people

Behind every bar,
a community

Shreya Bojamma

Shreya Bojamma

Chocolatier · Maker · Founder

[Shreya’s story — her Kodava roots, her training, her decision to make chocolate honestly. In her own words, when ready.]

The hands at Kumaran Estate

The Hands at Kumaran

Kumaran Estate · Hakathur · Kodagu

The women who open every pod and lay every seed. The community that makes yāka possible before Shreya touches the bean.

Kumaran Estate

Kumaran Estate

Hakathur · Madikeri Tq · Kodagu

The estate that opened its space, its cacao, and its kind hands to Shreya. The generosity that made this beginning possible.

Illustration by Rupesh Nanaiah

The art behind yāka

Rupesh
Nanaiah

The figure on every yāka wrapper is not a logo. She is a painting — a cacao harvester, rendered with extraordinary detail by artist Rupesh Nanaiah. His work captures the dignity and labour of the people who make the cacao possible. We are grateful to carry his art on every bar we make.

Harvested cacao at Kumaran Estate

Where it begins

Kodagu,
Karnataka

12.4244° N · 75.7382° E · Western Ghats · ~900m

Kodagu is coffee country. It is mist country. A place where the air carries tannin and the soil runs deep red. This is where Shreya makes yāka — an expression of this origin, rooted in its people, its landscapes, and its traditions. A humble beginning, in the right place.

Get in touch

Follow the journey
on Instagram

The best way to follow the life of the estate, the harvests, and each new batch. Message us there to order or ask about a visit — we reply personally.

@yakaartisanchocolate