Meet the North Vancouver Chocolate Shop Bringing Nama Chocolate to B.C.

As Valentine’s Day fast approaches, I find myself thinking a lot more about chocolate.

During my years in Japan, my friends and I would exchange friendship chocolates with each other as part of our Galentine’s celebrations. One of our favourite chocolates to share was a type of Japanese truffle called nama chocolate. Made from melted cacao and fresh cream, nama chocolate has a silky texture similar to the filling you would find in a French truffle. It was considered a seasonal item that could only maintain its delicate texture in cooler temperatures.

After moving to Canada, my encounters with nama chocolate became rare, limited to the occasional lucky find at a Japanese grocery store, and even rarer times when I had enough money to splurge on a box of Royce Chocolates. I assumed nobody made it locally—until I stumbled upon Coconama.

Run by Takanori “Taka” Chiwata and Kayako Hamamoto in North Vancouver, Coconama specializes in nama chocolate. They offer over 30 flavours ranging from the classic 70 percent dark chocolate to fun ones like salad (which I’ll get into later). While the chocolate you see in other shops tends to showcase a variety of browns, peek into Coconama’s display fridge and you’ll be met with a wide array of colours like pink, orange, green and blue.

Journey Into Chocolate

When I visit Coconama on a sunny afternoon, Hamamoto has just returned from a trip to Guatemala, where she visited a cacao farm to learn more about the history of cacao in the region. She eagerly shows me a small statue of the Mayan god of cacao that was gifted to her, and speaks about how, in some villages, cacao is still treated with reverence. For Hamamoto, chocolate is less a product and more a thread connecting Vancouver to Central America and Japan.

I ask, “Why did you choose to get into chocolate?”

“Oh, we didn’t choose it,” Hamamoto replies. 

“We didn’t get a choice,” Chiwata chimes in. “Human resources said, ‘You are chocolate.’ And that was it.”

Both Chiwata and Hamamoto majored in food science in university. They followed the well-worn path in Japan from graduate school into research jobs at the Japanese confectionery giant, Meiji. Hamamoto was drawn to the magical intersection of food and science and wanted to create new kinds of products, while Chiwata imagined himself developing protein supplements and sports foods under Meiji’s famous SAVAS brand. Instead, they were assigned to the chocolate division. There they spent nearly a decade immersed in cocoa—studying fermentation processes on farms and fine-tuning the texture and flavour of chocolate bars and various confections.

“But it’s better,” says Chiwata. “Meiji mainly focuses on chocolates and candies, so they had a lot of budget and resources for us to study and create new recipes. It was a blessing.”

From Japan to Canada

The turning point came when Hamamoto first visited a cacao farm for work. She realized how precious cacao beans are to the people who grow them and how little of that reality was visible from behind the walls of a large factory.

“I wanted to work much closer to farmers and consumers,” she tells me. “That’s why I thought about starting our own business and bringing cacao’s rich history to customers.”

Vancouver became the place where that idea took shape. Before starting their business, Chiwata and Hamamoto visited the city a few times and fell in love with the slower pace, access to nature and the less competitive feel compared to Tokyo. In December 2010, they opened their first shop, La Chocolaterie, in Richmond, introducing the region to ganache-style chocolates.

Over time, their brand evolved into Coconama, a name that fuses “cocoa” with “nama” (meaning fresh in Japanese), and nods to the melt-in-your-mouth ganache cubes at the heart of their business. When they started, they noticed that there was no real culture of eating nama chocolate in Vancouver and no expectation that chocolate could be colourful. But their jewel-toned cubes quickly caught the attention of Vancouverites at farmers’ markets and local events. They sold at the Shipyards Night Market for five years, eventually deciding to rebrand and relocate their store to North Vancouver, and the loyal customers they’d met at markets followed them across the bridge.

What Is Nama Chocolate?

When I ask how nama chocolate differs from regular chocolate bars in supermarkets, Chiwata breaks it down in simple terms. Traditional bars are essentially solids where cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar and sometimes milk powder are ground and moulded into a smooth, snappy bar. Nama chocolate, in contrast, is a water-based ganache where cocoa is mixed with cream or milk and emulsified into a soft, creamy truffle that stays tender and never firms up into the brittleness of a bar.

Classic flavours like coffee, Japanese sake and salted caramel provide a sense of familiarity for first-time customers at Coconama. But it’s in the more adventurous combinations where nama chocolate really shines.

The salad features five unique flavours—beets, avocado, kale, yam and tomato—all blended with a white chocolate base. The result? Vibrant chocolate truffles tinted with different colours that offer a lovely balance of tangy and sweet. Chiwata notes that children are particularly drawn to the rainbow appearance and end up happily chewing on bits of kale suspended in chocolate. While not every Japanese-inspired flavour thrives in Vancouver, such as banana and red bean, salad has remained a steady seller for more than 15 years, becoming one of Coconama’s signatures.

Connecting People Through Chocolate

Travel and research remain a crucial part of how Chiwata and Hamamoto think about their work. Although they don’t buy beans directly from farmers, they visit various farms and cacao-growing regions in Central America at least once a year. During her recent trip to Guatemala, Hamamoto visited various cacao farms and a local chocolate shop where the staff spoke passionately about cacao’s place in their culture.

“Cacao is more than just a product in these areas,” she said. “It’s treated like a deity or a sacred part of their daily lives.”

 

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One way Chiwata and Hamamoto connect their customers to the people and traditions surrounding cacao is through their monthly chocolate workshops. These workshops offer a brief history of cacao’s origins and why we should have a deeper appreciation for cocoa—both as an ingredient and as a cultural symbol. They hope people leave not only with boxes of nama chocolate but also with a sense of respect for what went into creating each piece.

“Our mission is to connect people with chocolate,” says Chiwata. “I think letting people learn about chocolate’s history and culture will make them incredibly happy, and I hope Coconama can become that kind of place for everyone.”

264 1st Street East, North Vancouver.
Monday, Wednesday to Sunday; 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
coconama.com