Oisín Altena-Russell wants to spread the word on the wonders of cacao.

Irish-born, but Auckland-raised, Oisín has landed in Ōamaru, after studying and starting his cacao-based business in Dunedin.

Coko Lounge, a cafe which Oisín ran in Dunedin from 2019, with some friends, also created and sold a collection of cacao blends, which they produced themselves from Peruvian cacao.

“Over the last Level 4 lockdown, our lease was up for rent review and renewal, and it was like, ah, we’ll take this opportunity and step back.” 

Covid provided a good opportunity to “reassess” what he was looking for. Dunedin felt too busy, and one of Oisín’s friends, who he worked with, had already moved to Ōamaru, he said.

“The work that I do just kinda fit quite well with moving to somewhere like Ōamaru - a smaller community, people who are personable, a bit more relaxed, more rural, space to spread out.”

He moved in July last year, and bought his “pod”, from which he now sells his beloved cacao, along with manually pressed espresso coffee for those who still desire the caffeine hit.

The small caravan is set up in Tyne St, parked in front of the Easy Made Marmalade building, and has been operating about six weeks.

“I offer all the classic cafe stuff, but my point of difference is the cacao line - cacao elixirs that I serve, so that is raw cacao instead of cocoa - and cacao is the raw form of the seed - and that’s where all the nutrients are.

“So cacao is the greatest natural source of magnesium, highest plant-based source of iron, more calcium than cow’s milk per 100gm, tonnes of sulphates, zinc, selenium, potassium - arguably the most nutritionally dense food on the planet - most antioxidant-rich one by far - so really, really healthy.”

All Coko Lounge products have less than 5% sugar per serve, and low GI sweeteners - about a quarter of an apple’s worth of sugar in each drink, he said.

“And it makes you feel really good - so it’s not just a taste thing, cacao is a mood enhancer - it really perks you up. You’ve got raw serotonin, the precursors to dopamine, oxytocin, and anandamide, which is, like, the bliss molecule, I can go on and on.

“People compare it, in fact, to a runner’s high. Like you’ve done some exercise, you feel good and you’re on a kind of nice buzz.” 

Oisín said because cacao was not a caffeine hit, it could take the place of an evening hot chocolate, and even help with sleep, due to the presence of tryptophan and magnesium.

“You still have something that tastes like chocolate, but you’re focusing more on the health.”

He fell in love with cacao at first taste. 

“That’s honestly what it was. I went to a friend’s birthday party, and he was serving what they call ceremonial-grade cacao, and with that you actually do a bunch of breathwork and guided meditation - he was just doing it to celebrate. I just had an absolute blast.”

He did not have great past experiences with coffee, but can taste and feel the benefits of the raw cacao, which are cumulative.

“The more you have, the better you feel - so it, like, builds and builds and builds - so, with that I was kind of like, oh yeah, this lives up to the hype - I can definitely see myself getting into it.”

Coko Lounge uses Peruvian cacao, widely considered the best in the world, but had plans to use Samoan cacao.

The plans were halted due to Covid, but the team hoped to resurrect them this year, which Oisín was excited about.

Like coffee, cacao can be enjoyed in a number of ways, Oisín said.

The cacao blends which Coko Lounge have on offer for customers. PHOTO: Ashley Smyth

Coko Lounge retail and wholesale five different blends, and is working on another four, using ingredients such as medicinal mushrooms, chili, turmeric, and ginger. 

“Really just trying to do just as much variety as possible.”

The products are in 23 other stores and cafes around New Zealand, from Stewart Island to Waiheke Island, including Duty Free. 

“As fun as it is actually just hanging out here talking to people, that’s the direction I and the royal ‘we’ would like to move.”

Oisín said he is “holding down” the business for the others at the moment, while it is in “hibernation”.

“They all just kind of went, ‘let me know when you’ve got a job for me and I’ll jump right back in’.”

He packs the cacao in the caravan, in between making hot drinks.

The move to Ōamaru has been a positive one. He loves the slower pace of life, and how people have time to chat.

He is a “soft yes” to running for a place on the Waitaki District Council again, after an unsuccessful but enjoyable campaign in last year’s local body elections.  

“We’ll see how busy I am, come next election. I just thought it was a great way to get my face out there.”

Oisín is happy to share his knowledge about cacao with people who come by his caravan for a taste and a chat. He enjoys digging into the research, and studies into the product are ongoing.

“There’s just a massive market for healthy food - good food. 

“I think post-Covid, people are really paying attention to that sort of stuff, and understand the provenance of where their food came from, why it’s good for them, and digging a little bit deeper into that.”