Born and raised between borders, from Laredo, Texas to her mother's childhood home in Mexico, Ashley grew up surrounded by her family's rich cultura and traditions. As a chocolate lover from day one, Ashley's favorite tradition was sipping on traditional Mexican hot chocolate while making tamales with her family. Inspired by the strong matriarchs in her life, Ashley started Hijita after being head chocolatier at Dandelion Chocolate. She sources her cacao directly from family farms & co-ops in southern México that are passionate about cultivating heirloom cacao through agroforestry systems. Hijita's first ingredient is always regenerative Mexican cacao, delicately sweetened, and enhanced with thoughtfully sourced botanicals.