Time to start counting down to a craft chocolate Advent

Even though we are having an unseasonably balmy start to October here in the UK, it’s now time to start thinking about Christmas.

Yes, we are less than 10 weeks away! Less than 70 days until Christmas stockings need to be made ready.

And it’s less than six weeks to when you can start opening your advent calendar. So we are delighted to be launching a range of craft chocolate calendars. We’ve both the classic Zotter ‘Labooko single-estate mini bar calendar and their Handscooped bar calendar. We’ve also secured a small allocation of Zotter’s latest Advent Calendar; a smorgasbord of Handscooped chocolates, organic bonbons, drinking chocolates, solid chocolate bars, and mini creamy, filled Nashido bars. We’ve also managed to persuade Mikkel Friis-Holm to part with a few of his amazing ‘cube’ advent calendars. The Zotter Labooko and Handscooped bars will be shipping at the end of next week, and the Zotter “best of” and Friis Holm cube soon after; but you can order both from NOW!

Check out our advent calendar line-up →

To find out more about Advent, and how a custom of fasting established by Bishop Perpetuus over 1,500 years ago was transformed into today’s ‘advent calendars’, tap the link below:

Learn more about the history of Advent →

It’s a fairly extraordinary story that really comes alive in the early 1900s with German entrepreneurial smarts; transforming a tradition of lighting candles into gifting calendars with paper windows that opened up to reveal biscuits, cakes and cookies. Perhaps even more surprising is how modern is the tradition of ‘advent calendars’; President Eisenhower almost managed singlehandedly to launch the US love affair with them in the 1950s, but it really wasn’t until the 1990s that chocolate advent calendars became a regular staple.

And as you wait for Advent to start, if you are anywhere near Porto next weekend from Friday the 20th to Sunday the 22nd of October, please do come and say “hi” at the WONDERFUL WoW Chocolat Festival. You’ll find lots of our makers there too. And if Porto is a bit too far away for you, keep an eye on your inbox for some exciting craft chocolate activities happening closer to home soon.

Get tickets to Chocolat Festival Porto →

Finally, a HUGE thanks for all your support on the new website. Thanks for all your messages of support, all the new bars you discovered, and tasting kits you purchased. We are so grateful for your support for Cocoa Runners, and for the craft chocolate movement. If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out the website, please do give it a whirl, and please keep sending in your comments, suggestions and ideas.

As ever, thanks for your support.

Keep savouring!

– Spencer