February is always a tricky month. And this February looks as if it will be a tough one.  Christmas is long gone. Lockdown is still with us.  The weather is (most likely to be) grey.  But on the plus side, we have Valentine’s Day coming up (see here for some gift ideas).  The days are […]

Many people attempting Veganuary each year ask us: “Can I still eat chocolate?” Well, great news – you absolutely can! In fact, most of the chocolate in our library is vegan. Dark craft chocolate, so long as it isn’t a flavoured bar with a non-vegan ingredient, is perfectly fine for Veganuary. Be careful buying dark […]

This week at Cocoa Runners we’re all about Canada! This Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving, and we here at Cocoa Runners are certainly thankful for a lot that comes out of Canada. Any list of the world’s greatest Craft Chocolate makers will include the likes of SOMA, Palette De Bine, Qantu, Sirene and DesBarres (and some […]

Few industries have as powerful a discovery mechanic as music enjoys with radio DJs, mix tapes and now playlists. How else do you first come across a new band, a new album, a new song? Before the internet had come up with the “Viral Marketing” the cool kids were doing this for music via mix […]

One of our mantras at Cocoa Runners is that “Craft Chocolate tastes better, is better for farmers, better for the planet and also better for you”. It is pretty easy to “show” people that Craft Chocolate tastes better.  They just need to try some There are also LOTS of studies showing how direct, transparent trade leads […]

From having been “the food of the goods” (Theobroma Cacao), chocolate has, sadly, often fallen to being a commoditised, mass market ingredient in confectionery. In some ways the “commoditisation” and “mass processing” of food, of which chocolate has been subsumed, has been great. For most of history the majority of humankind has been at risk of […]

We’ve been really delighted by the support shown for both our weekly Wednesday “Welcome to the Revolution” Craft Chocolate Tasting and also our Thursday “Conversations on Craft Chocolate”.  Part of the fun of these tastings is trying eight (or more) very different craft chocolates that vary between dark, milk, stone ground to even 100% — and […]

Image credit: Bike List We have hosted over 100 Craft Chocolate Tastings!  A huge thanks for all your support, encouragement and kind words. Through these tastings we’ve discovered there are some aspects of savouring craft chocolate that are a bit like learning to ride a bike. And what a great theme to reflect upon given that it’s Father’s Day […]

Last Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.  Normally all of us involved in craft chocolate would be all over this.  But these aren’t normal times.  Here in the UK we’ve just completed our first month of “lockdown” and, unlike a few other parts of the world, we’ve no end in sight.  Earth Day […]

Hi there! First and foremost, we hope that you are all safe and well.  And we hope that while you are physically distancing, we can help you stay socially connected with our Virtual Home Tasting Boxes and Easter Egg making kits. The internet is full of theories on the origins of chocolate Easter Eggs, bunnies, […]