Cocoa Runners
Craft Chocolate Christmas Fair
On 2nd and 3rd December, Cocoa Runners are celebrating the best Christmas chocolate in the world with a Craft Chocolate Christmas pop-up!
Join us for this free-to-attend, two day Christmas Craft Chocolate Fair in London for one weekend only in December. The fair is taking place from 11-5 on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd December at Fidelio in Farringdon, a music venue, cafe, and restaurant. Bean-to-bar craft chocolate makers from across the UK, including Pump Street, Duffy’s, Tosier, Chocolarder, and Dormouse, will be there to share their festive bars, drinking chocolate and Christmas gifts with you. Alongside the free fair, we’ve also scheduled ticketed talks from experts in wine, cheese, music, health and of course, craft chocolate, including talks from guest speakers James Hoffmann and Tim Spector. We can’t wait to see you there!
Full Schedule
Alongside the talks and tastings, we’ll also have a load of UK-based chocolate and wine makers at stalls to share their festive products with you and get you feeling Christmassy! The fair is free-to-attend, and the makers will be there all day from 11am to 5pm to chat with you, and help you choose the perfect chocolate to stock up on or gift this festive season. We’ll also be there, selling festive bars from the makers who couldn’t make it. So come and have a chat with us – we’re looking forward to seeing you there!
Saturday 2nd December
11am – Coffee and Chocolate with James Hoffmann
James Hoffmann is a coffee expert, former World Barista Champion and Co-founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters. He’s also a craft chocolate fan and has been a subscriber since the early days of Cocoa Runners. In this talk, he will join Spencer to discuss the similarities between Specialty Coffee and Craft Chocolate, what he learnt at the Penny University of Coffee and how this may be relevant to Craft Chocolate, and they will talk about how they enjoy pairing chocolate with coffee. And as part of this discussion, they’ll share how they savour both coffee and chocolate – and you’ll be able to taste alongside this with some of Square Mile’s Coffee and James’ favourite bars to savour.
12pm – Family-friendly chocolate tasting
Join our very own Nick Saxby for this family-friendly chocolate tasting. Learn about how chocolate is made, see a real cocoa pod and, most importantly, taste it for yourself! Children and adults of all ages are welcome to join, although we’d recommend the event for children aged 8+.
2pm – Cheese and Chocolate, with Neal’s Yard Dairy
Bronwen Percival is an expert on all things cheese. Not only is she the Cheese Buyer for Neal’s Yard Dairy, she instigated a biennial conference on the Science of Artisan Cheese and served on the editorial board of the Oxford Companion to Cheese. In this talk, she will join Spencer Hyman to discuss flavour, terroir and fermentation in cheese, comparing this to craft chocolate. There will be four cheeses to taste (as well as some chocolate of course) at the talk, which will last 45 minutes with time for questions. Signed copies of Bronwen’s book will be available to purchase, and we’ll include a free bar with every book bought.
3pm – Cocoa Runners’ Christmas Chocolate Tasting
In this festive tasting, we’ll discuss ways to understand the difference between taste and flavour, astringency and bitterness, and different textures, all with Christmas-themed bars! We’ll also take you on a guided tour of how chocolate is grown and crafted, delving into the wacky history and socioeconomic impact of chocolate along the way. And of course, you’ll be able to experience an amazing way to try some chocolate that not only tastes better, but is also better for you and better for the planet.
4pm – Wine and Chocolate tasting with Corney & Barrow
The perfect pairing! We’ll taste three different wines with paired chocolates in this 45 minute tasting on Saturday 2nd December, while also exploring many of the similarities in savouring and crafting both great wines and fine chocolates. Hosted by Rebecca Palmer from Corney & Barrow, and Spencer Hyman.
Sunday 3rd December
11am – From Bakery to Chocolate: The Pump Street Story
Joanna Brennan, co-founder of Pump Street Bakery and Pump Street Chocolate, will join us to share the Pump Street journey – from artisan bakery to craft chocolate. Learn about how they developed their famous bakery inclusion bars (including their new bar, Cookie Chip!) and taste some of their bars and baked goods.
12pm – Savouring and Scoffing with Professor Tim Spector
Tim Spector OBE is an award-winning scientist, author and Professor in Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London. He has written multiple books about nutrition, health and the human microbiome, and is also a huge fan of craft chocolate! In this talk, Tim and Spencer will explore the health benefits of craft chocolate, and the power of savouring – and of course, they will share some chocolate for you to taste. There will also be time at the end for questions, and an opportunity to buy signed copies of Tim’s books.
1pm – Chocolate and Tea Tasting with Tim D’Offay from Postcard Teas
Tim D’Offay from Postcard Teas is one of the UK’s fine tea experts. Over 30 years ago while living in Kyoto, Tim became fascinated by tea culture and the tea growing areas around the city. He soon started to explore the tea traditions of Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong as well. These experiences led him to start importing tea in the late 1990s. Tim has written three books on tea and we are delighted to host him for this talk with Spencer Hyman, to discuss tea and chocolate. Many people think of wine or coffee as a pairing for chocolate and overlook tea – but fine tea and fine cacao pair beautifully together. Join us to taste and explore the relationship between tea and chocolate in this 45 minute talk.
2pm – Cocoa Runners’ Christmas Chocolate Tasting
In this festive tasting, we’ll discuss ways to understand the difference between taste and flavour, astringency and bitterness, and different textures, all with Christmas-themed bars! We’ll also take you on a guided tour of how chocolate is grown and crafted, delving into the wacky history and socioeconomic impact of chocolate along the way. And of course, you’ll be able to experience an amazing way to try some chocolate that not only tastes better, but is also better for you and better for the planet.
3pm – Live Music and Chocolate Tasting with Professor Barry Smith
In this special tasting, we will explore the world of music and chocolate by tasting some bars (along with a glass of wine or prosecco!) alongside different cello music, played by Mika Hyman, to see how different music affects the way we taste each bar.
4pm – Wine and Chocolate Tasting with Corney & Barrow
The perfect pairing! We’ll taste three different wines with paired chocolates in this 45 minute tasting on Saturday 2nd December, while also exploring many of the similarities in savouring and crafting both great wines and fine chocolates. Hosted by Rebecca Palmer from Corney & Barrow, and Spencer Hyman.
Meet the Makers!
Alongside our scheduled talks and tastings on Saturday 2nd December and Sunday 3rd December, we’re also hosting a free-to-attend Christmas Craft Chocolate Fair with chocolate and wine makers from all over the UK. The makers will have their very own stalls to share their festive bars, drinking chocolate, and Christmas gifts with you from 11-5 on Saturday and Sunday.
Whether you’re looking to stock up this Christmas season, or searching for a festive gift for your loved ones, come and meet the makers to learn more! We’ll also have our own stall selling festive bars from the makers who couldn’t make it, and to chat with you about all things chocolate.
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Dormouse
Dormouse Chocolate is Manchester’s first bean-to-bar chocolate maker, and was started by Isobel Carse in her home kitchen in December 2014. Inevitably, Dormouse outgrew its small kitchen space, and has since moved its operations to its own small-scale chocolate factory. Dormouse will be selling their limited edition Christmas products at their stall, including a Ginger and Candied Orange White bar, a Tangerine, Cinnamon and Cherry bar, and their classic Speculaas bar.
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Pump Street Chocolate
Pump Street Chocolate originally started as an idyllic countryside bakery in Orford, Suffolk. About a decade later, Chris Brennan and his daughter Joanna decided to delve into crafting award-winning chocolate, and have since won numerous awards for both their chocolates and their innovative packaging. Pump Street’s Christmas range includes their Panettone Dark bar, Gingerbread Dark bar, Maple Pecan dark milk, and a dark milk Father Christmas Figure. They’ll also be selling their very own hot chocolate!
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Chocolarder
Chocolarder, founded by Mike Longman, crafts its chocolate in Falmouth, Cornwall. Chocolarder’s exciting line of fine single-origin bars and delightfully innovative locally-inspired inclusions use only top quality ingredients that succeed in doing better for the environment and the communities at their source. Chocolarder will be selling a range of festive products at their stall, including their Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh bar, their limited edition Rosemary Sea Salt bar, their Christmas Chocolate Selection Box of truffles, and their delicious Gingerbread Hot Chocolate powder.
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Charlotte Flower Chocolates
Charlotte Flower Chocolates is based in Highland Perthshire in Scotland. Charlotte is a forester by training and experience, so spends a lot of her time foraging and discovering new, wild flavours to combine with her chocolate. Charlotte Flower Chocolates will be selling individual bars, bar bundle gifts, and boxes of their delicious caramel treats.
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Duffy's
Duffy Sheardown has only been making chocolate since 2008, but his bars have quickly become renowned as some of the best in the world. In fact, just three years after starting the business, his Honduras Indio Rojo bar won the prestigious Academy Of Chocolate “Golden Bean” award for the best bean-to-bar chocolate in the world. Alongside their year-round bars, Duffy’s Chocolate will be selling their Christmas range, which includes a wonderful gift selection of plain dark and milk chocolate bars from a number of different origins.
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Tosier
Deanna Tilston launched Tosier in Suffolk in 2017 as part of her personal journey to learn about and craft great-quality chocolate. This endeavour has turned into an award-winning chocolate maker dedicated to giving farmers a fair price as part of a transparent and traceable supply chain. Tosier will be selling a range of festive dragées at their stall, alongside their year-round bars and chocolate drops.
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Corney & Barrow
Established in 1780, Corney & Barrow is one of the oldest independent UK wine merchants. Having worked with both Corney & Barrow and Rebecca, the head of the Merchanting Buying Team, for a number of years, we've discovered some amazing wine and chocolate pairings! As well as running wine and chocolate tastings, they'll be selling their incredible wines at their stall. Whether you're looking to stock up for the Christmas period, or for gifting, their team will be there to chat with you.
More chocolate tastings
Join or gift a virtual tasting
If you can’t join us in London for the pop-up, you don’t have to miss out! We regularly host craft chocolate tastings online via zoom. Our expert hosts will guide you on a journey, from bean origin, the makers’ story, right through to the sound, texture and taste of the bar.
Cocoa Runners Club
Get craft chocolate from the best makers on the planet.
Subscribe to the Cocoa Runners Club to get a selection of the world’s most sensational craft chocolate each month, plus these exclusive benefits:
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10% off all purchases
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Member priority tastings
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+1 to one tasting a year
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Personalised recommendations
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Free chocolate preservation pouch
