Savour Around the World: Rare Beans & Hard-to-Find Bars

About the event

How do makers and farmers discover and cultivate rare beans? Join Spencer Hyman in this unique guided tasting where you have a chance to travel around the world with rare and hard-to-find chocolate bars that you wouldn’t stumble across every day. Come along with us as we explore the environmental and social reasons for these lesser known bean origins, from bioterrorism in Brazil and hand pollination in Nicaragua, to bean hunting in the Amazonian basin. For too long, big chocolate has consolidated and commoditised cocoa bean supply, leading to farmer impoverishment, deforestation, and bars which are made scoffable with sugar, salt, fat, and other additives. Craft chocolate, instead, is trying to celebrate the bean flavour, growers, farmers’ incomes, and consumers’ health. Join us to savour some rare bars from Hawaii to Taiwan, Peru to Brazil, and Thailand to Nicaragua.

The tasting will run from 12:15-13:00 on Sunday 12th October, 2025 at the Fidelio Cafe, Farringdon and this ticket also includes free entry to the Craft Chocolate Fair after the tasting, from 13:00.

Important info:

• Tickets are non-refundable. If you purchase tickets but cannot make the event, please contact us and we’ll see what we can do.
• Please arrive five minutes before the event is due to start.
• The tasting will run for approximately 45 minutes.
• If you have any dietary requirements or allergies, please let us know. We will do our best to provide alternatives where possible. Please note, we may not be able to cater for severe allergies, as many events will be taking place throughout the day in the space and we cannot guarantee there will be no cross-contamination. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us and we will do our very best to accommodate you.
• The tasting will take place downstairs in the main tasting room, as part of the Cocoa Runners Craft Chocolate Fair. To enter the tasting, please join the second queue outside the building on the right hand side, without entering the fair, and leave time after the event to explore the craft chocolate market upstairs and meet makers from across the UK and beyond.
• For any questions, please email [email protected]

About Spencer Hyman

Spencer Hyman is a craft chocolate expert and the co-founder and director of Cocoa Runners. Spencer hosts chocolate tastings and education courses around the world, judges for international chocolate awards, and he often appears on TV, media and at conferences, including Sunday Brunch, World Cocoa Conference, Great Taste Awards, Society of Flavourists, International Wine Challenge, Barista Connect, Academy of Chocolate and more. For anything from the history of chocolate to the science of taste and flavour, Spencer is always on the hunt for new insights and expertise; he seeks out for great new craft chocolate makers and farmers, exploring how cocoa is grown and crafted — and understanding more about flavour, and how craft chocolate pairs with other great craft experiences like wine and coffee.

About the Cocoa Runners Craft Chocolate Fair 2025

For the third year running, Cocoa Runners are hosting their ever-popular Craft Chocolate Fair on the 11th and 12th October, 2025. Meet craft chocolate makers from across the UK and beyond at the indoor market, and join a series of talks, tastings and experiences in our beautiful tasting room. The events will take place at the Fidelio Cafe and Concert Venue in Farringdon, London from 10am-5pm.

Following the success of the past two Craft Chocolate Fairs and previous sold-out events at Canopy Market, this year’s Fair will see even more bean-to-bar chocolate makers bringing their chocolate to London, including Chocolarder, Friis Holm, Pump Street, Choco Del Sol, Bare Bones, Neary Nogs, Fjak and more.

Ticketed talks and tastings will take place across both days. Due to the popularity of previous years, we’ve now introduced free, pre-bookable tickets; they will guarantee you entry to the fair during your time slot without queuing.