Texture and Typicity in Coffee and Chocolate with James Hoffmann – London Craft Chocolate Fair 2026

About the event

What does ‘typicity’ mean in coffee and chocolate? If you try a coffee from Kenya or a chocolate bar from Guatemala, can you expect certain flavour notes? How does texture play into this? What can craft chocolate learn about typicity from coffee and what can coffee learn about texture from chocolate?

We’ll be discussing all of these questions and more, while tasting a series of paired coffees and chocolate. Join James Hoffmann and Spencer Hyman, bringing together their expertise from the worlds of specialty coffee and craft chocolate for a tasting, pairing and discussion. Expect a guided tastings of a series of coffees and craft chocolates, while you listen and join the discussion with Spencer and James.

This tasting is part of the London Craft Chocolate Fair 2026. See the full line-up of talks and tastings here. Your ticket will also grant you free access to the Chocolate Makers Market.

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.
• Attendees must be 18+ as alcohol will be served at some events. If you or your guest are under 18, please write to us beforehand to confirm if we can accommodate them at the tasting.
• 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.
• Your ticket will include entry to the Chocolate Makers Market (worth £5). When you book onto this tasting, we’ll send you a QR code for entry.
• You can find more information about the event and venue here.
• For any questions, please email [email protected]

About the London Craft Chocolate Fair 2026

For the fourth year running, Cocoa Runners are hosting their popular Craft Chocolate Fair on the 17th & 18th October 2026. The craft chocolate experts will host an indoor market with bean-to-bar chocolate makers from the UK and beyond, with a series of talks, tastings and pairings with experts from tea, coffee, olive oil, wine, beer and more.

The event will take place at the Fidelio Cafe and Concert Venue in Farringdon, London, running from 10-6 on Saturday 17th and 10-5 Sunday 18th. Free entry to the fair will be included in every tasting ticket. For those not attending a tasting, entry will cost £5.

About your hosts

Spencer Hyman

Few people know more about chocolate than Spencer. His love for craft chocolate began in the 90s when travelling to the US. His career has spanned everything from making cabbage-patch dolls in Asia to launching the first major online music discovery service, Last.fm. But in 2013, he decided it was time for the world to discover the world of craft chocolate. Today, he is a champion for craft chocolate makers all over the world. 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.

James Hoffmann

James Hoffmann has worked in coffee since 2003 and has built a career around sharing what he’s learned along the way. James won the World Barista Championship in 2007, and the following year co-founded Square Mile Coffee Roasters, a multi award-winning coffee company based in East London. Today, James is best known for his YouTube channel. where he posts videos on everything coffee-related from how-to guides and recipes to reviews, video essays, and mini-documentaries. He is also the author of two books: ‘The World Atlas of Coffee’ (2014, with a third edition being published in October 2025), and ‘How to Make the Best Coffee At Home’ (2022), a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.