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 […]

Geography has never been my strongest subject.  So even though I know that cocoa only grows within a band of 0-20 degrees of the equator, I struggle to identify which of the following countries does NOT both grow and craft chocolate and wine: The USA Bolivia Chile Australia The answer is Chile (in the USA, […]

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 […]

Many of the world’s greatest foods and drinks involve fermentation – think wine, coffee, beer, yogurt, bread, cheese and, of course, chocolate.  Life would be a lot less fun without the miracles that yeasts and bacteria perform in transforming grapes into wine, hops into beer and cocoa seeds into chocolate. This week’s blog post aims to explain […]

As we were melting in the UK’s mini heatwave, it seemed like a great time to explore the importance of heat in chocolate crafting.   Before we delve into the intricacies of roasting, grinding, conching and tempering chocolate (all of which rely on heat to work their magic on cocoa beans), some good news: savouring Craft Chocolate […]

This week’s blog post is a celebration of some super smart marketing by Icelandic Craft Chocolate makers Omnom thanks to their friendship with the actor Zac Efron and their awesome “bridge” bars.  Omnom are masters at “bridge bars”. We’ll explain this concept below, as well as try to tempt you to enjoy, and to share, some […]

Craft Chocolate aspires to enjoy the spectacular success story of Specialty Coffee.  The number of Craft Chocolate Makers over the globe has exploded in the last few years from less than couple of dozen to over a thousand (and the UK now has over fifty, up from less than five when we started CocoaRunners six […]

India doesn’t immediately spring to mind when one thinks of craft chocolate. Yet. But this is unfair and a misconception. Firstly, Indian culinary technology underpins the explosion of craft chocolate making over the last twenty years. Secondly more and more craft chocolate makers are exploring fine quality, heirloom cocoa varietals from India.  And thirdly India […]

For most of its history we’ve “drunk” chocolate.  And hot chocolate remains a favourite “night cap” for many kids and adults. Yet many people fear that eating, or drinking, chocolate in the evening will keep them up at night.  And one of the most common questions at our Virtual Tastings remains “does chocolate contain caffeine”. […]

Craft chocolate is all about savouring the distinct flavours, textures and tastes that chocolate makers and cocoa growers can coax from their beans.   We believe this is best done in pairs. Trying pairs of different craft chocolates together.  Discussing and sharing impressions with friends and partners.  And via pairings with other products to reveal unexpected differences. […]