Cocoa Encounters

26/11/2025

Congrats to , , and !! 👏👏

A new primary school workshop activity gave some very interesting results today! 🤔🤔🍫🍫

We were using craft chocolate bar packaging to learn about DT (design and technology) considering the branding, appeal, product protection, consumer information and environmental approach of the packs.

I took a bag full of different packages - about 60 in total - giving a random selection of packs to each of the 8 groups asking them to consider them as a group and choose the pack they judged the best.

5 of the chosen best packs were from Solkiki!!! - one girl said the pack she chose looked like “a party” I loved that reasoning! 2 were from Aroko Chocolate principally for the appealing use of colour, construction and making information inside. 1 was from for its style, strength and information about the process on the front.

There were 2 extras with special awards as one group couldn’t chose just one! So also chose an old pack from Bean Geeks (sadly no longer making) and which stood out because of the picture of the farmers on the back.

Great exercise…I’ll certainly be repeating that one!

21/11/2025

I thought I knew what good chocolate was… until I had my WOW moment 🍫✨

We’ve all had that first taste that changed everything — the bar that made us stop, smile, and think “… this is something else”

I shared mine in this reel a bar from I found in my local deli — now I’d love to hear yours.
👇
What was the chocolate that made YOU go “wow”?

If you share your WOW bars in the comments we can celebrate those amazing tastes and the people behind them and encourage others to seek them out.

20/11/2025

Because the best gifts are delicious and educational 🍫📚

Link in Bio to choose from a tasting box with video guidance to certified tasting courses.

Tasting boxes and micro-learning courses also available on

18/11/2025

It’s Tuesday and it’s week.

U is for Urubamba - a Peruvian river, an Amazonian tributary, and my first stop in a river-themed tasting being put together for my forthcoming chocolate book club and our reading of The Amur River by Colin Thubron.
🍫📖
Thubron journeys from west to east - at the age of 80! - tracing Asia’s lesser-known “Amazon” , so my pairings will follow suit, beginning in the Upper Amazon: birthplace of both the river’s might and of course Theobroma cacao.

So I’m starting with the Urubamba, rising in the Andes southeast of Cusco, flowing toward its meeting with the Apurímac to form the Ucayali River. (I was hoping someone had picked a Ucayali bar that I could tangent). The Urubamba valley is home to our beloved Chuncho cacao.

🇸🇪Today’s bar isn’t crafted in Russia or China (that would have been too much to ask!), but in Gothenburg, Sweden where the Göta River meets the sea—another river mouth.

📖Thubron’s journey starts… dramatically (no spoilers), and I’m hoping for something equally arresting here:

🍫The aroma already promises adventure: deep forest fruits, fleeting florals—something you could keep sniffing through miles of rough terrain.

On diving in: a green, herbal opening—blackcurrant leaves—that ripens toward purple fruit, and merging into an intense fruit loaf warmth , and finally surfacing into a gentle, shimmering sweetness that lingers, ebbs and flows.

A pretty good choice for a long journey!

More rivers to come for book club 🌊🍫📚

17/11/2025

12/11/2025

Do you know your chocolate?

If you ask people what the three types of chocolate are, most people will get it wrong – they will probably say white, milk and dark

But it’s not about the colour of the chocolate, its about the purpose:

There are three types:

Confectionery, Premium and Craft

You need to know this so that you can see through the marketing and find the chocolate that meets your needs

🍫a sweet treat

🍫🍫chocolate to make us feel better about ourselves

🍫🍫🍫or great tasting chocolate that challenges us to think about who has been involved in that flavour development process from tree to bar.

I’ve just written a blog about these three types using these three bars just to help remind us how craft chocolate is so different. You can access my blog from the links in the bio

or take a look at my short online chocolate education courses and tastings. Could be the perfect gift 🎁🎄

07/11/2025

Good to finish the week with some positive feedback.

I know budgets are tight for schools and that’s not going to change any time soon so I feel very privileged to be asked into any school to talk about chocolate and where the flavours come from and so I do my best to make sure they get the best experience…and the best local chocolate of course ! 😉

Thank you.

27/10/2025

Calling all chocolate professionals and enthusiasts.

If you’ve been thinking about studying chocolate tasting with IICCT (International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting) — here’s your next chance to study in the UK.

We start Thursday 19th March 2026.

🍫 Level 1 – A prompt start to a 1.5-day course including the FDQ-accredited exam
🍫 Optional (but unmissable!) visit to meet and see the work of Duffy Sheardown
🍫 Level 2 – Continue your chocolate journey from Saturday to Monday, with exams and finish by 4:30pm

Whether you’re a looking to refine your palate and gain recognition for your chocolate tasting skills or just want to dive deeper into the world of fine chocolate, this is the perfect opportunity to learn, taste, and connect.

📩 DM for details on the venue, travel, and accommodation arrangements.

27/10/2025