The heralded cocoa bean and taste for chocolate has a far richer history than one may imagine, going back to the Mayan culture. It was even used as currency in Nicaragua in the early 1500s. Today, true aficionados still understand chocolate’s worth.
Having experienced a chocolate tasting event myself a few years ago with Parisian born chocolatier Bertrand Espouy, chocolate is as much a specialist flavour from the utilised cocoa beans’ origin as those that can be found in a wine glass by sommeliers or a shot of espresso by baristas.
To pleasure the true taste of chocolate, Scotland’s capital Edinburgh is an unlikely location. Yet, it hosts one of the finest artisan chocolate shops. In the heart of Bruntsfield, Coco Chocolat is an organic chocolatier withan enchanting sense of stepping back in time. Enjoy the moment as you taste unique chocolate with carefully selected muscats, liqueurs, Italian Massimo coffee and loose leaf teas that complement the flavour.
Visually, you can discover the art and effort that has gone into each individual chocolate, which are hand-tempered on marble slabs, mixed withfruits, spices and peppers, before being delicately decorated by hand with edible paint. There are interesting combinations, from milk chocolate with caramel, pine nut and sea salt to dark chocolate with tobacco.
Specific selections have been inspired by historic design, such as the retro, burlesque themed Tattoo Love that pays homage to Betty Page. Each gift box is presented in standard jewellery box size and ‘designed to keep for longevity’.
Coco Chocolat has a divine offer to experience chocolate with refined taste buds, providing the chance to become a certified chocolate connoisseur where you can taste rare, single origin chocolates and understand the slow, considered process from bean to bar.
Chocolate tasting evenings begin in-store from 15 January, costing £20 for an hour’s most pleasurable education. If you wish to hand-temper chocolate on marble yourself, or create decadent rose creams with pure 100% organic rose oil topped with crystallised rose petals, then you may enroll in the one-day chocolate school, with classes of four to ensure individual attention, costing £145.
