Page 22 - APPD - Something's_Brewing_Jan_Feb23

www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk
Vol.28 | January/February. 2023

Hot Chocolate Time

How do you like to serve your hot chocolate drinks?

The fashions and trends of serving hot chocolate have been evolving over the years and the
quality, along with the choice of drinks has exploded during that time.

The growing, harvesting and production of cocoa has been changing as well, and this has enabled suppliers to offer
a wider variety of products to produce hot chocolate.
So, where do you start if you are planning to serve hot chocolate to customers.

As with your quality coffee you need to consider several factors including.

Single origin – Flavour Profiles

Like coffee, cacao and its by-products, cocoa and chocolate,
have a wide range of flavour notes and textures (or mouthfeel)
which are affected by where it is grown and how it is
processed and roasted. Less of a consumer trend in hot
chocolate, independent coffee shops are keen to display their
quality credentials across their entire beverage range. Allergens

Focusing on the flavour profiles and sourcing stories of single The trend is the concern around allergens and
origin hot chocolates is an effective way to indicate a point of how to message around these when it comes to
difference from High Street chains, as well as reinforce those hot chocolates. The main allergen is soy as most
premium credentials. chocolate contains a soya emulsifier.

Another allergen to consider is MILK. Many
suppliers (including Kokoa Collection) have their
products registered with the Vegan Society. The
exception will always be white chocolate. There

are also some hot chocolates entering the
market that use OAT milk which is an allergen
too.
No Sugar Debate

Due to the level of sugar in retail chocolate bars, consumers are concerned about
the sugar content in hot chocolate. For good quality hot chocolate, no-sugar is a not
trend in chocolate, its more about high cocoa content. However, consumers are
increasingly concerned about sugar levels and chocolate companies like Hotel

Chocolat are using this trend to highlight the lower sugar levels of high-quality
eating chocolate, which then translates into the demand for promoting the same in
high quality hot chocolate. Consumers are still learning that high cocoa content
means lower sugar levels, so this message remains an important trend.