I n the heart of Kinsale , Co Cork , there’s a chocolate shop and cafe opposite the pier where the owners have a simple philosophy: they’ll only ever make hot chocolate with real, melted chocolate and powdered hot chocolate will never pass through the door.
It’s a more significant position than many of us might realise, with soaring cocoa prices in recent years prompting many hot chocolate vendors to save money (and horrify purists) by switching from melted chocolate to powder in their drinks.
Koko Kinsale, a family-run business founded by Frank Keane in 2012, is one of a number of Irish independent businesses that have committed to continuing to use melted chocolate.
As customers enjoy the chocolate shop and cafe in the seaside village, Keane works on the floor above perfecting his chocolate creations with an artistic flair developed from his previous work as a ceramicist.
Koko offers white, milk and dark hot chocolates, and they are the biggest seller in the cafe – just over half of its hot drink sales are hot chocolate, coming just ahead of coffee. A regular hot chocolate is priced at €4.50, with most customers aged 25-45.
“We would’ve never, ever even thought about using hot chocolate powder,” says Emily Keane, Frank’s daughter. “[When cocoa prices rose] it was a really tricky time and we’re kind of still suffering from it, to be honest. The price of cocoa only came down reasonably in the last couple of months.
“We stopped wholesaling, and we’re lucky because we can rely on our local business, and the business we’ve built online. We weren’t making a loss, but we were just about keeping our head above water.”
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On a quiet day, Koko Kinsale sells 25 cups of hot chocolate, but in busier periods the team sells about 200 a day. Last winter, Koko sold 10,300 hot chocolates and the Keanes expect that number to increase by 2 per cent this winter.
“For us, hot chocolate sales over the last few years have been growing massively,” says Emily. “I came on board to the business in 2018, and I’ve noticed hot chocolate sales growing more and more each year.
“Once people try our hot chocolates, they come back again because it’s a completely different flavour profile than when you have a powdered hot chocolate. And sometimes when we make our hot chocolates, we’ll sprinkle big shavings of real chocolate on top. There are big clumps of chocolate that sink to the bottom, and you get a lovely bit of chocolate at the end of a hot chocolate.”
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In Galway city, French chocolatier Truffle also crafts indulgent hot chocolates, chocolate treats and pastries. Visitors to its cafe can marvel at a wall of flowing melted chocolate, in an environment that feels like wandering into a chocolate-infused Parisian patisserie.
Founded by Alexandra Saivre and her husband Frederic Gervais, who also run the popular Le Petit Délice in the city, Truffle allows the couple to share their passion for chocolate.
“Some people ask if we use real chocolate in our hot chocolate, and when we tell them we do, it’s a great surprise for them,” says Saivre. “We just melt the chocolate in the milk. It’s not more difficult than making a hot chocolate with powder.
“Truffle specialises in chocolate, so it would’ve been crazy for us to ever use powdered hot chocolate. We use…