Speciality Food Magazine -November/December 2025

8 @specialityfood I f you walk into almost any café in Britain today, you’re met with an encyclopaedia of hot drinks — a reflection of how far our café culture has evolved. Coffee drinkers can choose between a flat white, cortado, macchiato or mocha, but the options don’t end there. For the true aficionados, there’s a whole world of brewing methods to navigate — from slow-pour drip and V60 filters to French press, AeroPress, and cold brew, even nitro coffee, which is infused with nitrogen gas to create a naturally creamy, almost Guinness-like texture. Tea drinkers enjoy an equally vast menu: matcha whisked to order, fragrant chai, lapsang souchong, delicate oolong, and an entire rainbow of herbal infusions and botanicals. In many of the UK’s most ambitious cafés, hot drinks have become a form of self-expression and craftsmanship — each cup reflecting precision, provenance, and ritual. And yet, drinking chocolate has been left behind. In most cafés, it remains an afterthought — a sugary, milky powder stirred into hot water, often topped with marshmallows and whipped cream. It’s presented as a nostalgic treat for children rather than a serious drink for grown-ups. What should be rich, layered, and complex has instead been flattened into something sweet and kiddy. This is odd because the world of chocolate itself has been thriving. Over the last decade, British bean-to-bar producers have built a reputation for craft and quality that rivals anywhere in the world. Willie’s Cacao, founded by Willie Harcourt-Cooze, helped spark Britain’s fascination with single-estate chocolate more than a decade ago. Pump Street Bakery in Suffolk has become a cult name among food lovers for its small-batch bars made from ethically sourced beans, many with a distinctive malty richness born from the bakery’s breadmaking heritage. And Russell & Atwell have reimagined the humble truffle as a refrigerated, fresh chocolate experience — closer to patisserie than confectionery. If chocolate has grown up, then surely it’s time its liquid form followed suit. That’s already starting to happen. Hotel Chocolat has done more than anyone to bring drinking chocolate into the mainstream, thanks to its Velvetiser — a countertop machine that makes real chocolate drinks at home. It has turned the ritual of hot chocolate into something both premium and everyday, much like Nespresso did for coffee. Meanwhile, Knoops, founded in 2013 by Jens Knoop in the coastal OLIVER LLOYD CONSULTANT “The rise of drinking chocolate” town of Rye, East Sussex, has built a loyal following across the UK and beyond. Its concept of ‘Knoopology’ lets customers choose the percentage and origin of their chocolate — from a creamy 34% milk to an intense 100% dark —my preference is for the 68% dark. Knoops now has stores across the country, from Brighton to Manchester, as well as international outposts including one in Dubai, and it’s proving that hot chocolate can be every bit as nuanced and sophisticated as coffee. But perhaps the most exciting development is what’s happening at the artisanal end of the market. A new generation of makers is treating cacao with the same reverence that roasters bring to coffee. Full Power Cacao, which raised investment after appearing on Dragons’ Den, focuses on ceremonial-grade cacao designed for mindful drinking — rich, unsweetened, and full of natural complexity. Islands Chocolate, originally launched in 2018, cut its teeth crafting single-estate beans for Michelin-star kitchens such as those of Tom Kerridge and Heston Blumenthal, and is now scaling out into retail tin formats for cafés and homes alike. Bullion Chocolate, based in Sheffield, was one of the UK’s first true bean-to-bar producers. They source, roast, and craft their chocolate entirely in-house, working with single-origin cacao to reveal what they call the “hidden gold” of flavour — rich, layered notes that change with each harvest. Having built a reputation among chefs and chocolate purists, they’re now extending that same meticulous approach into drinking chocolate, giving people the chance to experience their bars in liquid form. And Harry’s Hot Chocolate, made in Cheshire, has built a following for its deeply flavoured blends like Tremendously Chocolatey and Outrageously Orangey. There are many more joining this space — small producers, often regional, who are embracing cacao as a premium, adult beverage. For me, the appeal of drinking chocolate isn’t just its taste — it’s the ritual. During a sabbatical in Mexico, I was struck by how normal it was to be offered hot chocolate alongside coffee at breakfast. Sometimes it was spiced with cinnamon or chilli, sometimes whisked until frothy, but always taken seriously — an adult drink, part of everyday life rather than an occasional treat. It made me realise just how much we’ve underappreciated chocolate as a drink in the UK. We’ve spent decades perfecting our coffee culture and reinventing our tea habits, but chocolate has quietly waited its turn. Now, with craft producers, premiummachines, and growing consumer curiosity, it finally feels like its moment has arrived. The only question is who will seize it — because the next revolution in hot drinks might just come from the bean we already know best. Why mid-strength matters A whole new category is being carved out in the drinks industry, propelled by customer demand At Speciality Food , we’ve already reported on the ever-expanding low and no alcohol sector, which is experiencing unprecedented high demand, further fuelling innovation. More Brits than ever are either eschewing alcoholic drinks when they go out, ‘zebra striping’ (alternating with soft drinks) or ‘bookending’ (starting and finishing an evening with non-alcoholic drinks. The trend has filtered into retail, becoming more than just the odd bottle or can here and there in the drinks aisle, as brands continue to premiumise and expand their ranges. What about mid-strength drinks though? If you haven’t already heard the term, now’s the time to familiarise yourself with it, because this new wave of products doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere, with launches into the burgeoning space including Quarter Strength, Maison Sassy, Shandy Shack and Decemb, spanning beer, spirits and wines. Earlier this year low and no alcohol specialist retailer and bar operator, Club Soda, put its clout behind mid-strength drinks brands, launching The Mid-Strength Collective, recognising the ongoing importance of this trend, and commissioning research from KAM Insights to demonstrate its commercial appeal. Data showed mid-strength drinks are being sought out more frequently as an alternative to full and alcohol- free options, with 50% of consumers saying they would prefer two mid-strength drinks over one full- strength when they’re out. Of those surveyed, 13% said they choose to ‘coast’ their evenings, drinking only mid-strength products to reduce their overall alcohol consumption. And 32% said they’d spend more time in venues offering these options, increasing to 40% amongst 25 to 34-year-olds. Laura Willoughby MBE, founder of Club Soda, says, “Ultimately, moderation does not have to be a binary choice between drinking and not drinking. The goal is to encourage a more intentional drinking culture – one where we pay attention to what we drink, not just when we choose to abstain from alcohol, but also when we choose to enjoy it. Blake Gladman, strategy and insight director at KAM said mid- strength isn’t just another category, it’s a movement. “Now is the time for businesses to adapt and lead the charge in shaping the future of mid- strength alcohol.” These are exciting times, agree mid-strength category leaders. Brad Crompton launched Session Spirit as a way to help people enjoy the taste/experience of full-strength gin at a lower ABV, saying he was inspired by the Mediterranean attitude towards slower, lighter drinking. He works with one of the UK’s oldest distilling families (who’ve crafted gin for more than 16 generations) to create a sessionable 25% ABV gin – so far the only mid- strength spirit to win awards in full-strength categories. And James Gundy was hot on the mid-strength trend, founding Small Beer in South Bermondsey, London, back in 2017. “We saw a gap between 0% ABV beers, which often miss the depth and complexity of a great pint, and stronger beers over 5%. Our answer was to create a range that sits between 2% and 2.8% ABV – beers that are full of flavour, refreshing, and perfectly balanced for moderation.” The brand’s beers are brewed to full strength, rather than being diluted, and in 2019 Small Beer became London’s first and only B Corp certified brewery, pioneering the world’s first Dry Floor Policy, reducing water usage to just 1.5 pints for every pint of beer brewed, compared to the industry average at the time of eight to 10 pints. For more information contact: louise.barnes@artichokehq.com 01206 508629 TAKE PART INOUR PRODUCT SAMPLING PROMOTION! We are looking for ten companies to offer a product sample to our readership. Get in touch for more details and costs. Are you a Producer? 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