York Cocoa Works News

Welcome to our news, thoughts and experiences in the world of cocoa and chocolate.

This blog is brought to you by Sophie, our founder, as she shares more about our Chocolate making journey and reflections on the industry and our chocolate making vision.

Our story so far has been full of lots of insights into the world of our favourite product as we discover there's so much more to learn in order to build and shape a chocolate industry we can be proud of.

York Cocoa Works is our open chocolate manufactory as we endeavour to build an open, accessible and transparent chocolate making facility. We welcome your thoughts and input so together we can make better chocolate

YORK COCOA WORKS NEWS

On the Search for Cocoa
Oct 01, 2024
I've just returned from the most amazing week exploring the cocoa industry of the Solomon Islands. Enormous thanks to the farmers and community of this beautiful set of Islands as well as the International Trade Centre who made the trip possible.
Bean to Bar Chocolate Making Bootcamp
Sep 13, 2024
We spent the week with the team at Cocoa Town in their factory centre in Atlanta, Georgia with cocoa farmers and aspiring chocolate makers sharing our chocolate insights in their Bean to Bar Bootcamp.
We're making Chocolate - come visit our new Chocolate Manufactory
Apr 01, 2018
We're excited to share our Chocolate Manufactory is now open and making chocolate!
Discovering our new neighbourhood!
Jan 10, 2018
  With work well underway at 10 Castlegate we've been getting prepared by discovering our...
It's All About the Cacao!
Nov 10, 2017
Our journey and adventure into chocolate making has been an interesting and long one, at times tedious and unnecessarily slow and at others overwhelming in choices, ideas and opportunities.
The end of an era and the start of a new chapter
Sep 01, 2017
Every so often I come across a memento of one of our old products, a...

COCOA AND CHOCOLATE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Some of our thoughts and observations of the latest industry happenings
Is there such a thing as the "perfect" chocolate bar?
Aug 30, 2025
Did you see this news about the quest for “perfect” chocolate? For the thousands of...
Catch us on The Food Program
May 17, 2025
This Easter we were delighted to welcome BBC Masterchef personality Leyla Kazim exploring, unsurprisingly chocolate!  Leyla explored our chocolate making process at York Cocoa Works as well as the many chocolate celebrations taking place as part of York Chocolate Festival before heading on up the road to discover a chocolate brand that's been fully embracing the "Dubai" Chocolate bar craze! 
Building A Meaningful Business
Feb 25, 2025
Our journey has been everything but a straight road! Looking back on it makes a...

THE CHOCOLATE CULTRALIST

Exploring Chocolate heritage from York and other consuming influences
Chocolate Maker vs Chocolatier: What’s the Difference and Why Does It Matter?
Jun 01, 2026
Chocolate maker and chocolatier are not the same thing — and understanding the difference changes how you think about every bar you eat. Here's what sets them apart, and why it matters.
Why York? The Geography of a Chocolate City
May 26, 2026
Of all the cities in Britain, why did York become the chocolate capital of the world? The answer lies in geography, trade, Quaker values, and the remarkable people who shaped a city — and an industry.
It’s not Terrys! It’s ours!!!
Jul 13, 2025
Many years ago I had a job to organise the factory closing party at the Terry’s Chocolate Factory - the owners wanted everyone to have been removed into the car park so they could lock the factory behind them so no one could steal or break things!

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