KNOOPS KICKS OFF HOT CHOCOLATE SEASON WITH A PUMPKIN SPICE HOT CHOCOLATE FREE FROM ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURS
Wednesday, Onin.London visited the Chelsea Knoops store for a hot chocolate tasting experience and it was to die for.
Knoops (www.knoops.co.uk) is the UK’s first dedicated chocolate drinks brand, created by founder Jens Knoop. He has a passion for chocolate and the joy it can bring. His strong relationship with chocolate began in his childhood in rural Germany and in 2013, he decided to share his passion and opened the first Knoops store in Rye, East Sussex.
Jens Knoop, carefully selects the chocolates that feature in the chocolate library himself. He uses only fully traceable blends, so the brand knows which cooperatives contributed to each cup – alongside a number of single origins from a range of cocoa-growing regions, from Peru and Colombia, to Tanzania and Madagascar.
Jens has also spent the last nine years (about 10,000 hours) perfecting these drinks combining different percentage cocoas, with a range of milks and fruits, roots and spices. He named this process “Knoopology” – and it’s an ongoing journey, with new flavour combinations still being discovered, including the new Pumpkin Spice Blend.
We enjoyed tasting our way through the different percentages of hot chocolate and even got to try the newest drink, the delicious and naturally spiced Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate (8oz, £4.45). This was paired with the Limited Edition Toffee Apple Marshmallow (£1.50)! These will be available to purchase from the 30th September.
The recipe, which is free from artificial flavours, preservatives or sickly syrups combines ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice for a delicious warming drink symbolic of the turning of the leaves and return to chillier mornings and evenings. The drinks are available in store in Knoops’ branches in London (Chelsea, Kensington, Covent Garden and Richmond), Oxford, Rye and Brighton.
The pumpkin spice mix can be combined with a wide range of Knoops’ chocolate percentages to create a bespoke hot chocolate drinking experience, topped off with a limited edition toffee apple marshmallow. There are over 20 different chocolate percentages to select as a base, from a sweet, creamy 28% White all the way up to the deep, rich cocoa flavour of the 96% Extra Dark. In between, there’s a 34% Milk Chocolate which is a fine balance of rich cocoa and milk, with notes of caramel.
To bolster this, on Friday 30th September each storewill host a FREE Pumpkin Spice hot chocolate offer. Customers will need to sign up for Knoops emails, to get a special code for a free hot chocolate, in any store.
Knoops also has a diverse plant-based offering. All of the chocolates that are 54 percent and over are suitable for vegans and there are also six non-dairy milks from Minor Figures and Rude Health to choose from, including hazelnut, oat, soya, coconut and almond.
For those visitors who want to take their Knoops experience home, a range of products can be purchased in-store and online at www.knoops.co.uk, including a range of Chocolate Flakes (250g, £9.95), Knoops Cacao Tea (100g, £6.95) and a range of Gift Sets or gifting options that are perfect for the run up to Christmas.
Knoops photographs by Jamie Lau / Studio Lau
