Chocolate Origins

Every bar of chocolate starts a long way from the Highlands.

Before it is tempered, moulded, filled and wrapped in gold foil at Cocoa Bothy, chocolate begins with cocoa pods growing in warm, tropical climates. Ecuador, Ghana and the Ivory Coast are the main sources for the chocolate we work with.

Inside those pods are cocoa beans, and those beans are where the story starts.

From cocoa pod to chocolate

Cocoa beans are harvested from cocoa pods, then fermented and dried.

Fermentation is one of the most important stages in developing chocolate flavour. After that, the beans are dried to reduce moisture, selected for quality, roasted, cracked and refined.

Through grinding, conching and careful blending, cocoa becomes the smooth chocolate used by chocolatiers.

That journey is why chocolate can taste fruity, nutty, creamy, bitter, caramelly, roasted or floral before a single filling is added.

Chocolate has a memory of where it came from.

What makes couverture different?

At Cocoa Bothy, we work with Belgian couverture chocolate.

Couverture is chocolate made for professional chocolate work. It is designed to be tempered, moulded, shelled, capped and turned into filled bars, bonbons and tablets.

When tempered properly, couverture gives chocolate its shine, snap and smooth melt.

That glossy finish is not an accident. It comes from careful temperature control, polished moulds and a bit of kitchen witchcraft.

The legal kind, obviously.

The chocolate we choose

We choose Belgian couverture for its flavour, reliability, mouthfeel and beautiful finish.

Our core milk chocolate is creamy and caramelly. Our white chocolate is milky, smooth and vanilla-led. Our dark chocolate sits around 60% cocoa for a richer, deeper finish.

We also use caramel-toned Gold chocolate and, from time to time, Ruby chocolate with its naturally fruity character.

We do not name every supplier publicly, but we are proud to be clear about the type of chocolate we use and the role we play.

Our craft is in the choosing, tempering, moulding, filling, flavouring, wrapping and finishing.

Cocoa Horizons

Some of the couverture chocolate we use is connected with Cocoa Horizons, a programme that supports cocoa-growing communities and works to improve farmer livelihoods, productivity and responsible cocoa practices.

For us, sourcing is about choosing quality ingredients carefully and continuing to improve where we can.

We are a small business, not a global sustainability department with a forklift and a clipboard, but we do want our choices to be thoughtful, honest and moving in the right direction.

Local flavour inspiration

While cocoa begins far from Scotland, Cocoa Bothy is rooted in the Highlands.

We work with ingredients and inspiration closer to home too, including Isle of Skye Sea Salt and Loch Ness Honey Co.

Our flavours often come from the landscape around us: sea salt, berries, honey, warmth, weather, wildness and the sort of cosy comfort you want after being battered by horizontal rain.

A chocolate bar can begin with a cocoa bean.

But by the time it becomes Cocoa Bothy, it has picked up a bit of Highland soul.