Coco on Broughton

I’ve never been a huge chocolate fan. But I am a huge coffee drinker. Coffee and chocolate always go together well and I love the fact that two doors down from Artisan Roast specialist coffee shop is Coco’s specialist chocolate shop. You can even buy an Artisan Roast Espresso chocolate bar.
What I do know is that pretty much everything I’ve tasted from here as been incredibly good or at the very least an interesting experience — which is a good thing. They sell chocolate bars of all manner of flavours (haggis anyone?); I can’t resist the chilli chocolate which I’m happy to say has a bit of kick.
I almost always come in here when buying a gift for someone, and almost always leave with something for myself. You can theoretically sit in here for coffee (or probably hot chocolate more appropriately) but it’s small and I always go up the road. They sell chocolate in nicely wrapped bags which make for nice presents that look a little more handmade. At Christmas they have a variety of special flavours such as ‘Christmas Spice’ or ‘Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh’.
I don’t buy artisanal chocolate very often so I don’t know how much it should cost. Some of the chocolate here causes me to hesitate a bit because it’s always a bit more expensive than I am expecting. Especially the boxes of chocolate which look exquisite but I’ve never felt flush enough to actually buy some. The small bags and bars seem reasonable at under £5 and are great stocking fillers.

Huge selection of imaginative and unusual flavours, and very high quality chocolate, both in bar and truffle form. My favourites include the chilli praline truffle and the salted caramel and pine nut truffle.
They’ve recently added ice-​cream to their range. My husband loves the (vegan) spicy chocolate orange sorbet.
He’s also a big fan of their rose and black pepper hot chocolate.

I’m afraid I’m going to have to move in …
It all started with the chocolate connoisseur evening. Now I can’t stop thinking about all that chocolate in various forms of bars, buttons, sweets, nuts, raisins, hot chocolate …
This ticks all good chocolate boxes, correction make that epic! It also ticks local and indie boxes too.
I bought about 8 bars, all different flavours with cool graphic wrappers. I’ve just had the honey milk chocolate — which was divine and very honeyeee! I’m not having these bars all to myself, I am in fact sharing them with the Husband, so fear not!
Just find me in their cupboard, waiting to be that midnight fairy that eats all the chocolate! ;)

I stopped here for the 4^th stop on the Chocolate Tour of Edinburgh last Saturday. Coco on Broughton is a tiny independent chocolate shop with a lot of character! Our tour guide told us that they are completely organic and made fresh each day. I sampled the peanut butter truffle when I was there and it was amazing, very flavourful! All their chocolate had interesting flavour combinations (rose and black pepper, gin and tonic, haggis spices!!) and they sold authentic hot chocolate. I didn’t buy anything from the shop — it’s quite expensive and I’d already bought some chocolate that day — but I’m sure I’ll be back to try some soon! The chocolate covered cherries are on my radar!
The girl in the shop was friendly and helpful, while our tour group were in the shop a difficult customer was taking up her time, of which she was very apologetic!

I love good chocolate, and Coco makes some great chocolate!
I came in here after my coffee adventure just two doors down, and when I was told that the hot chocolate they make (which sounded fantastic) came from here, I had to check it out.
The store is small, but everything inside looked amazing. I really just wanted to buy as much as possible. However, I restrained myself to dark chocolate almonds (because nuts and chocolate are the best combination), chocolate chili discs (because chocolate and chili are the second best combination), and a package of cardamom and cinnamon hot chocolate mix (because I’m addicted to anything with cardamom).
I haven’t tried the discs or the hot chocolate, but if they are anywhere close to the perfection the almonds were, I’m not worried at all. And if it is perfection, it turns out they do mail order, so I know I can still have access even if I live hundreds of miles away.

I had the genuine pleasure of attending one of COCO’s tasting evenings in their new Broughton Shop, and am pleased to report that I walked away from it richer in both knowledge and stomach contents. The instruction was skilled, the tastings well spaced and timed, and the chocolate was, of course, plentiful.
We were treated to the entire spectrum of chocolate, from raw ‘nibs’ and a hunk of cocoa butter, to highly refined and polished (apparently, yes) finished product. There was plenty of exposure to ‘inferior’ chocolate, and we left with a keen eye for the dual coco demons of sugar crystallisation and heat bloom (woe-​betide anyone who attempts to pass a substandard product off on THIS Qyper).
Since our class, we have already returned for a hot chocolate (namely the fiery chilli blend) and plan on making this shop a regular haunt when venturing over to Broughton street. Not cheap, but highly recommended for all who claim to appreciate the finer pleasures Edinburgh has to offer!

I attended a qype event here recently and WOW if you love chocolate this is the place for you. I had no idea that your run of the mill chocolate is made with vegetable fat (yuk) which is what gives you the coating on your mouth. Of course, Coco’s chocolate is made with cocoa butter instead which melts at body temperature and is much better for you. We also tried some standard chocolate and then their own chocolate the difference was amazing.
I am normally a fan of dark chocolate but since the event, I have honestly not been able to stop thinking of how amazing the white chocolate was. I would totally recommend their hot chocolate too the rose and black pepper was so good!
The shop also looks beautiful and a great place to buy a gift or stop for a hot chocolate.
I’ll be back soon again for a chocolate fix! :-)

Heading along to the qype event at coco on brought on street I was filled with a mixture of excitement and slight nerves (I love chocolate but have never enjoyed the darker variety). The next hour or so passed in a haze of chocolate glory, with samples of the most amazing hot chocolate I have ever tasted followed by a history of chocolate and more eating! We compared coco’s chocolate with more famous branded bars and there is no comparison! I will never be buying cheap brands again-​much better for my taste buds and waistline to spend a little more on a smaller quantity of real chocolate. All in all a great night and I’m only upset that the credit card machine wasn’t yet working so I wasn’t able to buy anything but I will definitely be back!

Attended this cosy little shop for the first time for the Qype event. I really liked the off kilter decoration and it had a very warm, cosy atmospherealthough it was a little on the small side.
The general manager took our event and she was incredibly knowledgeable about her products, the store and the historical connection behind chocolate. Fantastic presentation skills too. Good job!
We tried various pieces of chocolate, ranging from the base chocolate to the cacao nibs to Cadburys. Trust me, it is surprising how noticeable the difference between ‘real’ chocolate and Cadburys is!
I will definitely be back here as Cocos provide a niche product which would go down well as a treat/​gift.
4 Badger stars.

A great night was had by all who attended the Chocolate Connoisseurs Qype evening.
We learnt all about the background and history of chocolate with numerous tastings to distinguish the differences between different types of chocolate and how to actually taste it (yes there is an art to it, with some people actually being able to distinguish the country of origin just from the taste!). We were also given our very own Chocolate Connoisseur Certificate at the end of the evening.
As someone who isn’t a big fan of dark chocolate, usually finding it too bitter, I was pleasantly surprised to find it doesn’t always have to be bitter and is actually rather nice I have been converted! My favourite flavour though, and something I would have been unlikely to try had I not attended this event, was certainly the rose milk chocolate which was divine, melted in your mouth and reminded me of Turkish Delight. We also tried some hot chocolate which was truly amazing and I will certainly be popping back in to try some more of these and work my way through the flavours.
The shop is pretty tiny but packs so much deliciousness into it and in addition to the tasty chocolate, the packaging is gorgeous too. There are a few seats available for those who want to sit in and sample the hot chocolate, space is limited but you can always buy a box of the hot chocolate to make at home too so you can have it whenever you wish.
I’m looking forward to my next visit already :-)

Great Qype event at Coco on Broughton Street. Ten would be connoisseurs, eyes aglow with the childlike delight only chocolate brings, learnt all about chocolate tonight! :o)
From the growing of the cocoa bean itself right up to the difference between commercially produced and real chocolate, we were exposed to a world of chocolate I never knew existed and can’t quite understand why I never did.
The chocolate is superb, so many different flavours to try. Our host was lovely, with an extraordinary knowledge of chocolate, answering all our questions and entertaining us with chocolatey tales.
I can’t guarantee I’ll never again grab a bar of whatever’s handy but I have a much better appreciation for real chocolate and the skill and processes that are involved and I’m much more willing to pay the extra pennies for some good proper chocolate. You wouldn’t believe the difference!
I’d never been to coco before but I can definitely say I’m coming back! :o)

Could Broughton Street possibly get any better? It turns out, it can, with the newly opened Coco on Broughton.
Coco’s have their original store in Bruntsfield, aptly named ‘Coco of Bruntsfield’. Luckily (ish) it’s not somewhere I normally pass on a day-​to-​day basis and if I ever wanted any Coco chocolate (which I often do) I’d have to take a wee trip across the Meadows. You can read my original review of if here:
But after wandering out of Artisan Roast one sunny Sunday, chance would have it I looked right, down the hill, instead of back up and spied the Coco sign which I know too well. «Weneedtogotherenow!!!» I said (perhaps that had something to do with the 2 cups of Artisan coffee.)
It turns out it had opened that very day. Much like it’s Bruntsfield counterpart, it’s quite snug inside although perhaps has a little more floor space. There is a small bench that you can sit /​perch at for a tea, coffee or one of their flagship hot chocolates (made with real, crushed chocolate).
All their usual produce is there. And if you don’t know what I mean by usual produce, or can’t hear the sarcasm in my pixels when I type ‘usual’, I actually mean all that is holy, good, right, sumptuous, decadent, delicious, and quite frankly orgasmic in the world of chocolate. Coco make their own chocolate and it’s really exceptional. I tried a little taster of their dark chocolate summer special: lemon and thyme. Forget the overly sweetened lemon that is normally mixed with white chocolate for a sickly sweet lemony hit. This was dark, brooding, lingering on the tongue and whilst I couldn’t actually taste thyme per se, the addition of it definitely helped mellow out the tanginess of the lemon without the need for additional sweetness. Wow.
I managed to resist buying anything, but if I ever want a chocolate treat such as lavendar and milk hot chocolate I now know that Coco’s isn’t too far away from some of my regular haunts. So happy to see this great store with amazing produce opening on one of my favourite streets in the city.