About Cocoa Mountain
The Company
Paul and James founded Cocoa Mountain in June 2006 with the simple aim to produce the most delicious, fresh, and innovative chocolates on the planet. Our inspiration was childhood memories of chocolate shops (“Thorntons Continental” is the biggest treat in the world - to an aspiring five year-old Chocolatier), “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” - book and films, a passion for food, and our stunning, incredible, North Highland location at Balnakeil, Durness.
Probably the most geographically remote chocolate producer in Europe, our ‘essence’ was to create chocolates that were as beautiful (and as delicious) as their surroundings - an awesome natural landscape of icy-peaked mountains, seemingly eternal beaches, extreme elements, the wonder of nature, and just the pure bliss of it all. The best chocolate pairing in the world you might say.
We are fortunate to be able to produce a fantastic product that makes people smile and be happy - and as a small but growing team, we all take satisfaction and enjoyment from our daily work.
The Chocolates
Quality and innovation are words used to describe our range of chocolate products, all made with the highest quality ingredients. We source fine single-origin chocolate from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, our “house” chocolate is organic, with beans from the Dominican Republic. In our chocolate collections we select exceptional local Scottish produce such as cream, crime fresh, butter, mint, herbs, raspberries, butter - and exceptional ingredients from further afield, such as lemon, ginger, lime, coconut, pecans, vanilla, chilli…
Our guiding principal is to avoid the use of artificial flavourings, colourings or preservatives. We make, and pack every chocolate by hand. Our chocolate products are all gluten-free, and (with the exception of the White Chocolate Shards with Marshmallow) suitable for vegetarian diets. We also have many delicious products which suitable for vegan diets and those who are lactose-intolerant. It is unavoidable that all of our products may contain traces of nuts. We never use any ingredient containing palm oil.
“The Best” HOT CHOCOLATE
Soon after the business opened, our own-recipe Hot Chocolate became a ‘thing’. Our customers would urge fellow travellers to pay us a visit to try it, and they did - even from as far away as Heathrow airport, or Thurso. Our visitors books became crowded, with recommendations for what became known as “The Best” HOT CHOCOLATE. We are often told that we are “famous in France” and have been privileged to serve up some pleasure to customers from all over the globe.
Today, we still serve the exact same cup of deliciousness from our outlets in Balnakeil and in Dornoch, as well as to make at home. We are proud to say that “The best” HOT CHOCOLATE, is proven to hit the mark - tried and tested for the Scottish winter, and even the Scottish summer.
Our Philosophy
As a business, it is important to us that we operate in a manner that is ethical and environmentally responsible. Ethical sourcing comes at some additional cost, and while we could always be ‘cheaper’ that would mean buying cheap ingredients which - on a million levels - just isn’t us. Our custom-made chocolate boxes have always been made from compostable materials. We avoid plastic, and where possible use compostable clear films and bags. We compost our waste and reuse or recycle our card, glass and paper waste when we can. We also use low energy light bulbs and monitor our energy use. In our stores, we serve fair-trade organic coffee and organic teas. We aim to use as many organic ingredients as possible and source local produce when available.