The Cocoa Story

Cocoa is a chocolate shop, café and traditional sweet shop nestled in the hills of Sheffield, dreamt up by two best friends who refuse to grow up. It's an emporium of wonders & delights, overflowing with the tastiest chocolate in all the land handmade in our own little in-house chocolate factory, and filled with rows upon rows of every kind of sweet imaginable, waiting for you in sparkling glass jars.

Our friendly shop is adored by many – young and the young at heart. People visit from far and wide, just for a little taste of Cocoa’s magic. They come for the chocolate truffles, for the jars and jars of old-fashioned sweets, for our handmade ice-cream topped with sprinkles (always in waffle cones), for our Proper Hot Chocolate made with cream and real chocolate, and for our luxury chocolate bars made by our very own hands.

The History of Cocoa

The Cocoa Wonderland adventure started over 15 years ago when we were students at Sheffield Hallam University. Armed with the knowledge that essays are always improved by a Lemon Sherbet or two, we both took jobs behind the counter of our favourite little confectionery shop on Ecclesall Road. We were very happy there, juggling dissertations and Dolly Mixture, until the day Rachell, the owner, told us she was moving to the coast. What would happen to Cocoa? We couldn't lose it. So we did something crazy – we bought it. We might not have finished our degrees yet, but what we did have was a chocolate shop and a mighty fine one at that.

That was back in 2006, and since then we've immersed ourselves in all things chocolate. We're prepared to go to great lengths to find the best chocolate in the world. Quite literally. In 2010 we travelled to the deepest darkest corners of the planet to visit the place where the best cocoa beans grow and learn more about where and how chocolate is made. We flew to a tiny island called Grenada in the Caribbean, to explore a lush tropical orchard of vibrant flowers and cocoa pods. Paradise. We picked the pods, scooped out the seeds, took the cocoa down to the factory and watched it being transformed into chocolate bars.

Seeing cocoa pods growing in a jungle metamorphosise into heavenly bites of melt-in-the-mouth goodness was magical and inspired us to make our own chocolate. So we booked ourselves in at the Chocolate Academy (what better education could there be than actual Chocolate School?), and learned how to become chocolate makers. Now, after years of carefully considered chocolate concocting, we even have our very own in-store chocolate factory where we temper, blend, mix and make the most luxurious of chocolate, ready for cocoa lovers the world over to devour.

Pop in and watch us in action or if you can't make it to Wonderland, we can deliver our chocolates straight to your door!

Kate from Cocoa x

Buy our chocolate online here >

"A truly magical experience"
Vogue

"The kind of magical little shop that only exists in Disney films"

A Beginner's Guide to Sheffield

"Cocoa Wonderland stands out as a unique hidden gem on the streets of Sheffield"

Independent Sheffield

handmade chocolate, chocolate factory, chocolate shop, handmade chocolates,

Visiting The Grenada Chocolate Co-operative in 2010, the first tree-to-bar chocolate factory in the world

"A sanctuary & source of inspiration to its customers"

Steel Press

"The folk behind Cocoa Wonderland run it with tons of verve and passion... I love ‘oohing & ‘aahing’ over their overflowing shelves full of amaretti, turkish delight and chocolate-dipped orange slices"
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