Andrew's tour of Scotland Climbing Cocoa Mountain

Date Published:

18/07/2008

Cocoa Mountain can probably lay claim to being the most northerly chocolate producer in the UK, situated as it is, in the top westerly corner of Scotland. It's also the most northerly place added to the Map so I felt duty bound to pay them a visit

James Findley and Paul Maden started Cocoa Mountain two years ago. The shop and factory, and indeed their homes, are on a cold war RAF early warning base, built in 1955 and never used. In the 1960s the local council decided to turn it into a craft village where people would live and work. There's now a bookshop, bistro, printer makers, painters, a woodworker, and our two chocolatiers.

You might think them both mad for situating their business right at the top tip of the country but James and Paul have a great relationship with their local postmaster who, during busy periods like Christmas and Easter, comes three of four times a day. They reckon they can get a box of their truffles anywhere in the UK in 24 hours.

A few facts

But how do you actually make a chocolate truffle anyway? Paul talks me through the production process: "First you make a granache, which is double cream and chocolate, to this you can then add your flavourings such as raspberry. Then you set this in the fridge till firm. Then with a melon baller you scoop out a ball and leave that to firm up too. Finally you roll the ball in coating, which can be anything from more chocolate to coconut."

"You can also pipe the granache into moulds," says James. This is how the strawberry and black pepper is made. We chat about some other chocolate facts, such as how all white chocolate contains no cocoa, just cocoa butter, milk and sugar. And that depending on the cocoa content, chocolate can have different melting points.

The stuff of legend

James then makes me one of Cocoa Mountain's legendary hot chocolates – it's awesome. Served in a handless, handmade cup, topped with liquid chocolate deliberately running over the edge and down the sides, it's almost a meal in itself. Cupping it with both hands like soup, it's the sort of dish you have to get stuck in to. No wonder it proves popular with walkers and day-trippers looking for an energy hit and something to warm their bones.

Finally Paul takes me on a tour of the new shop and factory, which is much bigger than the current one and should be open by the time you read this. It'll have a large glass window at the front allowing people to peer in and see the chocolates being made. But if you can't wait, or indeed aren't heading up to north west Scotland any time soon, you can see me have a go at making their 'fossil bars' (large chunks of chocolate spread flat, cooled and then broken into shards) in this mouthwatering video.

The boys have been tight-lipped about their recipes and techniques, and rightly so, but I ask them what's in the pipeline for the future. "We're going to start looking at caramel," says Paul. "We're interested in the whole burnt sugar thing." I'm sure whatever they do it'll be interesting so consider this your early warning.

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