Discovering Chocolate Making in York, at a Bean to Bar Masterclass with York Cocoa Works
12th August 2026 - New Experience Number 31.
I love chocolate. I’ve got a real penchant for praline at the moment, I’m always a fan of a mint Aero, but I do also love a good, solid, rich dark chocolate too.
I knew that chocolate comes from cocoa beans, but if I’m honest, I didn’t really know much more about the process. So when I got the opportunity to join a Bean to Bar Masterclass at York Cocoa Works I was excitedly curious to discover more. A delicious new experience as one of my 52 new things in the year.
I hadn’t quite anticipated some of the essential tools in the process, the flavours I’d experience, or the sheer delight throughout.
I’m sorry this post doesn’t include some sort of scratch and sniff element to it, because I’d love to share the delicious aroma from the workshop with you.
We all know chocolate, but do we REALLY know chocolate?
It’s all around us; sprinkled on drinks, in biscuits, cakes and ice cream, and sitting in bars on supermarket shelves.
But you might be like me. You can enjoy the deliciousness of chocolate without really knowing much about what goes on behind the scenes.
Visit York for the ultimate chocolate experience
I’m lucky to call York my home. It’s a beautiful city with history around every corner – and you could say, history in every bar of chocolate.
Terry’s and Rowntree’s both began here, helping to establish York as a city synonymous with chocolate.
More recently, York Cocoa Works has offered something rather different from the mass-produced chocolate we’re all familiar with today.
They’re a working, learning chocolate manufactory in the heart of the city, with a real passion for the craft, the ingredients and where those ingredients come from.
I went along to try their fantastic Bean to Bar Masterclass, which unexpectedly combined hairdressing and science. Yes, really!
Turns out, I knew nothing about chocolate
Our host for the day was Maia, who not only knew her subject matter like the back of her hand, but also happily answered my many, many questions. And there were many.
It was such a fascinating Masterclass. It wasn’t just the process of making chocolate that we discovered, but the history, quirks and just what makes York Cocoa Works so unique in their approach to chocolate making.
It starts with a fruit - chocolate making in York
Our session began right at the start of the chocolate making process, with fruit! I don’t think I’d ever actually seen a cocoa pod before, never mind held one!
And right from the off we were tasting. I’d never heard of cocoa juice before, but Maia had some for us to try. I’m not going to spoil it for you in case you go, but it tasted completely different to how I had expected.
Grown on trees, the ripe cocoa pod looks like a cross between a marrow and a melon, with a thick knobbly exterior. Inside are the beans. But, they aren’t obviously beans at this point because they were surrounded by a white fleshy pulp.
Spooning out a segment, Maia gave us one to try, with the caveat that we shouldn’t bite. In this natural state, the bean is seriously hard. So, and apologies as I can’t find a way to make this bit sound elegant, I popped the fleshy bean into my mouth and sucked the pulp off. It did not taste how I thought it would. Again, I’m not going to share what it was like. I want to leave the joy of discovery for you in case you try it yourself!
Beans from around the world
York Cocoa Works use bean suppliers from around the world. There are often subtle differences in the flavours, mostly due to the different climates and soils.
But surprisingly, the beans can also absorb some hints of flavours from nearby crops.
Can you imagine a slight trace of mango or banana? That makes my mouth water! I just hope nobody tries to grow cocoa next to crops of the pungent durian fruits. I suspect that would be more of an acquired taste!
Before we began - chocolate making in York
We were reliably informed that there are never any spiders. Phew.
By the time the beans reach York Cocoa Works they’ve been fermented and dried. They’re roasted, cracked and winnowed to separate the cocoa nibs from the husks, and this was where we took over.
We were still a fair way off making a bar of chocolate, but just seeing how much had already happened to these little beans blew my mind.
How on earth did people discover it?
Chocolate doesn't taste like chocolate yet
Like a small, slightly grainy and deformed chocolate shaving, we tried the cocoa nibs from Peru, Ecuador and Nigeria.
Visually there was little to tell them apart. Taste-wise, there were subtle differences. From a hint of deep fruitiness to a lighter raisin-like flavour, these nibs were surprisingly good.
At this stage, nothing has been added to sweeten the flavour, so it was quite bitter with a bit of a crunch. It’s understandable that it won’t suit everyone’s palate as it has quite a different taste from the familiar flavour of chocolate.
However, these humble cocoa nibs are apparently quite delicious sprinkled over fruit and yoghurt. I’m definitely going to try that!
Meet the melanger - chocolate making in York
This is the bit we’d been waiting for – getting stuck in and making the chocolate.
The main piece of kit for making our chocolate looked like it could have been a relative of some sort of stone-age flour making process. This was the melanger.
Enter the hairdryer
If I asked you to guess how we heated it up, you could be here for a while. It was an implement I’d already used earlier in the day, that I would never have expected to see in a chocolate making masterclass. We used the humble hairdryer.
Blowing hot air around the sides of the melanger gives it just the right amount of heat to help the nibs mix more easily.
Once we’d got it nicely warm, we continued to heat the machine with the hairdryer, tipped in a spoonful of cocoa nibs and switched on the motor. The aroma that instantly rose out of the bowl was absolutely incredible.
Considering how few nibs were currently in the melanger, they created an intoxicatingly intense scent. I inhaled the deeply rich chocolatey tones that rose from my machine. My eyes were wide in amazement, and a contented smile spread over my face as the chocolate making began.
The first tasting - It’s still not chocolate
Once we’d added all of the initial nibs, each spoonful generating another generous waft of chocolatey scent, Maia dipped in a wooden spoon so we could taste our creation.
Looking gloriously shiny and deep brown, my taste buds felt tricked as the flavour didn’t quite match the aroma.
At this stage, all we had added were the cocoa nibs. There was nothing else.
The texture was surprisingly claggy, and reminded me of peanut butter. The taste was immensely bitter. However, I could just detect in the aftertaste, the slightest trace of something resembling chocolate. This was a work in progress after all.
Time for some very serious research
In order to decide how we might like our individual bars to taste, we needed to try some examples to give us some guidance.
This was such a hard part of the Masterclass. (I hope my sarcasm came across there!)
Some foods, like a fine wine, I like to take my time with. I like to get a sense of the texture and let it melt a little to release the flavour.
The five different types of chocolate we tried were all fairly similar in texture. They were rich and creamy (yes, even the dark chocolate had a certain flowing creamy texture to it) but the flavours were quite individual.
These chocolates hadn’t been given any additional flavourings other than sugar and cocoa butter, yet as they melted on my tongue I could taste undertones of red wine, port and red fruits, through to lighter flavours like raisins or biscuits.
However you choose to eat your chocolate, you’ll be amazed at the difference in the tastings.
The main event - chocolate making in York,
With our research done, Maia weighed out the ingredients for us to make our own bars to our liking.
It was a good job we were wearing dark clothes, as the melangers had a habit of occasionally spitting out a drip or a drop of the chocolate.
We added sugar, the additional cocoa nibs to create our preferred cocoa content, and the melted cocoa butter, while continuing to balance the temperature with the hairdryer. Maia talked us through the process and answered the many questions we threw at her.
Seeing the consistency change in front of our eyes was incredible, as the wheels churned the grainy, muddy mixture into the most gloriously glossy melted chocolate.
Temper Temper
We didn’t all suddenly get angry, but we did all discover something that felt right out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
There’s science behind it, but it actually felt like magic!
The process of tempering involves cooling the chocolate and warming it again. This does some jiggery pokery to the crystals, and results in the finished chocolate looking shiny and having a good solid snap when it’s broken. Maia explained it far better than I have!
Pouring a good-sized disc of our chocolate mixture onto a marble slab, we pushed, spread and smeared it using scrapers (they probably had an official name but I’ve forgotten what it was!).
The flowing chocolate began to solidify, changing from a thick, muddy mixture to a chunky paste. This cooled chocolate then went back into the melted mixture, and we vigorously stirred it all together.
Almost there - chocolate making in York
It was almost ready. Pouring my mixture into the mould, I was feeling like a professional chocolatier at this point.
There was enough chocolate to make one mega slab of a bar, and three smaller ones, and once I’d scraped out as much of the mixture from the bowl as I could, I helped with the washing up by dipping my finger in and sampling some of the delicious residue. Mmmmmm.
Of course it takes time for the chocolate to set, but surprisingly not too long. So whilst our bars were firming up, Maia took us around the York Cocoa Works factory.
It’s a really small set up, but it makes mighty good chocolate. It was amazing to see the different parts of the process that we had learnt about, and some of the things that we had done on a bigger scale.
I’d made chocolate!
Back in the workshop, Maia took our bars out of the fridge and skilfully tipped the chocolate out of the mould. Honestly, I was so impressed with what I had made.
The big bar was ginormous. It felt ridiculously decadent to have a thick and shiny bar that I had made. It wasn’t perfect, there were a few places the shine hadn’t quite set, and a couple of cracks here and there, but that’s what made it uniquely mine.
The three smaller bars were much more individual. They weren’t very neat or even, mostly because I had tried to cram as much chocolate into them as I could. There was no mistaking that they were hand made, and they were definitely mine.
Whilst they looked good, did they have that satisfying snap? Breaking off a cube to try, the crack was perfect. A good solid sound of high quality chocolate. Lastly, but most importantly, was the taste test.
I let the cube melt on my tongue. The texture was smooth and rich, the taste was the perfect level of sweetness for my liking, and the flavour had a subtle fruity red wine hint to it. Which is amazing when you know that nothing had been added to make it taste like that.
Wrapping up the bars to take home, I couldn’t wait to tell the Other Half how amazing it had been, and maybe let him try some of my own chocolate bar.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely!
I can thoroughly recommend this workshop to anyone who’s a chocolate lover. With no more than eight people in the masterclass, you get an intimate, hands-on session where you can discover what happens behind the scenes of chocolate making and, of course, create your own bar.
I learnt so much, tasted lots of chocolate (quality control obviously), enjoyed some good company, and we didn’t have to do the washing up at the end.
Of course I gave some to my Other Half to sample. He’s not the biggest fan of dark chocolate, but he appreciates it. Little did he know it had been made with love, cocoa nibs, what felt like a little bit of magic, and a hairdryer.
Chocolate tastes a little different now
I still love chocolate. Obviously.
But now, when I break off a square and hear that satisfying snap, I know a little more about what went into creating it.
And somehow, knowing about the craft, the science, the ingredients and the people behind it makes that little square taste even better.
Want To Try Chocolate Making In York Yourself?
- Book onto the Bean to Bar Masterclass with York Cocoa Works to try the same experience as me.
- York Cocoa Works offer a great range of experiences, from short tastings to lengthier workshops. Whether you’re a beginner interested in making your own chocolate, or you’re looking to master techniques, take a look at the workshops York Cocoa Works offer.
- They also offer seasonal sessions, with mouthwatering festive workshops, Easter treats, and more!
Cost Of Experience
- The Bean to Bar masterclass costs £75 per person for the 4 hour session.
- And you get to take away your very own delicious chocolate too!
Recommendations
Wear something dark. Or something you don’t mind getting chocolate on. You could even take an apron with you! It wasn’t particularly messy, but the melangers did occasionally spit out the odd drip or drop of chocolate.
Ask lots of questions. Whether you’re asking for help with the chocolate-making process or simply want to know more about what you’re tasting, Maia was incredibly knowledgeable and happy to answer our many questions. Don’t be afraid to be curious.
Be prepared to taste things you might not expect. The experience starts much earlier in the chocolate-making process than you might imagine, so you’ll get to try cocoa pulp, cocoa nibs and different chocolates along the way. Go with an open mind – some of the flavours might surprise you!
Take your time with the tastings. There’s a lot to discover in the different chocolates, and I found that letting them melt slowly really helped me notice the subtle flavours. Don’t feel you need to wolf them down. Although, obviously, no judgement if you do.
Leave some room in your bag. You’ll be taking home your own chocolate, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to transport it home carefully rather than squashing it underneath everything else!
- Don’t forget your camera! It’s such a fun workshop you’ll want to capture memories of the moments.