Chocolate in the Neighborhood
A Q&A interview with Katie Chan, Founder of CHOKOHOOD
Do you ever get the sensation that certain cities have more restaurants, bars and cafes than people or pets? I’m always amazed at the density of options in these places. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how the caliber and offerings of local coffee shops and cafes can impact the quality of life for its residents and visitors, not only their sheer number. Per capita, some shine in the hospitality sphere. While not all are hospitable spots (and treatment of service workers is another post of course!), I have to imagine that there was once a driving force of serving people, or offering a space of respite, or creating something unique. Maybe in other cases, it was passed-down family trade/responsibilities, or a proven business model. Low margins have notoriously plagued this sector however, and as we see in craft chocolate businesses, for many people it’s a second or third career. Yet time and time again, people venture to open their doors to the public for a simple (or not so simple), delicious cuppa.
Hong Kong with a population of 7.5 million people, and density at ~7000 per square kilometer (NYC reports ~10,200), is famed for its packed high-rises and aerial shots of its glistening bays with backdrops of verdant mountains and peaks. In the food world, it is also renowned for its dim sum and namesake Hong Kong milk teas, known colloquially as ‘silk stocking milk tea’—both foodstuffs popularized now on the global scale.
Every now and then, I receive a notification on my phone highlighting a dish (the algorithm thinks is) worth recreating (they obviously know I like cooking/baking and non-chain neighborhood joints); just last week I was shown a recipe for a Hong Kong-style French toast, a dish I’d never had before, but confirmed my desire to cafe-crawl my way through this tropical metropolis, undoubtedly making for full bellies and strong calves. As you’ll read from the below interview, now we can add CHOKOHOOD to the to-visit list.
We are now centuries past the height of prominent chocolate houses in London and the Thirteen British Colonies. Thankfully, we are also primed to improve upon them, making them spaces where equality is more than a virtue, and ensuring that its main ingredient is equitable for all. It’s been an exciting pleasure to witness over the last decade or so, business owners lean in to such possibilities, from South East Asia, the Caribbean, Oceania, Africa and beyond.
Chocolate concept stores are on a mission to redesign and redefine how people think of “chocolate shops”, perhaps once cold or temperate climate enclaves where you would get bonbons and Easter bunnies (well, maybe also those), but now locations where ambiance, gastronomy, community and food education collide. I don’t know if it’s easier for the locations with historical trade-route ties or cultural norms surrounding coffee and tea culture to imagine or reimagine drinking chocolate…but, we can continue to examine ‘why’ chocolate remains—on a whole—less popular than the two other drinks, both which are the driving forces in cafe culture today. Katie Chan aims to show that through education and teaching workshops, local events and diverse menus, the ultimate ‘why’ lies in the bottom of an empty—and enjoyed—cup.
The Coronavirus pandemic and ever-increasingly popular work-from-home zeitgeist have created a significant shift in the ordering protocols and fast-casual dining habits of patrons. With so many previously face-to-face conducted :micro: transactions now ran almost anonymously through apps and delivery solutions, we might now be more recognizable through our avatars or the last four digits of our credit cards than our voices or daily out-of-home routines. I think deep down, many of us reeling from isolation and confusion about the future of gathering, crave to find places where:
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
And just maybe, chocolate can provide that.
Interview conducted with Katie Chan in August of 2022
Name/pronouns: Katie Ka Yan Chan (she/her)
Title: Founder of The Chocolate Club Hong Kong & Co-founder of CHOKOHOOD
Residence: Hong Kong
Lauren Heineck (interviewer): How would you describe the chocolate scene in your area to someone who has never been? Additionally, what do people in your region think about chocolate, or consume as chocolate on average?
Katie Chan (interviewee): The understanding of ‘chocolate’ to most people in Hong Kong would be mass-produced confectionery brands like Ferrero Rocher because it is marketed as a ‘luxurious’ gift. We have a strong culture of giving chocolate during festive seasons, especially Chinese New Year. Luxury chocolate brands like Godiva, La Maison du Chocolat, Royce and Lindt are popular among Hong Kongers.
International brands and hotel chocolatiers dominate the market due to the high rental price which makes it hard for local chocolate brands to go brick-and-mortar.
The bean-to-bar craft chocolate scene in Hong Kong is still relatively immature
compared to Europe, the US and Japan. But it is definitely a budding chocolate culture.
There were only 2-3 makers in the city I could think of just 5 years ago. Now I can
easily list out almost double – Hakawa Chocolate, Conspiracy Chocolate, Chocobien,
Rayca’s Chocolate, SLOK Chocolate, Dedicated, JOL Cacao, Gamma Chocolate and Hello Cocoa. You can also find more specialty coffee shops (HK has a mature coffee culture) serving single origin chocolate drinks using real chocolate covertures instead of low quality cocoa powder or commercial chocolate syrup.
Another reason for the growth of the craft chocolate scene is that for the past few years more Hong Kongers support local businesses. This is very different from the past, when habitually we saw imported chocolates as higher quality than the locally made versions. Also, the growth of people who are switching to a healthier diet contributes to the revolution.
Lauren: Why is chocolate (craft or chocolate in general) important to you?
Katie: I have been working in the chocolate industry for over 10 years. Chocolate is now part of my life! I feel like it is my life’s mission to promote real chocolate knowledge to Hong Kongers. There is still a long way to go to change their preconceptions, such as, eating or drinking chocolate is bad for your health. I have met many amazing friends through chocolate. Some of them we met through work and slowly grew into long-lasting friendships. This is also one of the reasons that I enjoy working in the chocolate industry.
Lauren: What excites you about the current events in Asia surrounding cacao and
chocolate? You’ve recently spent time in the UK; do you see similarities or
something remarkable that distinguishes the two markets?
Katie: The cacao and craft chocolate scene in Asia has definitely flourished during the last few years. You can see more makers, especially American and European ones using Asian and Oceanic islands cacao for making chocolate. For example, Firetree Chocolate in the UK uses cacao from Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Countries like Thailand where cacao is not their main crop have started growing better quality
fine cacao due to the increasingly high demand of making bean-to-bar chocolate using
Thai cacao. Similarly, Vietnamese and Taiwanese makers are very lucky to have the
advantage to locally source cacao and other raw ingredients. This makes a huge difference when other makers in outside countries need to source cacao from origin countries. And local Asian companies are doing really interesting things, like Thai craft chocolate brand – Kad Kokoa who has taken the whole bean-to-bar experience to another level. At their latest venture 31 degrees by Kad Kokoa, a premiere destination as a cacao-centric bistro, they add cacao and chocolate into all dishes and drinks.
When you look at the list of award-winning makers from the International Chocolate
Awards (ICA) and Academy of Chocolate (AoC), you will not be surprised by the number of Asian chocolate brands on the list.
It is exciting to see these happenings in Asia. The first difference I noticed is the palate. British people seem to crave sweeter chocolate, i.e. milk or white chocolate are preferred to dark chocolate. In contrast, Hong Kongers never have much of a sweet tooth. One example would be the most asked question at my cafe: “which of your chocolate drinks is less sweet and bitter?”. People asked for plain bars or drinks containing at least 70% cacao content. I visited Knoops, the renowned chocolate drink shop in London, and was amazed by the range of chocolate drinks they serve. The menu covers the whole spectrum from 28% white chocolate to 100% dark chocolate drink. I am quite sure if I do the same menu in Hong Kong, the white and milk chocolates will not sell well.
Due to historic ties with Britain, Hong Kongers are used to European bonbons with classic flavours like praline and red berries. As mentioned previously bonbons are mainly for gifting. There is a group of customers who are seeking more adventurous flavours like soy sauce caramel, cheese or peated whisky in their bonbons. People are more health-conscious these days, and would prefer higher percentage dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao percentage). Inclusions such as, sea salt, nuts (especially hazelnuts), cacao nibs and tea are our customers’ favourites. The similarity between the two markets would be that craft chocolate is still a niche. But there are more craft chocolate lovers than in Hong Kong because of the corresponding population size. Both markets depend on education to show customers what real chocolate really is, and why it is worth paying a higher price for craft chocolate.
Lauren: Is it important for you to promote local cacaos and chocolates? (feel free to add examples of farms or people you admire)
Katie: The answer is YES! I am a firm believer of knowing where your food comes from. I love telling the story of the ‘tree-to-bar’ process so consumers will understand it is a hard work to make a delicious bar of chocolate. Similar to coffee and wine, it is good to know the origin and terroir of the cacao, both which play a fundamental role in the flavours of the chocolate. I had my first experience of joining Dandelion Chocolate’s cacao trip to visit Zorzal Cacao’s cacao farm at Zorzal reserva in the Dominican Republic back in 2018. Since then I have been a fan of their work. Dr. Charles Kerchner has put tremendous effort into this project. It is a great story to tell during workshops to show how nature, cacao and people are closely connected to each other. They are very clever to promote the conservation project working with brands like Dandelion for chocolate enthusiasts in the industry and general public. I noticed that they now also organise trips cooperating with Cacao Latitudes and Silva Cacao.
Warren and Audrey from Fu Wan Chocolate are no doubt one of the pioneers of the craft chocolate movement in Asia. We met in Hong Kong at a chocolate pop-up I worked on in 2017 and since then we have become good friends. Warren does a great job working with local cacao farmers in Pingtung and using what nature provides, eventually bringing into being the amazing chocolate that represents the terroir and flavours of Taiwan. Warren has a culinary background, with a great palate and creative mind. Our local favourites of Fu Wan are: Taiwan no. 2 Sea Salt and the inclusion bar with Taiwanese tea, called Tie-guan-yin. His team is working hard to source all their raw materials and ingredients locally for sustainability reasons. So far 80% of the items are sourced locally, with a target to reach 100%.
Lauren: What was the journey to starting The Chocolate Club Hong Kong?
I fell in love with desserts and chocolate during my university years in London. As a graduate in nutrition, I am always interested in food and taste. When I was working at a UK confectionery trading company (12 years ago), I discovered the world of craft chocolate after watching the documentary TV show—Willie’s Wonky Chocolate Factory by founder of Willie’s Cacao, and inspired me tremendously. I remember the first single origin dark chocolate I tasted was the Madagascar bar by Willie’s Cacao, and was surprised by the citrus and red berries flavour! It completely changed my concept of how chocolate should taste like.
In 2014, I signed up for the Chocolate Tasting Course organised by the International
Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting (IICCT), when the course only offered Level 1 classes. That was an eye-opening experience. I learned how to taste chocolate like a connoisseur. This passion pushed me forward to pursue my business in this field and I founded The Chocolate Club Hong Kong in the same year. In 2021, I opened up CHOKOHOOD a craft chocolate concept cafe.
Lauren: How do you describe your new concept? What do you hope loyal consumers or visitors take away from the experience? What are you learning about the business of being a retail store/cafe entrepreneur?
Katie: This idea has been in my mind since I started The Chocolate Club back in 2014. I visited a few craft chocolate cafes (Marou in Vietnam, Dandelion Chocolate in Japan, Kad Kokoa in Bangkok, etc.) while traveling and I thought it would be wonderful to have a place that can offer the ultimate chocolate experience to the people in Hong Kong. It is easy to find a good cup of coffee in HK these days, but not a decent cup of chocolate. I have been wanting to have a space to focus on the education of chocolate tasting. In past years, I collaborated with other great brands for pairing events such as, Plantation (for tea pairings) and Moet Hennessy for cognac/whisky masterclasses. Now I am happy to have my own space to create more interesting tasting or even chocolate drink-making workshops. I believe education plays an important role in promoting the concept of craft chocolate in HK/Asia. Without education, it would be difficult for the consumers to understand the reasons why a bar of chocolate or a cup of chocolate could cost three times as much as others they may have tried before.
Our brand name “CHOKOHOOD” signifies “Chocolate” and “Childhood”. Chocolate is everyone’s joyful and nostalgic childhood memories. We have seen that eating or drinking chocolate are often presumed only for children. Our team’s mission is to bring our consumers delicious and fun chocolate items that are not only for children, but also for adults who are fond of good quality chocolate! Now there is a number of people who have also completed the IICCT course in Hong Kong, but there is a lack of events to gather everyone regularly. With a brick-and-mortar shop, I can share my experience and exchange ideas with my customers. I hope CHOKOHOOD will be a hub to gather chocolate enthusiasts to taste and learn about craft chocolate through communication.
Lauren: Do you work with a team or alone? Besides your current position, you’ve built a personal brand with @the.chocolate.lady.hk via corporate tastings and chocolate education. What have been some of the lessons you’ve learned about creating your dream business(es)?
Katie: I have been working solo in the past to build up The Chocolate Club. Now I am glad to have a team for growing CHOKOHOOD. When I first started my chocolate tasting workshop, the knowledge was based on what I learnt from the course and reading chocolate related books. After a while, I realised the content I thought was common sense for beginners was in fact too advanced for some audiences (thanks to the input from a friend who joined the workshop). This is a disadvantage of working alone—sometimes you do not have another person to give you a second opinion. After that, I am not afraid to ask for help and advice if I am not certain or feeling stuck, so I can see a bigger picture.
Lauren: Where do we go from here? As you see it, what would make a big(ger) impact on the industry? What would you like to see done differently?
Katie: Commercial chocolate manufacturers and craft chocolate makers are interrelated and influencing each other. We often see commercial brands as competitors/rivals, but I do not see it that way. Big brands can be a powerful marketing tool to promote the concept of craft chocolate to mass-market crowds.
I would like to use the example of how Meiji in Japan successfully created “Meiji The
Chocolate” and took the bold step of formulating their range as dark chocolate offerings, even though the majority of Japanese consumers prefer milk chocolate. The packaging lists the raw materials, ingredients and tasting notes like what one might see on a craft chocolate bar. Intagrammable packaging and sourcing good quality cacao beans that offer a distinct taste are reasons for the products’ success. This range definitely helps spreading the word of craft chocolate to mass-market consumers. It created a good stepping stone for consumers to explore better craft chocolate. Also, they have set an example of what commercial chocolate manufacturers can do and offer better quality chocolate. I look forward to seeing commercial brands and the craft chocolate industry work hand in hand at some point to improve problems from the cacao supply chain and regarding sustainability efforts.
On local level, my team and I are dedicated to change the chocolate scene in Hong Kong—to spread the word of craft chocolate and to offer more delicious chocolate drinks and desserts to locals. Importantly, to create a chocolate community to exchange ideas and chocolates. Our mission is to make it easier to access a good quality drink and make ‘drinking chocolate’ a daily drink, just like consuming coffee is.
Lauren: Something I’ve missed? Anything you’d like to add?
Katie: If anyone is planning to visit Hong Kong, I am happy to welcome you to visit us at CHOKOHOOD and do feel free to reach me out via social media for a chocolate meet-up!
This interview has been slightly edited for clarity. All photo credits to Katie Ka Yan Chan and CHOKOHOOD. Special thanks for her diligent responses and eagerness to participate in this series. Song lyrics excerpt from: Cheers Theme by Judy Hart-Angelo & Gary Portnoy. Conversations in Cocoa is: Lauren Heineck (She/her) @wkndchocolate @laurenonthewknd laurenonthewknd.substack.com.
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