Knoops Sweetens up Brighton’s South Laines: The Best Chocolate Milkshake I’ve Ever Had
Founded by German-born, Jens Knoop, in 2013, Knoops are committed to chocolate craftsmanship. This is art, delight and experimentation - in drinking form.
Knoops first opened its flagship in Rye, East Sussex, and has since opened shops in Clapham junction, Chelsea, Kensington, and most recently, Brighton. A store is set to open in Richmond in September 2021, something to look out for if you’re local!
The quaint, tearoom-meets-Wonkaland Rye store embodies the roots of Knoops, and their recent stores embody their future - they are sleek and stylish, but, most importantly inclusive.
Functional and unaffected, the Knoops stores are minimally furnished. The centerpiece? Their chocolate menu, an almost oversized clipboard showcasing the chocolate percentages available.
The choice is vast, alluring and exciting with plenty of flavour combinations providing lots of reasons to return again, and again, and again…
Knoops are chocolatiers - or rather, Knoopologists - unlike any other. They expertly craft hot and cold drinking chocolates. Customers can choose from a carefully curated percentage menu, which offers a wide range of chocolates (twenty-one to be precise) to suit every palate.
Their chocolate flakes can be used to make hot chocolates, chocolate milks, milkshakes or mochas. There are six milkshake and iced milk options (four of which are vegan friendly) in a selection of white, milk and dark - the white chocolate shakes are made with chocolate buttons!
Ordering is easy, just choose a chocolate percentage that suits your taste, from 28% creamy and moreish white chocolate, all the way through to dark and intense 100% cocoa. If you’re vegan, all chocolates of 54% cocoa or higher are vegan friendly, so there are 16 vegan options to choose from.
All of the cocoa is sustainably sourced from around the globe, and a range of milk alternatives are available. As a finishing touch, customers can add extra flavours of their choice, from pink pepper to orange, matcha, or mint.
For those in need of a caffeine fix, you can choose from a selection of straight coffees, or one of two mocha options - enhanced by your choice of flavouring, tailored to your specifications.
A variety of sweet treats are available too; you can find everything from cannolis to cookies, to spongy-sweet enormous marshmallows. With an emphasis on traceability and sustainability, Knoops source their dairy and baked treats locally from Sussex.
At the heart of the Knoops experience is Jens’ passion for chocolate, and its relationship with memory, bonds, and simple unadulterated joy.
As we discussed his concept, Jens told stories of being a young boy treated to chocolate by his grandmother. The delight of these candy-coated memoires was obvious, and Jens triumphs in recreating this jubilation for his customers.
I tried a 54% milkshake with a pinch of sea salt - recommended by the master of chocolate himself - and it was something to smile about. I also tested a 28% Cocoa blend with matcha, which was utterly delicious and unlike anything I’d had before. I’m not lying when I say that these were the best chocolate milkshakes I’ve ever had.
The experience was personable and comfortable, and the staff were extremely warm, giddy and amicable, which adds up (if I worked with chocolate all day, I would be too). They were attentive, kicking off the process by asking me about my preferences and tastes.
It was a refreshing rarity to personalise a drink to suit my tastes, and it’s thrilling to know that no matter the day, or the weather, or my mood, I can walk into Knoops and have a cup of chocolatey-goodness whisked up to match that feeling.
Some of their recommended flavour blends are available to buy in store, or online for you to try out their hot and cold recipes at home. It doesn’t come close to the exuberance of the in-store experience, but it’s fun to recreate the magic at home - my guests have been very impressed.
But, I can’t take the credit. I’m no Knoopologist, and while Knoops’ chocolate flakes make the best drinking chocolates I’ll ever make at home, I can’t wait to stop by the shop and be dazzled some more.
See you soon, Knoops!
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Written by Polly Wyatt
