As someone who doesn’t drink coffee, or tea, I’m fairly limited in scope with the hot drinks I can enjoy whilst out and about in the city of dreaming spires.

Luckily for me, Oxford is peppered with cafes that can whip up a mighty fine mug of hot chocolate.

Being new to Oxford, I found myself out and about exploring the centre a couple of months back, when I was suddenly clutched by a craving for cocoa.

It struck me that I hadn’t had a decent cup of the stuff in quite a while.

I was on Broad Street at the time, and following a quick google on my phone I discovered I wasn’t far from a hot chocolate café called Knoop.

I ventured in.

Read more: New food waste initiative is lifeline for customers

Met by a backboard of options, ranging from a 28% white chocolate cocoa blend to a 100% single origin mega hit, I knew I’d found somewhere special – even if only because of the huge variety.

I ordered the 43% from Venezuela, which I assume is the equivalent of ordering a korma at an Indian restaurant (playing it safe).

Smooth, almost buttery, somewhat nutty – just superb.

Since I nipped to Knoop for this nutty vintage, I’ve been on a self-guided try-as-much-hot-chocolate-as-I-can tour of Oxford.

Not Cafe Creme, not Horsebox, not Black Sheep Coffee nor The Missing Bean stand up to Knoop.  

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

A message from our Editor

Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.

If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more. 

You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile. 

If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.