Jens Knoops knows a thing or two about hot chocolate. After growing up in rural Germany, he opened his first café – specialising in delicious hot chocolates – in Rye, East Sussex. Jens Knoops outside his cafe. Now, Knoops cafés are popping up throughout the country, offering you the chance to create bespoke drinks (I’m a 70 per-cent dark chocolate girl with oat milk, in case you’re asking). Its founder remains very much involved and extremely passionate about the drink that made his name, starting every day with a mocha and then drinking up to three hot chocolates a day. And before you ask yes, he says, the rest of his diet has to be pretty healthy to make up for it.
![[The correct size of marshmallow]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/24/13/93456581-0-image-a-2_1735047280082.jpg)
Together we delved into the serious questions as to how to make the perfect hot chocolate, from which milk and chocolate to choose, to whether supermarket marshmallows and 'just add water’ hot choc powders are ever okay. Knoops favours milk chocolate, but says it’s down to personal preference. ‘The perfect percentage is all about what you crave. I really like milk chocolate as it reminds me of my childhood in Germany, it’s like going down memory lane’ he says.
![[The best way to enjoy a hot chocolate...]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/24/13/93456573-0-image-a-3_1735047284775.jpg)
Others prefer a more intense, less sweet chocolate. ‘A higher percentage dark chocolate is more invigorating, as the ingredients are more stimulating’ says Knoops. Interestingly, there’s a geographical divide here – in northern hemisphere Europe, milk chocolate is the preference (it’s Knoops bestseller in the UK), while mild dark chocolate - between 50% and 70% - is the go-to in South America.
