8 June – The Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) has created a home chocolate ‘espresso’ machine for chocolate connoisseurs which uses steamed fresh milk and special pods of real chocolate to create an indulgent and delicious experience.

Frustration with powdered chocolate drinks created the spark for the idea as Dr Paul Scott of Cambridge Design Partnership explains, “Chocolate is extremely versatile. There has been a growing appreciation of quality eating chocolate and also a boom in demand for the drink at high street outlets. This has increased dissatisfaction with the home made beverage. The powder can be difficult to mix and the result is often watery, over sweet and without that authentic flavour or richness.

“After a series of focus groups and brainstorming meetings we took to the lab and looked at the science behind the process. The result is a patent for a totally new process and the design for a machine that uses pods of real chocolate, creating a new market opportunity for quality brands.”

While consumers have embraced ‘real’ coffee, the market for premium hot chocolate is still developing. The UK hot chocolate market grew by 20% between 2007 and 2009, and is now worth just under £100m. Despite this, most hot chocolate drinks tend towards the lower end of the market, and even high street coffee outlets still routinely use flavoured syrups or powders to create their hot chocolate drinks.

CDP’s Maya machine aims to address this shortfall and enable discerning drinkers to enjoy real, luxury hot chocolate at home. They believe there is potential for chocolate companies to exploit their brands in a new, premium market opportunity. In the future ranges could extend to include chilli-chocolate or liqueur flavours, or themed gift selections and other seasonal offerings.