Well, we’re several weeks into 2026, and as far as I can tell, it feels like not a single day has gone by since New Year when it hasn’t rained here in Barnard Castle! There are pop-up glamping ponds in fields which have had excited ducks in temporary residence for a couple of weeks now, and even heron have been spotted, stopping for a brief overnight stay! Still, I’m delighted to see our local reservoirs back to where they should be after last year’s baking summer. And the garden will be happy. It’s just a case of wearing the appropriate waterproof attire before leaving the house!
Team Training Day Punctuated by a Delicious Lunch at Moments Cafe
The start of the year for us at Chocolate Fayre is often a little anticlimatic, coming out of the relentlessly busy excitement of Christmas, and into the season of diets, dark mornings and dampness. But we don’t sit on our hands and wait for things to pick up. We’ve spent the last few weeks getting lots of repair and maintenance jobs done behind the scenes; reviewing exciting things like procedures; putting our entire staff team through training sessions to bring greater product knowledge, refreshing some of the important info we need to know to help you make the right choices when it comes to choosing from our shelves and chocolate cabinet; and also putting together the final planning for the Spring seasons, while looking further ahead to the summer, and (believe it or not, Christmas!).
We’ve also been busy bringing new products out, such as the limited edition chocolates from the monthly Tasters Club, which now can be chosen individually after our members have received them. While a refreshing touch up to our Hill Sixty hot drinks branding now gives Coffee, Tea and Hot Chocolate each their own attractive identities. Against our black drinks bags and containers, these look really striking on our discplay shelves, and make identifying your preferred drink of choice much easier. With the rapidly growing popularity of our hot drinks ranges, we’ve also added a couple of new drinks to the range since the start of the month. These include the new Zambian single-origin coffee with its sweet acidity and chocolate, plum & almond notes; and the delightfully unusual flavours of the new Lapsang Souchong tea, which is slowly dried over pinewood fires, creating a soft smokiness, with a rich, smooth, lingering aroma. If you haven’t explored our coffees and teas yet, you can find all 11 coffee bean roasts, and 12 tea and infusion blends on our Speciality Hot Drinks page.
So, despite the wet and windy weather, we’ve definitely begun this year with contructive positivity, with the aim of Spreading Happiness with Chocolate. And with our busiest January to date, I can’t help thinking we must be doing something right to help bring a bit of brightness, a warm welcome, and a moment of comfort, luxury and pleasure to you, our lovely customers!