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British luxury cocoa grower and chocolatier Hotel Chocolat has announced a provocative addition to its beverage portfolio, unveiling a limited-edition drinking chocolate titled Fire & Ice.
Launching to commemorate National Hot Chocolate Day on 31 January 2026, the new blend is engineered exclusively for use with the brand’s Velvetiser system. The release experiments with contrasting sensory inputs, combining high-cocoa depth with simultaneous cooling and warming sensations.
Habanero Meets Peppermint
The formulation is built upon a base of Hotel Chocolat’s signature 70% dark chocolate. To create the "Fire & Ice" effect, the R&D team has infused the real chocolate flakes with two distinct botanicals:
🌶️ Fire: Habanero chilli, delivering a warming back-note and "heat and drama."
🍃 Ice: Tasmanian peppermint, providing a cooling, calming counterpoint.
The product is designed to offer a complex tasting journey where the flavours "shine" individually rather than merging into a single indistinguishable profile.
Strategic Origins and R&D
The flavour concept is an adaptation of an existing product within the confectioner's portfolio—the Fire & Ice chocolate selector. Following the release of the updated Velvetiser hardware last year, the product development team sought to translate this solid format into a liquid emulsion.
Yiotis Panagiotou, Speciality Cocoa Chocolatier (Product Development) at Hotel Chocolat, commented on the technical challenge:
“Fire & Ice is originally a chocolate selector, but we’d never tried it as a drinking chocolate until now. After launching the all-new Velvetiser last year, I was inspired to invent a new and unexpected drinking chocolate flavour that ‘shouldn’t’ work, but it does. It’s the epitome of ‘opposites attract’ in drinking chocolate form.”
Commercial Availability
Fire & Ice is positioned as a premium, limited-time offering (LTO).
Format: Box of 10 sachets.
Pricing: £14.95.
Channels: Available in-store and online while stocks last.
To drive trial of the polarised flavour profile, Hotel Chocolat will offer complimentary samples in stores nationwide on National Hot Chocolate Day (31 January).
