Key Points
- Interactive Workshops: Cocoa Jones provides hand-crafted workshops to engage with the community of Purley via interactive workshops.
- Family Run Business: The company is run as a family business through the brothers Zain and Zara, along with their mother, who is the head chocolatier, and their father, who acts as the financial controller.
- Dual Locations: Cocoa Jones operates from two premises located at The Parade at the bottom of Old Lodge Lane.
- Educational Classes: The recently held “School’s Out: Passport to Chocolate” classes cost £15 for teaching about the origin of chocolate and chemical tempering.
Purley (South London News) August 31, 2026 – As reported by roving reporter Ken Towl of Inside Croydon, Cocoa Jones has hosted its “School’s Out: Passport to Chocolate” workshop series, inviting local residents to participate in hand-made chocolate production at their shop and atelier on The Parade at the bottom of Old Lodge Lane in Purley. The interactive workshop session, attended by participants including Navya, Aishani, Frederick, and Ken Towl, provided an immersive overview of the social, historical, and chemical processes involved in confectionery manufacturing.
How Does Cocoa Jones Structure Its Artisan Chocolate Experience in Purley?
As reported by Ken Towl of Inside Croydon, the assignment began following a directive from the publication’s Editor to visit Cocoa Jones in Purley and produce custom chocolate bars. Ken Towl stated that the business name incorporates “cocoa”, the plant from which confections originate, and “jones”, a 1960s slang term denoting addiction. Booking was executed through the user-friendly Cocoa Jones website for a fee of £15, securing access to one of the final sessions of the “School’s Out: Passport to Chocolate” series.
The enterprise operates across two distinct properties situated on The Parade at the foot of Old Lodge Lane in Purley: a primary retail shopfront and an adjacent workshop atelier. The operation functions as a collaborative family endeavor. The siblings, Zain and Zara, lead the workshop activities, while their mother serves as the primary chocolatier and their father handles financial management.
The session commenced inside the retail shop, where Zain presented a raw cocoa pod and cocoa beans to the attending group. Zain delivered a historical and social narrative tracing the origins of cocoa back to the Americas. Although the facilities possess the capacity to accommodate groups of up to approximately twelve people, the specific 3:00 PM session comprised four registered participants: Navya, Aishani, Frederick, and Ken Towl.
What Happens Inside the Cocoa Jones Workshop Atelier During Chocolate Tempering?
As reported by Ken Towl of Inside Croydon, following the theoretical overview in the retail store, participants were directed next door to the workshop atelier to begin the practical manufacturing segment.
Zara instructed all attendees to put on hairnets prior to handling any equipment or ingredients. As reported by Ken Towl of Inside Croydon, Zara stated, “You don’t want hair in your bar,” before introducing the technical principles of chocolate tempering. Zara informed the group that each participant would be crafting two complete bars during the session.
The process of tempering chocolate requires controlled thermal cycles of heating and cooling melted chocolate. This precise temperature manipulation enables the crystal structures within the cocoa butter fats to stabilize, producing a finished product with the characteristic gloss and firm snap of professional confectionery.
Background
The rise of independent food artisans across Greater London represents a broader shift towards experiential high-street retail. Over the past decade, suburban commercial centers such as Purley have seen an evolution in consumer behavior, moving away from conventional chain stores and towards localized, craft-based workshops. Cocoa Jones established its footprint on Old Lodge Lane by pairing traditional confectionery production with educational community outreach, allowing local consumers to participate directly in food craftsmanship.
Prediction
This ongoing development will directly benefit local families, culinary enthusiasts, and Purley high-street traders. By offering accessible, low-cost experiential workshops like the “Passport to Chocolate” series, Cocoa Jones is likely to drive increased footfall to Old Lodge Lane. The model demonstrates that micro-businesses can successfully combine direct-to-consumer retail with interactive services, encouraging longer visitor dwell times and bolstering foot traffic for neighboring independent businesses across the borough of Croydon.
