The Calm Cocoa Story
about us
Calm Cocoa all started with a deep love of chocolate and the need to build a better relationship with stress …
It’s based on the simple ritual of making and mindfully sipping hot chocolate as a beautiful way to create space for calm and connection in a busy day.
Using her skills as a chocolatier and meditation teacher, Calm Cocoa’s creator Meredith made her first hot chocolate blend to incorporate in her meditation sessions.
She’d already experienced first-hand the way mindful eating could support her own tummy troubles. Combining this with the sensory power of chocolate tasting was a match made in heaven.
From this humble start Calm Cocoa has grown into a full range of calming drinks and treats available online, via gifting companies, independent cafes and small local retailers.
Our hot chocolate is ethical, sustainable and, of course, delicious. It can be enjoyed on it’s own or as part of a hot chocolate meditation.
We’re a proudly small batch maker and have no plans to grow to world hot chocolate domination. Small is definitely good!
We hope Calm Cocoa helps inject a little chocolatey calm and connection into your day…
And why hot chocolate?
Enjoying a mug of hot chocolate is a wonderfully soothing and sensory-filled experience.
But it’s also a nod to the sacred origins of cacao.
For most of it’s history, chocolate was mostly consumed as a drink in Meso-America before being brought over to Western Europe (where it stayed in drink form until the first chocolate bar was created in 1847).
Oh, and because it’s completely delicious too of course…
about meredith
Meredith Whitely is a mindfulness meditation teacher, chocolate judge and chocolatier who runs workshops and classes at Food At Heart.
Meredith, with the help of her husband Johnny and her furry mascot Taz the Terrier, makes Calm Cocoa chocolate with love and care in Mid-Wales (at Calm Cocoa HQ).
Inspired by a need to find better balance after struggling with stress-triggered digestive issues, she decided to explore a new focus for her working life.
She followed her love of one of her favourite foods and passions: chocolate. This included working as a chocolate tour guide in London, and teaching creative cooking and chocolate classes with elements of mindful eating. Her interest in mindful eating led to her training as a meditation teacher with the British School of Meditation in 2017.
Meredith soon saw how intrinsically linked self-care and chocolate are, and this inspired her to create a product range with mindful eating at its core.
She now uses the tools and training that benefitted her own stress management and wellbeing to support others. Along with creating her range of mindful hot chocolate products, she runs chocolate meditation workshops and team mindful eating & mindfulness sessions.
Meredith also judges at the Academy of Chocolate Awards and Great Taste Awards. She completed the very first Mindful Eating Certificate Programme with The Center for Mindful Eating in 2021 and is a professional member of the organisation.
She is passionate about sharing her love of taste, wellbeing and the powerful stories of chocolate with other women across the world.
If you’d like to know more about Meredith’s regular meditation sessions and other one-off events you can find out more about her work at Food At Heart.
Profile image courtesy of James Champion