New Vegan Chocolate Shop Is Set To Open In York

York will have a new ethical and indulging vegan chocolate store soon!

Chocolatiers Karen Waller Jordan Murphy are opening a vegan chocolate store called Tempt, with the goal of bringing delicious and eco plant-based chocolate to everyone.

Both vegan, they realised there are lots of new brands on the market, but they offer low-quality products using cheap and unhealthy ingredients: unhealthy fats, artificial flavourings and chalky textures. Some of these products are "free-from" – which is great for those with allergies – but they 'ignore the pure pleasure and indulgence of good chocolate'.

With their Tempt products, the duo wants to cater to those who care about their health and the environment. 

They have just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds. The wrote on their page: "There's a growing number of people who want to reduce their dairy consumption but can't find a satisfying alternative for milk chocolate or decadent dairy-rich truffles and treats. They deserve delicious chocolate, too!"

The couple has over ten years of experience in the chocolate industry across various environments and companies. They say they frequently see a lack of transparency, honesty and responsibility among vegan chocolate brands. 

"Whilst there are some fantastic ethical chocolate companies out there, some fall drastically short of their claims and public images," they wrote. 

Karen and Jordan promise they will be different. 

They have been renovating their store, decorating the walls with vegan paints, hoping of being able to open by Easter. They have already started accepting orders from their website. 

"We are building a business that reflects us as individuals: a business that's true to our own ethics and standards, which creates delicious products that we really, really, really want to eat ourselves. We’re an award-winning team that's incredibly passionate about our craft – and the chocolate industry – which drives us to make great chocolate," they wrote.

They sourced the ingredients - cocoa nibs and cocoa butter from raise-trade makers and companies with genuine policies on the social and economic impact. 

Their range will include vegan pralines, truffles, caramels and of course, lots of vegan chocolate. All of their products will be sold with vegan-friendly labels and packaging that is recycled, recyclable or compostable wherever possible.

The couple says they developed some amazing vegan "milk" and "white" chocolate, and they will be making it in front of customers in the shop – using unrefined sugars and raise-trade cocoa.

"We believe it’s so good that most people won’t realise it’s not a classical creamy dairy milk chocolate (which can be confirmed by our eager taste-testers!). We’ll use this to create our bars, and the full range of tasty products you’d expect to find in a good chocolaterie," they wrote.

Especially for Easter they crafted a vegan Easter egg called Tempt' Milkt' Chocolate Orange, filled with popping candy orange segments.