Hot cocoa bombs are the bomb right now. In the last few months, this hot food trend has been going viral on TikTok and Instagram. Kids love them, and they are becoming the most sought-after stocking stuffer this season. The craze is a holiday blessing for several local businesses during this pandemic, and they are struggling to keep up with the demand.
“I am pretty much just by order with hot cocoa bombs,” says Lainie Sanchez of Mugs Cafe and Bakery in Roanoke, who just started making them a week ago. “By the time I get them made, they are gone. I can’t even get them out.”
A hot cocoa bomb is a chocolate sphere full of cocoa and marshmallows, which makes the mix sweet, rich and visually stunning. Just toss the bomb in a mug and pour hot water or milk over it to watch the sphere split open and release the marshmallows. Hot cocoa bombs are definitely more exciting than those store-bought envelopes of cocoa, and countless local businesses are suddenly selling them, usually for around $5 each.
Even 287 Nutrition in Arlington, known for nutritious smoothies, had to get in on the action. “It’s crazy,” says owner Beth Amezcua. “People are going nuts over them. If you are on any moms’ group online, people are posting about it every day.”
Kimber Chambless of Bake My Day in Keller says someone just ordered 70 hot cocoa bombs. Demand is so high that she has stopped advertising them. Brooke Taylor of Bunny’s Bakery in Fort Worth serendipitously learned how to temper chocolate during the pandemic. When reached by phone, she kept using the words “crazy” and “insane” to describe the demand, and says she has lost sleep trying to fill all the orders.
“It’s super popular right now,” says Chovani Wright from Jar Sweets in Fort Worth, which normally sells cheesecakes in Mason jars. “Kids are super fascinated with it.” Many are doing well with regular hot cocoa bombs, but she also offers flavors like caramel and cookies and cream, and has started experimenting with elf molds. “I don’t know where it came from, but it’s a major hot commodity right now. It has boosted my business and put my name out there.”
“We are doing our best to not sell out,” says Season Lambert of Life Is Sweet in Keller. She says people are calling, messaging, and coming into her store every day in search of the popular item. Many are buying a few dozen at a time, and she says the best way to secure yours is to pre-order from the website. In addition to the original flavor, Life Is Sweet sells mint truffle and white chocolate candy cane.
Lambert also makes a good point when asked about the origin of hot cocoa bombs: “There is a chocolatier in Dallas who started with Carl the Snowman. That is a hot cocoa bomb, and it has been sold for years.”
Indeed, Kate Weiser Chocolate has been selling Carl the Drinking Chocolate Snowman, the OG hot cocoa bomb, since 2014.
“It’s so funny, because for the last six years, we have really had to explain how he works,” Weiser says. “But everyone knows this year, and it’s helped our sales.”
Carl makes five to eight cups and is sold at stores like Neiman Marcus and Central Market in addition to Kate Weiser Chocolate locations. But for now, Weiser is holding off on selling other hot cocoa bombs.
“Carl is our bread and butter,” says Weiser, who compares the hot cocoa bomb craze to the sudden popularity of French macarons. “I wanted to make sure we weren’t going to make a new product that would cannibalize his sales. But I think next year we will do little Carls with individual servings.”
