KL Mocha Fest 2026 celebrates the best of Malaysian specialty chocolate and coffee

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s specialty coffee and chocolate industries took centre stage yesterday as the inaugural KL Mocha Fest 2026 opened at the Main Atrium of KLGCC Mall, bringing together local chocolatiers, coffee roasters and consumers to celebrate the country’s growing artisanal food scene.

Held from July 3 to 5 in conjunction with the International Chocolate Day 2026, the festival is organised by Coffee Art Fringe Festival Asia Sdn Bhd with support from sponsors CIMB Bank, Chocolate Concierge, Coffex Coffee and Mono Origine.

Festival director Karen Khoo said the idea for KL Mocha Fest grew from the success of previous specialty coffee events and the increasing recognition of Malaysia’s cocoa industry.

“When we did that event, we promoted specialty coffee seen in Malaysia. What inspired me to do KL Mocha Fest is because we see there’s a big growth in Malaysian chocolate, especially cocoa.

“Malaysia is a cocoa plantation country, and we have our own cocoa. Therefore, we would like to see Malaysian cocoa coming in together with the specialty coffee scene. That’s why I married both and called it the KL Mocha Fest,” she told Sinar Daily.

Khoo said one of the festival’s main goals is to educate consumers about chocolate beyond its traditional role as a dessert ingredient.

“The vision of this event is to increase the number of people appreciating specialty chocolate. We want people to know more about chocolate.

“Chocolate is not just dessert, it can be more than just dessert. It can be in drinks form. Chocolate, overall, is actually a wellness product,” she said.

Khoo said educating consumers is only part of the festival’s mission, adding that it also aims to create more opportunities for local chocolatiers and cocoa farmers.

“There are actually quite a number of chocolatiers in Malaysia. However, there are not many.

“I would like to see the growth in this segment because most of our farmers here are actually very small.

"With more people appreciating good chocolate, we trust that the farmers down to the bean will actually be able to thrive and be bigger and then grow the chocolate market in Malaysia,” she said.

Khoo also urged people to support cafés that use quality Malaysian chocolate, adding that stronger consumer demand would encourage businesses to source better local products.

Organised by Coffee Art Fringe Festival Asia Sdn Bhd, the festival features specialty coffee and chocolate exhibitors, tasting sessions, educational activities and competitions.

The opening day included the preliminary round of the Mocha Competition, with more programmes scheduled throughout the weekend.