Cup of Charlie® History

Great ideas often begin in unlikely ways.

When Fox (yes, that’s his real first name), a second-grade student at the Ricks Center on the University of Denver campus, came home from school one day, he said, “I sure would like a cup of Joe.” Knowing Fox did not like coffee, his father asked, “What would you call a cup of hot chocolate?”

“Cup of Charlie!”

Fox asked some schoolmates if they would like to start a hot chocolate company. While researching recipes, they expressed an interest in learning about the children who live and work on farms in areas that produce cocoa. Contacts with educators in Nigeria and Ghana showed that children there were equally interested in learning about the lives of children in the United States. Many meetings later, Cup of Charlie went from a great idea to real, functioning business.