From January 14 to February 14, the Hot Chocolate Festival is running in participating cafes around Vancouver and the lower mainland.
This year, they are introducing a new initiative so that the fest is accessible to disadvantaged children.
They will be distributing coupons via accredited charitable organizations such as shelters for battered women, church groups and other organizations that specialize in assisting low-income families. The tickets can be redeemed for free hot chocolate drinks only by children accompanied by an adult guardian, and will be issued solely to charitable institutions, not to individuals.
After scoping out the menu, there are so many great places to check out this year. There are a lot of flavours that caught my eye – both tasty sounding and also intriguing with the mix of ingredients (cheese and olive hot chocolate?!)
Here are some of our picks for this year:
49th Parallel Coffee + Lucky’s Doughnuts
HIP HIP HOORAY!
Available January 29- February 12, 2023.
Birthday cake-inspired hot chocolate made with white chocolate and sprinkles. (Contains nuts). Served with a Funfetti doughnut, filled with vanilla custard, topped with vanilla buttercream, sprinkles and “cake bark” .
Aiyaohno Cafe
OBAACHAN’S PLUM WINE STASH
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
Chocolate combined with non-alcohol umeshu plum wine made with Nanko ume plums from Kishu, Japan. Served with a non-alcohol Umeshu Chocolate Truffle.
THOMAS GLOVER, THE SCOTTISH SAMURAI
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
Chocolate combined with flavours of smokey peated Japanese whisky from the Yoichi distillery.
Served with a Yoichi Peated Whiskey Chocolate Truffle.
Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe
AFTERNOON TEA SET 1
Available: Jan 14 – 31, 2023
Inspired by Hong Kong-style afternooon tea sets. Salted Milo and Horlick Blond Hot Chocolate infused with Madagascarian vanilla. Topped with whipped cream and pineapple bun topping cookie crumbs. We will be using Valrhona’s Dulcey 35% which has a subtle, mellow biscuit flavour with a subtly salty, caramelized milky undertone.
Served with a pineapple bun brioche with salted honey whipped butter.
AFTERNOON TEA SET 2
Available: February 1 – 14, 2023
Also inspired by Hong Kong-style afternoon tea sets. This spiced milk tea and coffee milk hot chocolate uses Valrhona Caramélia 36% milk chocolate which is known for its soft, rich and. voluptuous undertones of rich, milky flavour and salted butter caramel. Served with a crunchy egg tart.
The Bench Bakehouse
MEXICAN REVOLUTION
January 14 – February 14, 2023
A dark chocolate made with cocoa and a mix of almonds and pecans. Sweetened with brown sugar it is a slightly sweet and nutty hot chocolate for winter time. Paired with a concha bun – a sweet Mexican bread that is baked from scratch in our bakery and filled with sweet pastry cream.
THE QUEEN WITH A HAZEL EYE
January 14 – February 14, 2023
A sweet and creamy hot chocolate with hazelnuts all over. Half hazelnut milk and half chocolate milk all steamed to make a nice foam on top. (That’s where we add the ground hazelnuts.) You will go nuts with all these nuts. And there’s more … Our famous, multi-layered Kouign Amann pastry has a hazelnut filling and ground hazelnut topping to match.
Broyé Cafe & Bakery
THE BLACK GOLD
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
For the first time ever – the combination of world famous egg coffee with premium Belgian Callebaut dark chocolate. A special sensation for the mouth.
Paired with a petite Banh mi (Vietnamese Sandwich).
East Van Roasters
24 CARROT GOLD
Available: January 14 – 28, 2023
Carrot cake spiced, stone ground, 70% dark chocolate topped with coconut whip. Paired with an EVR housemade chocolate carrot pop.
Fufú Café
Mi-So CHEESY
Available: January 14 – 29, 2023
An ode to creativity with organic white miso paste, cream cheese and Valrhona 35% Blond Dulcey chocolate, this hot chocolate is topped with house made miso cheese whipped cream and nori (seaweed flakes). It’s a sweet and savoury hot drink that brings an audacious experience to the table.
Paired with a classic cheesecake bar covered with Japanese rice cracker bits.
Honolulu Coffee
THE DONUT
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
A donut-shaped hot chocolate drink using 70% dark chocolate mixed with a single shot of espresso (can be decaffeinated) and topped with sea salt cheese frosty cream top. (Cannot substitute with non-dairy milk option.)
Paired with a donut-shaped, fudge chocolate cake glazed with refreshing raspberry icing.
RAINCOUVER
Available January 20 – February 14, 2022
You’ll know you’re in Vancouver when you see this fun, 70% dark hot chocolate (with pink Himalayan salt ) melting a cloud-shaped mass of cotton candy suspended over the cup. It’s raining!
Kasama Chocolates
BRAZO DE MERCEDES
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
A homage to the Philippine dessert with the same name, this purple-coloured drinking chocolate features ube (Phillippine purple yam) and pandan and is topped with a floating green pandan and calamansi meringue. The ube pandan white chocolate used in this drink is made in house and will evoke flavours of almonds, vanilla and coconut. Served with an ube pandan shortbread cookie.
Koko Monks
BLACK ORPHEUS
Available from Feb 5-14, 2023
Vegan black curry, dark hot chocolate with a dash of coconut.
Paired with vegan salted rose caramel praline.
La Glace
SANS RIVAL
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
Roasted cashew sorbet “float” with white hot chocolate.
Served with caramelized cashew dacquoise.
Motoretta
IL RE
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023.
Parmigiano Reggiano is considered to be the “king of cheeses”. In this hot chocolate we are going to use a blend of milk and dark chocolate infused with Parmigiano Reggiano and Castelvetrano olives . Served with a guava rotolo cake.
Trafiq
EXOTIQUE
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
Vanilla-pineapple-citrus Earl Grey tea and 34% white chocolate.
Served with a Butter Earl Grey cookie.
BLACK DRAGON
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
Black sesame-maple-Oolong tea and 64% dark chocolate.
Served with a maple-sesame alfajor cookie.
THE ROYAL
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
Orange zest-Masala Chai tea and 31 % milk chocolate.
Served with an Orange Polvoron (Mexican shortbread cookie.)
Vancouver Aquarium
TERRY’S HOT CH-OCTOPUS
Available January 14 – February 14, 2023
Named after our resident Octopus, Terence (Terry, for short) this HC combo has suction power: Callebaut chocolate syrup, steamed milk and purple whip. Served in an octopus souvenir mug and paired with a tentacle-shaped, ice sugar cookie.
See the entire list here: https://hotchocolatefest.com/list-of-flavours
