HoChos 13, 14, 15, and 16

I think that my eyes have become a deeper, more rich and decadent brown colour since mid-January.

Look into my eyes and its easy to see - one and one makes chocolate, and two and one makes chocolate, it was destinyyyy. (Tenacious D remix)

HoCho #13: Ed's Favourite, Shokolade Artisan Chocolate ($5.25)

The trek out to East Vancouver is worth it for a second year of the festival! With four amigos in tow, I visited Shokolade Artisan Chocolate for my 14th cocoa. This year, the location offered four flavours, presumably named after employees that chose them as their favourites! Ed, Jane, Alex, and Judy's "favourites" were available, and all but poor Alex were sampled by our crew.

I personally indulged in an almond-milk "Ed's Favourite" which was a blend of 70% cocoa and raspberry puree. Upon first sip, the raspberry made its debut, introducing a tanginess that rose above the darkness and richness of the thick chocolatey milk.

On this particular trip, something happened that had not occurred this year during the festival: I became saturated with chocolate. An off day meant that I could not complete the entire drink - not because of any flavour complaints, but simply because I was full and the chocolate was rich enough that I did not guzzle it right up (as is often the norm...).

Jane's Favourite: White chocolate with
coconut cream blended in.

Alongside the drink was a raspberry praline, which was superb! A dark chocolate shell with light raspberry cream in the middle (in the shape of a heart!) was a sweet little treat to go with the drink. 

I recommend this stop if you want variety, are with a few friends, or (specific to my drink) you like dark chocolate.

HoCho #14: The Dominican, Thierry ($10.24)

Thierry is nestled downtown and is the sort of establishment that lets you know what you will be walking into once you cross its threshold - clean, minimalistic, wooden, modern, and brown (like its chocolate!).

JS and I enjoyed this simple hot chocolate drink with a fancy chocolate treat on the side, called a "Tonka Bean cream Choux" (something I let the chocolate folks behind the counter pronounce on my behalf when ordering).

Truthfully, I do not have a huge review for the drink itself, as it was a fairly simplistic beverage. However, it was not overly sweet, and was light to drink. The serving size was ideal, and the milk foamed to perfection; I also enjoyed how the drink was served, particularly the glass it was served in (does anyone know where I can get one of these?!).

I think my favourite part of this was the cream Choux on the side - it was a perfect little morsel to chew on while telling stories and watching the rain fall with a warm drink at hand.

HoCho #15: Triple Ginger-Spiced Hot Chocolate, Last Crumb Bakery & Cafe (~$7.09)

Heading down to Main Street is always an enjoyable experience, and stopping by the Last Crumb Bakery & Cafe makes it way better.

Of the two options for this year's festival, my company and I decided upon the triple-ginger spiced hot chocolate with soy milk. The ginger was strong throughout the drink, but did not overwhelm the taste buds, as it was blended smoothly with the chocolate and, I believe, absorbed into the creamy soy milk in a most-pleasant way.

Accompanying the chocolate concoction was an apricot "sconescotti." Somewhere between a scone and biscotti, this little treat had chunks of apricot throughout and a chewy texture that made you savour it and take time to go "mmmmm."

HoCho #16: Earl Grey Hot Chocolate, French Made Baking ($4.25)

As I made my way to French Made Baking on this day's festival adventure, I was anticipating trying their "Only Thyme Will Tell" beverage: a hot chocolate infused with thyme and orange, served with a macaron. Unfortunately, due to the time required to infuse the thyme, the drink mixture is prepared in advance and is made with dairy milk - so I was unable to try the beverage that had me salivating before I even arrived at their doorstep!

To my pleasure, another drink was made for me (that appears to have been removed from their festival menu) that involved infusing early grey tea into a dark hot chocolate, which was made with soy milk especially for me! The tea made the drink light, as the standard earl grey flavours (a little bit of black tea magic, some flowery overtones...) lifted the weight off of the tongue while drinking it.

Why haven't I been mixing tea and chocolate all the time?