HoCho Fest Day 12: The Jamaican Kiss

A field trip downtown for myp hot took me nearer to some of the farther off locations of the festival, so I took advantage of this spare time and went to the Vancouver Convention Centre - such a beautiful place! I went in the wrong entrance, so I got to detour through a lower level to return to the West Plaza, and there is lovely art and design throughout, and I was all by myself to enjoy it. Eventually, with the help of an eager guide, I found Leonidas Chocolates.

I had not realized how many options they offered for the festival, and was greeted with six when I walked in! This is two more than what is currently listed online. Tempted by the two darker chocolate options, I decided to resist and go with my decision made ahead of time: The Jamaican Kiss. There were also a handful of treats to choose from to accompany it (so many decisions...), these included: a small cheesecake, ice cream, a liege waffle, two pieces of fancy chocolate, or a macaroon flavour of my choice. I vouched for a dark chocolate ganache macaroon and sat down while I admired the quaint shop and looked over the ocean, where the mountains sat so close and wrapped in a sash of banner clouds in the dimming evening.

When my drink arrived, I was immediately excited. I already knew the major components I would be tasting: Chocolate, coconut milk (with soy milk), and rum-infused pineapple purée (what?!), but it just LOOKED good - there was chocolate drizzled down the inside walls of the glass mug and they had decorated it with a cursive "L" for Leonidas! 

Belgian Milk Chocolate flavoured with coconut, pineapple and rum. 
Served with customer's choice of liege waffle, cheesecake, chocolate, or a scoop of Italian ice cream.

($7.15)

The first sip was very smooth, and all of the flavours were immediately evident and delicious! The strongest flavours were the chocolate mixed with soy and coconut milk, as they made up the body of the drink, but the pineapple purée made its way to the front of the drink, and the citrus taste of the pineapple was muted by the rum and the creamy milks.

It was a full flavour, and nothing was overwhelmed or overwhelming - it tasted perfectly balanced. Perhaps important to note: I am a fan of pulp in juices. For this reason, I quite enjoyed that the pineapple purée was very much from real pineapple and added texture throughout the entire consumption experience.

Leonidas is worth returning to. This conclusion is worth reaching based solely on the fact that drinking my beverage resembled drinking a warm, chocolaty piña colada! While that may sound unappealing at first, I can assure you... It is not.

HoCho Fest Day 7: Mint To Be

After a somewhat stressful dinner experience, I made my way over to Blenz to snag the day's hot chocolate festival item before all of the stores closed. I was pleased that my original hot chocolate location closed after all, because the second Blenz option was rather nice!

An organic peppermint tea infusion combined with Belgian milk chocolate. 
Served with a mini chocolate croissant.

($4.25 sans croissant)

Unfortunately, for the second time, I went without the mini chocolate croissant! While this was disappointing, I went forth into my beverage-consuming experience. I ordered it with soy as the flavour itself was milk chocolate infused with organic peppermint tea - so while I could not avoid that dairy, I did what I could with the soy. The peppermint flavour was stronger than I had expected, as I have tried steeped tea hot chocolates of this sort before - and this one was much more quality! The peppermint flavour was strong and well-blended with the smooth chocolate.

The soy milk was smooth and delicious as usual, and it took in the minty chocolate flavours easily. Simplicity really defined the entire flavour experience, but in an elegant and effective way - just the kind of beverage to finish the night with! Texturally, the drink was light, as I believe the peppermint tea kept the drink from settling and sitting heavily on the tongue, and it was very easy to drink.

Tomorrow, I believe,  shall be an exciting adventure - with many different flavours being shared amongst the three of us that shall go - EXCITING.

HoCho Fest Day 3: My Funny Valentine

With books on my back, I traveled today to Blenz Coffee (one of four participating locations) for a new hot chocolate festival experience. The familiar wooden interior and ambience of "studying" greeted me, and I examined my two options: "Mint To Be" and "My Funny Valentine". I went with the latter as it described dark chocolate and sounded as though it would be yummy with almond milk (my Achilles heel, evidently).

A 50% dark Belgian chocolate with ginger.
Served with a mini chocolate croissant. 

($4.99)

Unfortunately, I am unable to speak to the mini chocolate croissant's contribution - they had run out! I had been looking forward to a cute-sized treat alongside my cup of deliciousness. Beyond that, however, there is the focus of my visit to Blenz: The beverage!
The hot chocolate was served warm, but not hot - almost past the point of being "just right", but that is besides the point of taste, as it was very manageable to drink this way. My first taste was potent with ginger flavour and a dark chocolate undertone. My second and third sips introduced more balance in flavours, and the chocolate and ginger began to mesh more effectively as I became more accustomed to the strong ginger. It had a thick chocolaty and gingery aftertaste which left my tastebuds saturated and content. The almond milk worked with this drink as well - I do not believe Blenz uses sweetened almond milk, so it did not add any unnecessary sweetness to the ginger syrup and melted chocolate combination. An artistic touch on the top of the drink and a most excellent job aerating the milk to its fluffy state brought it all together, and would result in me returning for another, but perhaps with only one pump of ginger instead of two.

I would also be interested in trying the Mint To Be option, but perhaps with dark chocolate if possible!

What shall day four bring?

HoCho Fest Day 2: Call Me A Cab

Today's adventure in hot chocolate tasting took me to Terra Breads in Kitsilano. I have only had the baking sort of treat from them, and had no idea there was such a range of specialty beverages and meal items! Along with my hot chocolate, I enjoyed an avocado and veggie sandwich. 

The hot chocolate is called "Call Me A Cab" - one of Terra's two items offered for the festival. I vouched for this one as the other was white chocolate and I wished not to test my stomach's sweetness tolerance for the afternoon. 

Call Me A Cab: Cacao Barry Extra Brute Hot Chocolate with Cabernet, cinnamon and pear. Served with a pear crisp and a cocoa sugar cookie. 

I ordered it with soy milk, and found it to be extremely light and fluffy. There was no overwhelming sweetness or intense chocolatey-ness (in a rather pleasant way). I had trouble detecting the pear flavours, but was met with a hint of the Cabernet throughout the whole drink and it finished on a cinnamon-y note which sat on my tongue. The pear crisp atop it was a unique and delicious treat, and the heart-shaped cocoa sugar cookie was yummy and made for good dunking! 

I quite enjoyed today's experience and will definitely return to the location for sandwiches that are perfectly-sized, healthy, and delicious. Perhaps for the less-than-$5 soup I saw on the menu as well! I look forward to what tomorrow brings.