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 11: Magnifique Brunette

A wonderful end to the previous evening left me feeling relaxed today, a day where I had very little going on in the middle of my day, but commitments that required me to return by a decent hour to get things done with wifi available. I decided upon a more eastern location for hot chocolate today, and made my way over to French Made Baking.

The great thing about some of these places is that when they seem to suggest a certain country of origin (such as Bella Gelatería from the other day), the individuals who are employed there have the background and accents to match! French Made Baking did not disappoint in this regard, as I asked the barista to repeat a handful of phrases because I am terrible with accents - it was great!

With this festival being so full of things to experience, I always go for the combo when getting the hot chocolates (and always go to the gym before heading out to get them) - if there is a treat to be offered alongside the beverage, it will be included. Today's bonus treat turned out to be double the fun - two chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons! They complemented the beverage, as its blend of flavours were almost exclusively chocolate and coconut.



I paid what I thought to be a fair amount for the drink and its two rather filling treats alongside, and made my way to a artfully decorated table, small enough for two to share a couple of cappuccinos at, but not much more. It went along with the interior of the small café, which felt... French? I have never been to France, but this felt like what I would imagine it being like.

Valrhona Araguani Dark Chocolate (72%) with coconut milk and toasted coconut. 
Served with "Congolais" (coconut macaroon dipped in chocolate).
Available: January 18, 24, 29 and Feb 3, 8, 13

($5.75)

The dark taste of the chocolate settled on the back of my tongue, while the sweetness of the coconut milk and coconut shavings settled on my tongue's tip. I had expected the drink to be thick and heavy, but it was instead surprisingly light and not overly filling; the macaroons took care of that aspect for me. If you are a fan of coconut flavour, this whole drink and snack experience should be very enjoyable! There are no hidden undertones or overtones or extra flavours thrown in - it is hot chocolate made with coconut milk, and it is great (speaking as a fan of coconut). The beverage was simple and, with its treats, made for a nice afternoon snack. The macaroons were sweet and full of chewy coconut texture, and the chocolate-dipped portion added some smoothness to each bite.

French Made Baking appears to have a wide range of items available for lunch, snack, or thirst desires - and seeing "crepes" on the menu was a sure sign (for me) that the small location had promise to entice my return. I also happened to encounter and speak briefly with a woman who was also on a Hot Chocolate Festival journey of her own! She was trying to catch up after missing the first week, and was having two drinks each day (whew).

 Tomorrow should be fun!

HoCho Fest Day 10: The Campfire

The day's gray weather seemed to reflect my mood: Nothing too extreme, but somewhat low energy, and very much conducive to collapsing into a nap. This was not an ideal mental state with an interview later in the afternoon, but what better to help remedy a melancholy wave than with a cup of hot chocolate?

I returned to my first stop in the festival to satisfy today's chocolate quota, as it was close by and I was in a time crunch with my interview fast-approaching. Plus - the second option on their festival menu had looked very good when my friend had it. 

With a couple of good folks, I headed off to Thomas Haas for the second time this month.

A classic hot chocolate, only with smoky caramel, smoked Hawaiian sea salt.
Served with vanilla marshmallows.

($5.95)

The drink was meant to come with vanilla marshmallows, but they had run out of these (I likely would not have eaten them anyways, as gelatin is something I try to avoid despite its lack of explicitness in its non-vegetarian-ness).

Anyways! As a replacement, they offered Grand Marnier-infused whipped cream (which I requested be left out) and provided DELICIOUS dark chocolate almond sugar cookies - however, they didn't seem like the traditional sugar cookies - they were ooey gooey good on the inside! And did not crumble in the least. Perhaps I misinterpreted what the barista described to me.

I ordered my drink to be made with almond milk, as I thought it would complement the rest of the beverage's characteristics: Chocolate, smoky caramel, sea salt... The nuttiness of the almond milk made the dark chocolate flavour less heavy, and the "smoky caramel" left a pleasant aftertaste on the tongue while making the drink's name come to life on the tastebuds.

Towards the middle of the drink, the true caramelly flavour began to really show itself; evidently, the caramel usually drizzled atop the marshmallows had sunk straight to the bottom of the drink undetected! So, as the rest of the beverage disappeared, the caramel could more easily slip into each sip (deliciously). The Hawaiian sea salt was very subtle, and I probably would not have taken notice if not for the drink's description being read ahead of time. I quite enjoyed this drink, and think soy milk would make its body feel more full; but the almond milk was lovely and light.


I've begun to schedule where my next stops will be, so I look forward to trying something new tomorrow with some free time on my hands!