In a Tizzy

Author: In a Tizzy

  • HoCho Fest Final Day (27): Popped Cherry

    A bittersweet day for the hot chocolate festival and me! The only sweetness of it comes from the end of my sense of obligation to buying expensive hot chocolates and then later consuming them in greater quantities than I ordinarly would. The bitterness is the end of my contributions to the Women’s Job Skills program in the Downtown Eastside, the end of exploring new venues and their exciting specialty items for the festival, and the end of blogging about them every day. However, it has been an exciting four weeks, and the day itself was beautiful and everything (beyond the chocolate) felt very ‘right’.


    My last stop of the festival seemed somehow appropriate for Valentine’s Day, as Gem Chocolates was serving up Glenn’s “Popped Cherry” hot chocolate (it is only appropriate for Valentine’s Day in a way that is slightly inappropriate, ha ha). Also, the store was decorated for the day, and employees vouched for red, sparkly ties as their uniform!

    Popped Cherry: Cherry, chocolate and fig, with a surprising pop.
    Served with a dried cherry chocolate creation.
    ($6.25?)

    It turned out I had arrived just in time, as they were onto the last scoop of the specialty ganache for the drink! I think this is what made it difficult to detect the specific flavours during the first quarter of the beverage. Not only that, but I asked for almond milk – and they ran out of that, too! So we decided to go crazy and combine it with soy milk so as not to waste what was already poured.

    Each sip was distinctively flavoured with milk chocolate, and the soy-almond milk combination made it smooth. The cocoa sprinkled on top was a nice chocolaty touch, as well (Glenn remembered that I have a no-whip preference, so the cocoa shavings sat upon delicious foam instead).

    Towards the bottom of the hot chocolate, I could begin to taste some of the cherry flavour, though I do believe I truly got what little was left of the ganache, ha ha. In addition to all of this last-day-of-the-festival craziness, I missed out on the cherry chocolate creation! However, I was not disappointed by the consolation prize: A homemade chocolate fudge cookie made by a Gem Chocolates employee. It was a moist and gooey and amazingly delicious cookie to be paired with the yummy hot chocolate!


    Off to birthday/Valentine’s Day dinner we went, and finished off the hot chocolate back at home. Overall, I believe that the hot chocolate was a lovely accent to what turned out to be a really excellent day.

    At the end of my chocolate journey for 2014,
    I am content with all of my new dining discoveries
    and the time with friends and family that the festival
    was able to make even more delicious and exciting.
    I do not consider myself much of a hot chocolate
    connoisseur, but it has most definitely been fun to
    experience so many unique creations and locations!

    Until next year,

  • HoCho Fest Day 26: Bacchu’s Dream

    The penultimate day of the hot chocolate festival is upon us! I took this opportunity to make a quick trip down to Cocoa Nymph before other evening obligations came upon me.

    Bacchu’s Dream: Made from 72% dark chocolate with red wine
    reduction and apple ginger compote.
    Served with walnut shortbread (vegan).
    ($6.65)

     This particular beverage was made with coconut milk (though I ordered almond – this works, too!), and I thought I could detect an aroma of red wine before I even took a sip of the drink. 

    WHOA. I definitely could smell it before I sipped it – I realized this upon actually sipping it, and tasting what turned out to be a very strong red wine flavour. My expectation had been to experience more of a red wine undertone, rather than a half-wine half-chocolate drink. This was slightly distressing as I am not a fan of wine, so the taste was overwhelming, and I struggled to detect anything else about the drink for a few sips. Eventually, though, I was able to pick up on some of the apple ginger compote, as little pieces of apple made their way to my mouth as I sipped.
    Now that walnut shortbread cookie – that was amazing! It was chewy and had texture from the walnuts in it, and would be perfect to dip in a less wine-y hot chocolate or some tea in the morning, I think.
    It was a nice night with a big moon in the sky as I left, and it felt like the week would be ending on a good note. Valentine’s Day, big birthday, and the beginning of our reading break – I would expect no less from such a day!

    I just couldn’t finish it…

  • HoCho Fest Day 25: …?!

    I was disappointed to find that another location in the hot chocolate festival has stopped serving festival specials – but this time, the website was not overlooked by me! They stopped early according to the schedule online. With a tight schedule and a lot of driving ahead of me, I went to Beaucoup Bakery and decided to get something to drink as an alternative to their “Hungers Satisfied” item.

    Note: This post will be short.

    The drink I chose was their regular hot chocolate (to upkeep my daily intake of cacao products), and was made of dark chocolate ganache and was flavoured with salt. It came with small sugar cookies on the side that were delicate and lightly sweet.

    I ordered my drink with soy milk, and the ganache and soy blended so smoothly, and the richness was countered by the salt, which made the drink more dynamic. Additionally, the small size of the drink was very nice – the perfect amount of hot chocolate for me! While I am disappointed that I was unable to grab a festival item today, it was nice nonetheless to try one of the participants’ regular drinks.

  • HoCho Fest Day 24: Brunette Bangle

    Today was a hot chocolate festival day marked with both high and low moments.


    First, the low (because then we can move on from them): Really there is only one, and it is having made the discovery that Thierry Chocolaterie stopped participating in the festival as of yesterday – I do not know why, but this means there will be one location that I do not get to attend while it participates in the festival – perhaps I will go visit anyways!

    The highs: I was able to enjoy a very unique and delicious hot chocolate with three lovely people! The four of us ventured to Koko Monk this afternoon.

    Having done a bit of research ahead of time, I learned that all of their creations are preservative and chemical free! All of the flavours come from their natural sources. A novelty that I appreciate, and a point of pride in their establishment made clear by the chocolatiers that served us today.

    Brunette Bangle: Hot chocolate with the exotic hint of curry.
    Served with your choice of cookie.
    ($6.75)
    I was hesitant in approaching this unique flavour combination, as I do not generally like curries because the majority I try are spicy and have caused me to avoid them. However, this soy-milk beverage was a surprise to me: It was a really nice balance of real, homemade dark chocolate, and curry flavours! The curry flavours were not spicy, but added a unique dimension to the drink and paired well with the dark chocolate, which was bitter and full of flavour. 

    Halfway through the drink, we stirred it with the spoon provided and whew! Curry flavour was in abundance. After more mixing and including the chocolate drizzled along the sides of the glass mug, the flavours seemed to balance again and reach a very happy place.

    As for the cookie.. There is not much to say, and not much needs to be said: It is a cookie filled with delicious jam and covered in soft and powdery sweetness. It had the soft, chewy texture that I so love in my cookies.



    This spot is a definite need-to-try if you’re ever in the Kitsilano area! I want to sample all of their yummy chocolate confections and take a stab at that chocolate fondue fountain… Droooooooling.


  • HoCho Fest Day 23: Monkey’s Uncle

    Happy B.C. Family Day!

    To celebrate the day, some of the folks I love came out to my end and we all went for “Italian soul food” at the restaurant Incendio. My pasta was delectable, and the crusts of my family members’ pizzas were as well.

    S and N’s pizza.
    My rotini pomodoro pasta.
    Mom and J’s pizza.



     












    After our lunch, we made the journey over to the hot chocolate location for the day – the second trip to Bella Gelatería! I thought it would be a good spot to showcase some of the festival’s creativity and unique locations to my family.

    Monkey’s Uncle: gBAR made from banana liquer and swirls of “To Die For”
    banana bread crumb. Served with a slice of Erin Ireland’s “To Die For”
    Banana Bread.


    The gelato gBAR for this drink tasted SO GOOD! It tasted exactly like banana bread, except it was in a popcicle form. S and N tried this as well, but tried it instead in a cone and dipped it in their white hot chocolate (with moderate success). 

    Dipping our banana bread gBAR into the dark almond milk hot chocolate made it melt, and the oozing flavours tasted oh-so-yummy. The hot chocolate was dark and nutty from the almond milk, and was quite filling. Similarly to my last experience at BG, the gBAR did not flavour the hot chocolate very strongly, and the flavours of it were hardly present until the last quarter of the drink, where it became thicker with the gelato and hints of banana crept up.

    As was the case last time, the “To Die For” banana bread was delectable, and I think that everyone enjoyed their hot chocolate experiences as well. 



    I personally think that last year’s hot chocolate at BG was superior because of how strong the flavours were. However, this year’s is very unique in how you come to have the specialty drinks – to make this year’s top last year’s, I think the drinks should be smaller so that the gBARs can flavour the hot chocolate more effectively (maybe 12oz drink cups instead of what appear to be 16oz ones would help).

  • HoCho Fest Day 22: Hot Toddy Float

    Hot toddy (noun): A mixed drink made of liquor and water with sugar and spices, served hot.
    Also known as: Hot totty, hot tottie, or a hot whiskey (in Ireland)

    This screams to be made into a delicious hot chocolate! Off to the edge of the water we went in search of Soirette Macarons and Tea. A bit of a walk in the cold, but when we saw the little white shopfront appear around the corner, we felt excited.


    Inside the shop, I noticed wedding cakes decorated with macarons, high tea tiers being cleaned off by patrons, and an assortment of tiny goodies to choose from (topped with tiny macarons) inside the food cabinets at the counter. With only one festival item available today, I asked if it could be made with soy to minimize the effects of the ice cream that would be mixed in.

    You’d stay warm and cozy even in the peaks of Grouse
    Mountain with this buttered rum hot chocolate blended with wild
    mountain honey ice cream.
    Served with a Grouse Grind Reward Cluster.
    ($6.25)
    We ordered ours with soy, and were told we could sit “for a few minutes” before any high tea customers arrived (how kind of them to allow us that luxury!). To be honest, the service left something to be desired – maybe they were having a busy or stressful day, but the lack of smiles and conveyed sense that I was burdening them with my patronage made the hot chocolate experience less than thrilling.


    The hot chocolate had a distinctively liquor-y taste to it, but that potency was balanced with the honey in the ice cream, which seemed to smooth it out a little. Ice cream and soy milk meant it was very creamy and full-bodied, and the drink went down quite smoothly. “Pristine” is a word I might use to describe the small and almost entirely white shop – it felt like a spot you’d go to a little dressed up or to pick up your wedding cake. Macarons were everywhere! That, however, is to be expected – if there were few macarons, I may have taken up issue with the name (“Modern art? Irony?”) However, I didn’t need to do so because there were more macarons than I would ever need! Cascading down cakes, placed atop small desserts, sitting to be chosen as individual treats, in as many colours as there are ways to eat them. There truly aren’t THAT many, because it is so small, but they are all delicate and nice!

    Tomorrow is Family Day, so I look forward to sharing the journey with those folks I love!

  • HoCho Fest Day 21: Winter Citrus


    Today(yesterday)’s festival item was truly a blessing in how it soothed my very fragile mind from today (yesterday)! The day had felt overwhelming for no identifiable reason, so a kind offer to accompany me to my location for the day was very welcomed. Location of choice: The Last Crumb Cafe.

    According to their website, The Last Crumb was started by two sisters who were/are “obsessed with food” – and it shows! It has an atmosphere that, to me, showed an expression of fun-loving passion for what they do. Evidence to further their food obsession claim is found in the pastry cabinets, full of scones and cookies and cookie sandwiches and pies and cakes that all look homemade. While I did not buy one, I would very much like to at some point.

    Take a trip to Seville with this hot chocolate flavoured with orange blossom.
    Served with a orange vanilla marshmallow.
    ($7.91)

     Note: Cost may be increased due to getting it with almond milk!
    I was firstly impressed by the wonderful foam on this drink – almond milk is tough to get foamy sometimes! It immediately reminded me of a Christmas chocolate orange (the kind that you “whack and unwrap”)! I personally enjoy those flavours together, so it was delicious for me. Not everyone is a fan of fruit and chocolate, though. 

    Beyond the foam, the orange-chocolate flavour became more clearly its orange blossom-chocolate flavour – there was an added aroma to the flavour, as the milk was much more heavily infused with it than was the foam of the drink. It took a few sips to get used to, but once I did, it was lovely! A welcomed aftertaste that warmed me up on what was another very chilly day.

    It was thicker and creamier than I had expected, perhaps this came from the type of chocolate used to make the drink; regardless, the almond milk turned out to be a nice choice. The nutty, chocolaty, and citrusy flavours all meshed well together for my liking! Personally, I believe it would make a good chocolate bar flavour.



    The orange vanilla marshmallow was gigantic and covered in vanilla powder that blew across the table every time we took a breath near the cup, ha ha. It added a slight vanilla sweetness to the drink.

    I loved the decorations inside the shop – plates and elegant tea cups all over the walls made it dainty and reminded me of a grandmother’s collection, but presented in a younger and more modern way. Definitely inspiring for future decorating ideas!










  • Something is Growing

    I cannot identify what it is, but every so often during the last few weeks I have felt this “something”, and it seems to be expanding within me. It may simply be a sense of anticipation for the upcoming months that will determine what my involvement and living arrangements for the next academic year will be, but sometimes it occurs in the classroom – a context that makes me wonder if something I’m learning about is “clicking” and guiding me in a direction that I may choose to follow. 
    While I remind myself that the path I choose is not the only path, or even the only realm that I will know (in my schooling, career, etc.), I am eager to find a short-term goal to pursue that will lead to longer term prosperity – until I find the next adventure, at least.

    It is my hope that this “something” is a sense of what my first of these adventures will be.

  • HoCho Fest Day 20: Big Bad Wolf

    Hallelujah, Friday has ARRIVED! In celebration of this, and with great fatigue, I made what turned out to be a somewhat lengthy journey east of UBC to indulge in hot chocolate today.

    The journey took us to Schokolade Artisan Chocolates and Cafe. It is a not-too-small shop with a sweet aroma that contrasts the harsh vibe of the neighbourhood in which it resides.

    A 38% milk chocolate flavoured with a blend of gingerbread spices and
    steamed milk. Served with a gingerbread cookie.
    ($10.50)

    $10.50?! That may seem unreasonable when you look at the description, but the chocolates accompanying the gingerbread man cookie are included with the purchase of one hot chocolate – one hot chocolate, one gingerbead man, and four fancy chocolates of your choice! Pricey, but quite the filling and tasty offer.


     Luckily, I had someone with me with whom to share what could have been a chocolate overdose if done alone. We selected: Two dark chocolate raspberry hearts, a dark chocolate nougat, and a salted caramel treat (the supernova-esque one in the photo). They all proved to be very delicious, and the gingerbread man was soft and chewy when dipped in the hot chocolate (may he rest peacefully in our tummies).


    In terms of the drink itself, I did not find that I was particularly overwhelmed by it as a specialty drink for the festival, but it was delicious as a hot chocolate in its own right. We agreed that a darker chocolate would have provided more contrast with the ginger flavours to make it a bit more of a dynamic drinking experience. However, the way type of chocolate we had allowed for seamless blending of ginger and chocolate – the ginger was subtle but provided a little extra something that made it reminiscent of the season. What seemed to be missing was evidence to explain its given title – I sensed no “bad side” to this hot chocolate – it seemed quite tame, in fact, more like a “Big Friendly Golden Retriever” perhaps (ha-ha-ha)!


    If I’m ever out in that direction again, I’d be happy to try something else,
    as they do seem to have an interesting selection of special drinks and certainly
    a delicious collection of crafted chocolates to choose from.