In a Tizzy

Category: Vancouver

  • 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 6: The Hive

    Oh yes, today was a good day. Today was accented with delectable, bittersweet chocolate delight. 

    I had intentions to go to Bel Cafe, and I did, but their beverage was made with whole milk that could not be separated from the recipe itself, so I subtly said I’d buy something else instead and then promptly left… Awkward.

    My change of plans took me about 15 minutes away to Gastown, where I discovered East Van Roasters and their featured item for the first two weeks of the festival: The Hive.

    ‘Hives for Humanity’ honey dark drinking chocolate.
    Served with a honey nib caramel.
    ($5.50)

    The presentation was so elegant and simple! I had also not expected a full beverage, but rather what apparently is referred to as “Belgian drinking chocolate”, which is when you basically drink melted down chocolate ganache (that is what I got from the lady from whom I ordered the drink, at least); I learned this was not the case when I was served what looked to be regular hot chocolate and I had to buy a new one with soy so my stomach didn’t rally on me (take note of this if you go visit which you SHOULD!). I also appreciated the glass of water to help with cleaning my palette. 

    I should also note: East Van Roasters was designed to train and employ women residents of the Rainier Hotel, a hotel that had attempted to provide a radical treatment approach to addiction and substance abuse. Unfortunately, the program’s funding was terminated, but women have been able to work at EVR. EVR creates organic “bean-to-bar” chocolate and coffee that is roasted and prepared on site! Say whaaat?! That was quite exciting to me – IS quite exciting to me.

    Moving along, the drink came with a “honey nib caramel” – hmm? I wasn’t sure what to expect this to be, but I was pleased to find a small treat inside the wrapped wax paper!
    It was full of sweetness and was chewy and delicious. There were cocao (that is pronounced “cah-cow”) nibs on the inside that made the texture experience quite exciting.

    The drink itself? Well, it was very creamy with the soy milk (recommended over almond milk by the barista), and by creamy I mean smooth and full-feeling in its texture; its flavour matched this description as well. It almost seemed salty at the tip of my tongue, but as it crossed through my mouth I realized it must just be the dark chocolate bitterness resembling salt (but salt and chocolate are delicious when combined), and it broke up the smoothness of the drink overall in a pleasant way. It was full-bodied, and had a dark and smooth taste that was really helped along by the sweetness of the honey throughout the entire drink. It was overall an extremely pleasant experience to consume – would HIGHLY recommend! They have drinks something like this all year-round, it would seem. I look forward to trying the Earl Grey version during the second half of the festival.

    I’m disappointed that my hours spent studying in this cozy shop distracted me from taking my “completion” photo, so here is a complimentary photo of finding my delightful caramel nib inside its wrapping paper.

    Visit this one for sure! It was created for a good cause to boot.

  • HoCho Fest Day 5: Put De Lime In De Coconut

    After a hot chocolate hiatus involving career path searching, banana bread, and anxiety over what I am going to do with myself next year, I returned to my delicious trek today with a trip to Chocolate Arts.

    It was tucked away on West 3rd in a location I would not have expected to find a chocolate artistry shop! However, I was pleasantly surprised when I entered and was greeted by a wave of chocolate aroma.

    Then the decision: A Snowball’s Chance in Hell or Put De Lime In De Coconut? One had ice cream, one had coconut milk blended with another milk of your choice… I went with the latter as I am always interested in trying new dairy-free creations. (Luckily my company chose the former option so I could sample both.)

    Single origin Mexican chocolate with Mexican chili poured over house made chocolate ice cream. 
    Accompanied by a flourless chocolate cookie.
    Single origin Venezuela chocolate with organic coconut and kalamansi lime.
    Accompanied by a toasted coconut shortbread. 
    ($6.25)

    You read that first one correctly – there was chili in the hot chocolate that was poured over the ice cream. That sent a spicy flavour kicker right to the back of my throat when I tried a little sip of it!
    As for my choice, it was laid out most elegantly with the kalamansi lime-vanilla mixture in a shot glass on the side, waiting to be added to the coconut-soy milk chocolate blend served in glass. The flavour of the hot chocolate (sans lime-vanilla) was surprisingly light – I had expected it to be thick from the coconut milk. The glass was rimmed with sugar and it dissolved ever so slightly as the drink passed over it – then I added the lime and my company added his chili to his ice cream.
    The lime was quite tart – and I added more than I probably would have otherwise because I forgot to take a picture when I added the first touch (and neglected to sample the balance at that point). The vanilla with the lime helped bring some balance to its power, but the drink went from light and gently chocolaty to exotic and flavour-crazy very quickly! It was more than I would have liked on the lime side, but I enjoyed the interesting blend nonetheless – helped along by the sugar on the glass and the coconut shavings on the shot glass which I sprinkled into my drink. If you like citrusy lime flavours and the taste of coconut, this is a good one for you! The coconut shortbread on the side was delectable. I would return here for samples of all of their chocolate and the homemade cookies and other goodies behind the counter.

    Until tomorrow,


  • HoCho Fest Day 4: Aphrodite’s Delight


    This, the fourth day of my hot chocolate adventures, marked the first day I was unable to finish my treat! However, the gained knowledge of this location will surely benefit my happiness in the future, and I will certainly be returning to try another of their Hot Chocolate Festival items in the weeks to come. Today I visited Cocoa Nymph!

    I was instantly comfortable upon entering the tiny hideaway near the street corner: It was cozy, it felt like a grandma’s house, and it was full of handmade chocolate.

    The featured item today was Aphrodite’s Delight, a vegan almond milk hot chocolate accented by a mango-rosemary blend and paired with vegan chocolate fudge (wow)! I had already started falling for the place itself, so I eagerly ordered the day’s treat.
    Made from 72% dark chocolate, with mango rosemary puree and almond milk
    (vegan and dairy free).
    Served with a side of rosemary anise fudge.

    I started with the fudge – it was a thick and chewy texture (yum yum), and was strongly flavoured with the rosemary and anise combination. If you enjoy exotic flavours such as anise, it is a unique fudge in my limited fudge experience! I personally would have enjoyed more chocolate (heh heh).
    Then, I moved forth to the hot chocolate. It was very thick and sat heavy on the tongue with its dark chocolate flavour. There were noticeable, but understated and not overwhelming, rosemary undertones to it. I struggled to pick out any of the mango flavour, and eventually resolved to just continue drinking it!
    Unfortunately, the rosemary undertones in combination with the side of flavourful fudge (small, but fudge generally overwhelms me) saturated my taste buds quickly and rendered me feeling unable to complete the entire treat. 
    While I fear the red wine reduction could leave me saturated again, I think my next Cocoa Nymph treat will be “Bacchu’s Dream” in the last week of the festival! Or something else in between – yes, that sounds good…

    Be back soon!


  • 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. 


  • HoCho Fest Day 1: Passionista

    Today (actually, yesterday) marked the beginning of the 2014 Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival! I am very excited, and thusly decided to make my first stop Thomas Haas Chocolates. Here, they offered the “Campfire” and the “Passionista” – I tried the latter.

    “Fresh passion fruit-infused hot chocolate with Grand Marnier Chantilly, served with passion fruit Pate de Fruit.”
    ($5.95)

    I ordered mine to be made with almond milk, while my friend Alex ordered the Campfire made regularly (my small taste yielded happy taste buds). The woman who took my order informed me that no one had ordered the Passionista with almond milk yet, and to return with a review for her. This, more or less, is what I said:

    It was very unique! The passion fruit taste was very strong throughout the entire drink and was unlike any thing I had tried in a beverage before, particularly one with chocolate. I found that the almond milk offered a very clear nutty tone to the entire drink, which was not bad! However, I believe that if I had ordered it with soy milk, the greater creaminess of the soy milk would have better absorbed the fruit flavours. The fruit flavours are very unique (in my experience) to have with hot chocolate, and having the almond flavour remain slightly separate from the fruit flavours was slightly overwhelming.

    Overall, I would love to try it again with soy milk, and am happy that I tried one with a sexy name to start off a delicious journey for the next four weeks! The passion fruit jellies served on the side were also delectable. 



  • Dining Discovery: Nuba – Authentic Lebanese Cuisine

    Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sampling a “mezze” lunch appetizer from a restaurant on Broadway called Nuba. For someone such as myself, the appetizer sufficed for a meal – it was the perfect size, and happened to be gluten-free and vegan in addition to being DELICIOUS.

    My particular appetizer of choice was the Garden Falafel:
    “Victor’s secret recipe of organic chickpeas, fava beans, veggies and spices [VE+GF]”


    It was only $7.50 and filled me right up to the brim – with pita to spare (I myself do not generally like to consume a lot of bread anyways). They event sent me home with a generous amount of extra pita – perhaps based on my empty plate… 

    A definite recommendation for anyone – meat- and veggie-eaters alike!

    Click the link to check out their website.

    Until the next discovery,
    Still Salivating

  • Upcoming Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival: 2014

    This is a very exciting time of year for warm, chocolaty beverage consumers (such as myself).

    Vancouver’s 4th annual Hot Chocolate Festival begins in 6 more days! There are 24 locations and 28 days of the festival, so it sounds like many of my days are going to be painted with warm, brown strokes of deliciousness (the chocolate kind).

    Little did I realize, in my chocolate-induced craze during last year’s festival, that the event is also in support of the Downtown Eastside women’s job skills program – even better! There are many more winners in this than only those who indulge in the magical creations of the chocolate vendors.

    I strongly encourage anyone who has time to visit one location in Vancouver, as there are different types for everyone – even if you don’t like plain chocolate (are you feeling alright?)!

    The promo video has been released, and speaks to only a small portion of what will be offered (Bella Gellateria was a favourite from last year for me – three different types, and homemade banana bread on the side!).

    Click here to watch the promo video!

    Sincerely,
    Already Salivating