The last participating cafe I visited for this year’s Hot Chocolate Festival 2019 was back East Van Roasters. Not only do I love their artisan chocolate and coffee, but also I love to support them because of their work in helping marginalized women in the Downtown Eastside.

Each year, partial proceeds of the Hot Chocolate Festival go to a few charitable organizations all of which seek to improve the lives of women and families in Vancouver.

One of the organizations is the Downtown Eastside Women’s Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society as run by East Van Roasters. East Van Roasters was designed to provide training and employment to the women residents of the Rainier Hotel.  Until they lost their funding in 2013, the Rainer operated a small but radical new approach to treating addiction for marginalized women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

East Van Roasters continues to employ women from the Rainier and helps them get back into the workforce, gain confidence, build their skill sets, and foster a positive environment for them to work.

For the first half of the Hot Chocolate Festival, East Van Roasters offered the “Umami Experience.” Priced at $7.50, the hot chocolate featured a Tamari caramel drinking chocolate made with 70% dark single-origin chocolate. It is paired with Wasabi Chocolate Almonds.

I thought the drink encompassed umami, with the saltiness being quite prominent. The sweetness balanced it out along with some bitterness. While the sourness evaded me a bit, the caramel flavours really came through. Check out my previous post here.

For the second half of the Hot Chocolate Festival, East Van Roasters offered a vegan hot chocolate called “Yu-Zu..What?” This was a sweet-tart, citrus Yuzu-infused Tanzania white drinking chocolate, with coconut milk and citrus zest. The hot chocolate was accompanied by a house-made Jasmine Cookie.

I normally do not like white chocolate but was interested in trying the drink because of the yuzu flavours. I was pleasantly surprised how good this was. It was not overly rich, very smooth and silky and had subtle citrus flavours.

The Jasmine cookie was very crumbly, light and flaky.

I also picked up one of their Madagascar bars to try which is 70% dark chocolate.

This year’s Hot Chocolate Festival has come to a close. Looking forward to next year’s festival!

East Van Roasters
319 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC
www.eastvanroasters.com

The third spot I went to for this year’s Hot Chocolate Festival is the very popular Trafiq Cafe and Bakery on Main Street. This year, they are offering four different hot chocolate flavours with their own set schedule. During my visit, they were offering the French-inspired “Napaolean & Josephine” and the Mexican-inspired “Diego & Freida.”

Diego & Freida (Mexico)

My friend had the “Diego & Freida” which was a Tres Leches hot chocolate made with Cacao Barry 34% Zėphyr white chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and a hint of cinnamon and rose petals.

Served with Tres Leches Petit Four.

NAPOLEON & JOSEPHINE (FRANCE)

I had the had the “Napolean & Josephine” featuring praline-orange hot chocolate with hazelnut, Cacao Barry Guyaquil 64% bitter-sweet chocolate and a hint of orange blossom.

I love dark chocolate and this hot chocolate was up my alley with the 64% bitter-sweet chocolate. The flavour was chocolatey but not overly rich. Very drinkable and the hazlenut flavour was decent. I would rate the drink a 3.75/5.

This was paired with a small piece of L’Orange Petit Four cake.

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The second spot I tried for this year’s Hot Chocolate Festival is Mink Chocolates in Coal Harbour. They are part-cafe part-chocolatier specializing in small batch handmade artisan chocolate and original art bonbons using Belgian chocolate.

I tried the “Who You Calling A Conehead?” ($7.95) featuring a cortado-sized hot chocolate served in a chocolate-lined edible cone. Paired with a mini chocolate bar.

The hot chocolate is poured into the waffle cone lined with hot chocolate. You have the option of milk or dark chocolate for the hot chocolate.

And then topped with marshmallows…

Paired with a mini smooth milk chocolate with 34% cacao.

And ready, set…drink! The staff person advised me that you have just 10 minutes to drink the hot chocolate because it would melt the cone. I had to wait at the bar for it to be served to me right away.

The waffle cone is on the thicker side and was robust enough to hold the hot chocolate without any leakage. The hot chocolate wasn’t anything too special. For me, it was just a bit of novelty factor to have it in a chocolate-lined cone. I would rate it a 7/10 mostly for the presentation.

Mink Chocolates Cafe
863 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC
www.minkchocolates.com

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The Hot Chocolate Festival is on right now with 21 participants offering 61 different hot chocolate flavours.  The festival is worthy cause to help fundraise for the Downtown Eastside Women’s Job Training Program.  Returning this year as a participant is Earnest Ice Cream with two locations in Vancouver.  I visited their Fraser location to try their two hot chocolate flavours.

Fraser Location

While I had been to their Quebec location before, it was my first time visiting their Fraser shop.  The interior seemed somewhat rustic-inspired, cozy and comfortable.  There are a few two person dining tables, a counter and a bench just outside.

What I Tried

The two hot chocolates offered by Earnest Ice Cream as part of the festival are priced at $8.00 each.  The first is the vegan “Spiced Hot Chocolate” featuring Earnest’s chai tea ice cream drenched in dark hot chocolate for an affogato-style drink.  It is served with a slice of chocolate cake topped with chai icing sugar dust.

I thought the “Spiced Hot Chocolate” was the better of the two.  I quite like chai flavour myself and enjoyed Earnest’s chai ice cream which had some nice coconut and cashew flavours.  The chocolate cake was fluffy and not overly decadent.  I would rate this hot chocolate as 4/5.

The second hot chocolate offered is the “Spiked Hot Chocolate.”  It’s a drinking chocolate inspired by Earnest’s “Milk Chocolate” topped with Amaretto-flavoured whipped cream.  On the side is a scoop of Amaretto ice cream and house-made almond brittle.  Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the hot chocolate as much.  I thought it was too rich in general.  The Amaretto ice cream was okay and had some sweet, almond flavours.  The house-made almond brittle was added some fun texture to the ice cream.  I would rate the hot chocolate as 3/5.

Overall Impression of Earnest Ice Cream Hot Chocolates

I quite enjoyed the vegan chai-flavoured “Spiced Hot Chocolate” and would have it again.  I would pass on the “Spiked Hot Chocolate.”  Rating: 3.5/5

Website: http://hotchocolatefest.com/portfolios/earnesticecream/