Hot Chocolate Festival 2013 : Last Stop, Gem Chocolates !

Gem Chocolates
2029 West 41st Avenue
Mon closed | T-F 10a - 6p | Sat 10a - 5p | Sun 12p - 5p

#35 - "BC BLUE BOOSTER"
Made with BC blueberries.

#36 - "BETTER THAN NUT PIE" Ground hazelnut praline-inspired.

#37 - "MONTY'S HEAT"
A spicy hot dark chocolate.

#38 - "BURN ME UP"
Inspired by the classic French dessert - creme brulee.

All flavours are made with organic, fair trade real chocolate and served with a surprise treat of a specially paired chocolate, biscotti, or nutty creation. Flavours are subject to availability or substitution, depending on supplies.
 
My last stop for the hot chocolate festival this year is revisting a vendor that Jerkface and I tried last year, and having the same exact drink we tried last year. The shop is as clean and modern as I remember it. Gem Chocolates is a chocolate shop, their chocolates having won several awards. "Gem Chocolates recently received the Four Star Award as one of the 2013 Best Chocolatiers & Confectioners in America by the International Chocolate Salon, won the Silver Award at the 2012 Canadian National Chocolate Competition, as well as a Gold Medal and two Bronze Medals at the 2012 International Chocolate Salon Caramel Competition." We went on Valentine`s day, (great quick stop for a date because they offer award-winning chocolate, gelato and hot chocolate) with the intention of trying Burn Me Up, but the drink has nuts in it. So they offered us the BC Blue Booster blueberry hot chocolate instead.

Their mouth-watering chocolate display.

The BC Blue Booster with a design of beautifully caramelized sugar as a topping at $6.15.

We were given the choice of dark or milk chocolate for the drink, and of course.. We chose milk! The caramelized sugar topping was a nice little treat, solid before it melts inside your mouth. Not to mention, it looks really pretty. While enjoyable just to eat, the overall drink tastes better with the caramelized sugar and whipped cream mixed in. You cannot escape the blueberry taste when the entire drink is blended, and it`s a yummy blend. Impressive, coming from me because I don`t even like blueberries! If you are looking for a flavourful but not too rich nor too creamy of a hot chocolate, this is the place to go :) Gem Chocolates didn`t disappoint me this year!

*Gem Chocolates main website: click.

Hot Chocolate Festival 2013 : Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate... *drools*

Thomas Haas Patisserie
2539 W Broadway Street
Tuesday - Saturday 8a - 530p

#59 - "THE LUMBERJACK" Bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup hot chocolate, served with a Douglas fir-infused chantilly, maple & vanilla shortbread.

#60 - "MALTEASER" Barley malt-infused hot chocolate, served with salt caramel malt truffles.

The shop gives a hustling and bustling cozy feel because the patisserie is decorated with really warm tones, which includes this amazing honeycomb fixture on the ceiling  and the use of wood furnishings. Thomas Haas (Speaking of the man himself, Thomas Haas was really friendly!) was probably the busiest location (Thierry might have been just as busy, but Thierry has more of a classy feel than a homey feel), filled with all sorts of people who wanted to try hot chocolate, have a cup of coffee or pick up some desserts for Valentine`s day. It is not hard to get to via either the 9 Broadway bus or the 99 B-line bus. I have heard of Thomas Haas before so on one of the final days of the festival, I really wanted to try it. 阿哥 and I went to the store on West Broadway, but they also have a location in North Vancouver. Check out their website (linked below) for an address.

Look at this ceiling!

The Malteaser hot chocolate at $5.95 as well as a vanilla and chocolate macaron at $1.80 ea.

The "fleur de sel truffle" surprised me by not being solid on the inside. It had an interesting taste on the inside, but perhaps I have merely overdone the sea salt caramel obsession and expected it to be like a cake pop. This malt hot chocolate reminded me of chocolate flavoured Ovaltine (one of my favourite drinks), or the inside of a Malteser chocolate if you haven`t heard of that. Suffice to say, since it resembles one of my favorite drinks, I really enjoyed this drink. We also tried a vanilla and chocolate macaron. For a chocolate lover like me, I even preferred the vanilla over the chocolate. The macarons that we had were moist, the shells were not hollow and they were surprisingly not too sweet compared to Thierry or French Made Baking for example. Thomas Haas was one of my last stops for the festival, but I will be back!

*Thomas Haas main website: click.

Hot Chocolate Festival 2013 : Chocolate Arts !

Chocolate Arts
1620 West 3rd Avenue
M-Sat 9a - 6p | Sun 10a - 5p

#19 - "WHEN PIGS FLY" Cocoa Barry “Alto El Sol” -- a single plantation chocolate, topped with maple and bacon marshmallow, and served with a peanut butter cookie.

#20 - "ARMOURY AMOUR" Cocoa Barry “Madirofolo”-- a single plantation chocolate, kissed with raspberry, and served with a mini lemon and basil ice cream sandwich.

Chocolate Arts was only three short blocks away from Beaucoup Bakery (click), so 阿哥 and I went to Chocolate Arts too. It didn`t look like much from the outside (I failed to take a photo of the outside as always), but the interior is large and spacious. The little store / cafe is decorated with both their original works of art made of chocolate, as well as the craft of artisans in the Vancouver area: a localization of local craft. There are pamphlets right by the door that promote other crafts and events in the city. There does not appear to be very much in the area surrounding Chocolate Arts, although it is still right by the bus stop at Fir St and W 4th Avenue on the 84 bus: a very residual / industrial area.

A whole wall of artistic chocolate, yumm!

Too bad it`s not the year of the pig, these would be great !

They make unique chocolates, including these piggy pops (above) and robo pops, all the letters of the alphabet and even a life sized high heel shoe made of chocolate. I will make my way back here to get a present for any chocolate loving friend... Although I don`t know if I have a friend who loves chocolate quite to the degree that I do..!

When Pigs Fly topped with maple and bacon marshmallow, $4.75.

Intrigued by the maple and bacon marshmallows, we tried the Why Pigs Fly hot chocolate. This has a strong cocoa taste. If you mean to satisfy a sweet tooth, I would recommend either mixing the marshmallows into the drink (which we did not do because we enjoyed the marshmallows by themselves) or adding some sugar. This is not to say that the hot chocolate is extremely bitter but as I said, the cocoa taste is rather strong. A milk chocolate lover like me still enjoyed this drink.

The bacon marshmallows do not melt in your mouth as fast as the store bought marshmallows that I am used to. It has a rather chewy texture instead and when the marshmallow finally melts, you are left with chunks of bacon in your mouth. YUM. And I got a thumbs up for the peanut butter cookie from 阿哥 since I don`t like peanut butter. He claims it was quite "peanut buttery," yum I guess? Not bad, I enjoyed this change from the rich and creamy drinks that I`ve had at most other participating venues.

*Chocolate Arts main website: click.

Hot Chocolate Festival 2013 : Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe

Couldn`t miss Beaucoup Bakery with this bold, orange sign showing the way!

Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe
2150 Fir Street
(Fir St and 6th Ave)
T-F 7a - 6p | Sat/Sun 8a - 5p

#01 - "THE SWEET OF BITTER DARK"
Bitter dark drinking chocolate served with a small edible. (Jan 19 - Feb 14)

#02 - "LOVE AT THE LIPS"
Manjari drinking chocolate with passionfruit served with a small edible. (Jan 19 - 25)

#03 - "PETAL OF A ROSE"
Vanilla bean white hot chocolate with rose, served w a small edible. (Jan 26 - Feb 1)

#04 - "JOY & SALT"
Caramel milk hot chocolate with sea salt, served with a small edible. (Feb 2 - 8)

#05 - "BURNING CLOVE"
Dark hot chocolate with smoked spices, served with a small edible. (Feb 9 - 14)

阿哥 accompanied me last Friday on yet another hot chocolate festival adventure haha. Our first destination was Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe. They were serving their Joy & Salt caramel milk hot chocolate with sea salt; I was craving more of this salty yet sweet taste after having had the sea salt caramel chocolate at Schokolade (click) and the sea salt caramel macaron at Thierry (click).

The Joy & Salt served with a small edible at $4.48 (includes tax).

The size of the drink really surprised us but after a quick sip, I was no longer surprised. It`s incredibly creamy, and rich does not begin to describe this Joy & Salt. The small edible to accompany this drink is actually a bite sized cookie that has a light cinnamon flavour. 阿哥 and I were struggling to finish this very small serving, I feel like you could easily share this between five people and it`d be just right. The taste of chocolate is very minimal, in fact I could hardly taste it. The caramel really takes the limelight. Mmm, it reminded me of the inside of a Cadbury caramel egg, except salty as well as thicker. By far the thickest drink I have tried this entire festival, you could probably use it as a sauce! I would not recommend one cup to yourself unless you really, really, REALLY like caramel. I think the term diminishing returns best describes my experience, I really enjoyed the first few sips!

A look at the counter: sorry for the glare blocking the pastries!

I am curious about the Petal of a Rose. I wonder if the taste of their other drinks are as rich and creamy as this one was! I`ll try to make it back again next year in the festival. Maybe I`ll be able to try a fruit tart too while I`m there next time!

Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe is right by the bus stop on W 4th and Fir Street on the 84 bus, you`ll see the bright orange sign as you walk down Fir St (above photo). I like the simple design of the little bakery, and I`m impressed by their menu (it is hand written in chalk in the neatest hand writing I have seen in a while). They`ve chosen a really bright space that includes a lot of the natural light that I adore, and everything looks very clean. The only comment I have is there is limited seating for guests to enjoy their drinks and pastries.  

A side note: I really like their business card, it`s actually embossed and on a nice thick card stock! The orange print is growing on me! But in conclusion, their Joy & Salt was good but I will bring more friends to share it with next time I come back to Beaucoup Bakery.

Sorry that I am busy studying away for two midterms tomorrow morning and failed to post all the hot chocolate posts before the end of the festival, but happy heart day everyone! Remember on this day to give love to important loved ones in your life including your family and most importantly yourself ♥

*Beaucoup Bakery main website: click.

Hot Chocolate Festival 2013 : Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe !

Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie
1059 Alberni Street
(between Burrard and Thurlow)
M-F 7a - 12a | Sat/Sun 8a - 12a

#57 - "Ohhh CANADA!"
Canadian maple syrup + pecan hot chocolate, served with a sable.
Available: Jan 19 - 29

#58 - "ONE IN A MILLION"
Hot chocolate made with Maranon (the world's rarest chocolate), served with a chocolate-dipped madeleine.
Available: Jan 30 - Feb 10

Unfortunately, Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe stopped offering these special drinks on February 10th, but they are still open for regular service if you`re looking for that romantic setting for a cup of coffee with someone. After a delicious late lunch at Miku with C and B downtown (thanks B for treating us to such yummy foood), we decided to go hot chocolate hopping. They were offering their One in a Million hot chocolate at Thierry that B really wanted to try! C and I couldn`t resist the colourful macarons, so C treated us to a macaron each: C and I both chose a salted caramel macaron and B chose a lychee macaron. (I covered the hot chocolate but thank you both for not only treating me to macarons and lunch that day, but for always treating me to delicious food!)

So many macarons! $1.95 ea, $13.45 for 7 & $21.95 for a dozen.

It was my first time trying a macaron with a buttercream filling instead of ganache, or it may just have been a more creamy filling. The one macaron that I had sated my sweet tooth, and after this festival I am pretty "macaron-ed out"! The shells of these macarons were kind of hollow, but I did not feel that that did anything to alter it`s taste or texture. A dozen of these would last me a long time..!

The One in a Million (I spilled it trying to open the door, sorry!) was $9.75 (before tax)

The hot chocolate itself, I cannot put into words. I did not find it especially sweet, nor did I find that it tasted like anything I already knew. It definitely tasted like chocolate and it was good, but it was not a kind of chocolate that I have ever had before. And I wouldn`t have, given the ingredients include "Maranon (the world's rarest chocolate)". The cup is not very large for it`s price, and considering it supposedly contains the world's rarest chocolate, it wouldn`t be. Unlike most other hot chocolate drinks I have had for the festival, one cup is not enough to share between two (let alone three) because although flavourful, it was not especially rich. I would order a cup for yourself if you are there to have a cup of hot chocolate and not just try it like B, C and I were. The chocolate-dipped madeleine was a small morsel of sweetness.. Unfortunately I felt like it was a kind of forgettable taste. Their macarons would have made a much better substitute, but maybe that`s my sweet tooth talking!

You`re probably wondering why the cup is sitting in a pool of hot chocolate. Thierry was pretty packed when we arrived, so we resorted to sitting outside. I waited inside for the drink as C and B sat outside with the macarons waiting for me, and we did not anticipate that they would give me two plates. One plate for the cup of hot chocolate, and another for the whipped cream, madeleine and small piece of chocolate. They have these wonderfully designed double doors to enter the cafe, but I failed to open the door without hands. It ended pretty miserably, as you can probably tell. We expected it to be cold in their outdoor seating area, but they actually have these massive heating lamps situated above the table and chairs so that it actually did not feel like you were outside. It was a delightful surprise considering it was cold and raining! I think Thierry is a great place to treat yourself to something special, fancy and kind of expensive every now and then: I will definitely find myself back for some of their desserts and maybe another macaron!

*Thierry`s main website: click.