The mercury is about to drop this weekend, so why not bundle up with a decadent cup of hot cocoa from a Tri-City retailer?
Four shops in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam are taking part in the 14th annual Hot Chocolate Festival, a month-long celebration happening across Metro Vancouver that starts Saturday, Jan. 13 and runs until Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2024.
For this year’s festivities, which support three charities, the organizers have lined up a record 162 flavours of hot chocolate beverages at 105 locations — from chocolatiers, pasty shops and bakeries to cafés, and gelato and ice cream makers.
And they’ve launched a companion social media contest, giving tasters a chance to win gift certificates to participating businesses (use the hashtag or handle “hotchocolatefest”).
Here are this year’s “ChocStars” in the Tri-Cities:
Coquitlam
- BjornBar Bakery
- 111-581 Clarke Rd.
- bjornbarbakery.com
- Doughnut Love
- 107-1655 Como Lake Ave.
- doughnutlove.ca
Doughnut Love, which is making its festival début, is offering two drinks:
- Venezia
- A tiramisu hot chocolate made with Callebaut milk chocolate callets melted with steamed milk, topped with an espresso mascarpone whip and sprinkled with cocoa powder. It’s served with a mini tiramisu doughnut: brioche doughnut filled with espresso mascarpone mousse, dipped in Kahlua glaze and sprinkled with cocoa powder.
- Acapulco
- Mexican hot chocolate made with Callebaut dark chocolate melted with steamed milk and a touch of added heat from cinnamon and chili. It’s served with a housemade churro.
Port Coquitlam
- Cassandra Cake Co.
- 105-2331 Marpole Ave.
- cassandracakeco.com
- Cannoli King
- 1125-950 Seaborne Ave.
- cannoliking.ca
Cannoli King is also entering the festival for its first time, serving up two drinks:
- Undercover Boss
- Amaretto crunch hot chocolate made with handcrafted hot chocolate ganache amaretto-infused milk, topped with fresh whipped cream and chocolate-covered cannoli crunch, ganache drizzle and a mini cannoli (with or without amaretto liquor). It’s served with an amaretto cookie.
- The Sicilian Orchestra
- Raspberry–pistachio hot chocolate layered with handcrafted pistachio cream, raspberry swirl with raspberry infused milk, fresh whip, pistachio and raspberry drizzle. It’s served with a half-pistachio and half-raspberry mini cannoli.
To find other Metro Vancouver vendors participating in the Hot Chocolate Festival, you can view the map below and visit the campaign's website.
