Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival 2016

The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival returns for the sixth year, offering up creative takes on the comforting, indulgent drink at participating restaurants and cafes around Vancouver from January 16 to February 14, 2016.

Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

Participants and their menus for the festival will be added to the event’s website within the next week but some venues, like 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, have released their selections already.

49th Parallel’s “The Bee’s Knees”

Last year, 49th Parallel sold over 1,200 cups of “The Lumberjack” – a spicy hot chocolate with maple marshmallows and a chocolate wafer. That success translated into hundreds of dollars in donations to the Hot Chocolate Festival’s benefiting charity, East Van Roasters, a Vancouver-based social enterprise providing training and employment to women on the Downtown Eastside.

This year, 49th Parallel will be offering three delectable hot chocolate concoctions at both 49th Parallel Cafés in Kitsilano (2198 West 4th Avenue) and Mount Pleasant (2902 Main Street). Five percent of total sales from all three creations will once again benefit the work of East Van Roasters.

49th Parallel’s Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival Menu

The Bee’s Knees – Lavender-infused dark hot chocolate combined with steamed milk and served with a honey marshmallow and two honey lavender biscotti dipped in white chocolate

Saturday Nut Fever – A Gianduja (milk chocolate and hazelnut) hot chocolate combined with steamed milk and served with two hazelnut Amaretti cookies and a house made hazelnut truffle

Hot Chocolate and a Doughnut Combo – The #1 seller from last year’s Hot Chocolate Festival includes 49th Parallel’s classic hot chocolate served with any doughnut from the Lucky’s Doughnuts showcase.

Follow CityFood Magazine on Facebook for the latest updates about the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival when it becomes available this month.

Update

Full details for the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival have now been released, with over 20 participating venues featuring 59 flavour combos.

View the full list here including molten dark drinking chocolate poured over Tahitian vanilla ice cream at Earnest Ice Cream, and lime leaf and chili infused coconut milk hot chocolate at Railtown Cafe. There’s also The Creamsicle at Chocolate Arts with a white chocolate and vanilla hot chocolate served with blood-orange sorbet and a macaron, and The Onyx at Bel Cafe that has 70% Valrhona Guanaja, chocolate crème chantilly and caramelized cocoa nib and is served with a dark chocolate truffle.