As some of you may be well into your new year's resolutions, I indulged in my second outing to
The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival at
Koko Monk. Located in Kitsilano and known for its handmade and hand painted chocolates, Koko Monk is offering a different gourmet hot chocolate every week during January 17th to February 14th. Check out what I had at the place last week.......
During the week of January 24 and 30, Koko Monk was offering a special hot chocolate called the
Red Cadillac, inspired by the classic American car. Made with salted almond hot chocolate and sprinkled with pink peppercorn, the drink has the richest flavor. The almond flavor makes this hot chocolate subtly nutty and the peppercorn adds a unique hit of spice.
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| Red Cadillac Hot Chocolate |
The hot chocolate on its own was delicious (I finished it in a few big gulps) but we made it even better by pairing them with a chewy gingerbread cookie and a buttery, crumbly shortbread, both of which are beautifully baked.
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| Gingerbread cookie and shortbread cookie |
We were also offered a taste of the previous week's special hot chocolate,
Lyric and Dagger, which, as we were told by the owner Paul, was inspired by the works of the 13th century Persian poet Rumi.
This hot chocolate is made with black sesame white hot chocolate drizzled with lemon/lime caramel. I for one absolutely love black sesame so this hot chocolate won my heart right from the first sip. The lemon and lime cramel is also delicious as well, I only wish I could have had more.
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| Lyric and Dagger Hot Chocolate |
Because Koko Monk hand makes all its chocolate, all the hot chocolates are also made from their raw cacao beans (which are also available for sale).
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| Various raw cacao beans sold at Koko Monk |
Finally, I could not resist sharing a few pictures of the beautiful chocolate sold at Koko Monk. They are so intricate and pretty!
