hot chocolate festival: week two (2015)

Time for a week 2 recap of my Hot Chocolate Festival adventures!

First up- a trip to Bel Café with Erica after a wonderful time at the screening of Bolshoi's Swan Lake, which was absolutely wonderful beyond words. Just a chance to see the exquisite Svetlana Zakharova dance on a big screen alongside Denis Rodkin- it was such an emotional experience for me. I honestly am still speechless and can't put any of my thoughts into words, but both Erica and I were teary-eyed by the end of the show, haha. Anyway, on to the hot chocolate! We both ordered the 'Tahitian Dream' for $8. Erica found it to be too sweet for her- I agree that the marshmallow was definitely sweet, but I didn't find it to be unbearably so once mixed in with the drink. Regardless, the vanilla bean shortbread that came with the drink was delicious!

Next was Thomas Haas with Cybil- who unfortunately had to pay for me as I'd left my wallet at home and not realized till I'd gone to the bank with the intention of withdrawing some money, sigh. I ordered 'This is Nuts', and Cybil had 'Pep Me Up'. Mine included a lump of caramelized hazelnut & almond butter, which was so delicious and made my drink a bit like a Ferrero Rocher. Once again, I wasn't crazy about the financier, but it was still good. Poor Cybil's hot chocolate was only supposed to have "a kick" of chartreuse, but it was so strong she couldn't even finish it. I had a sip and while the first taste was good, after a while it reminded me of very strong mouthwash. The minty chocolate ganache bar that was included was great though- reminiscent of After Eight! Both drinks cost $6.95 each.

I returned to French Made Baking as a treat for surviving a stressful presentation, and I knew I wanted to try their 'Smokin' Hot...Chocolate'. I also ordered two macarons on the side- a chocolate mint one, and a lychee one (which may now be my new obsession!) Like my previous visit, the hot chocolate was only $4.25...and honestly, French Made Baking can absolutely do no wrong. I will probably never tire of raving about them because they continually make such AMAZING drinks! This was yet another creamy drink with a slight hit of saltiness that went well with the smoothness of the caramel chocolate. I'd go back a few more times before the end of the festival, honestly.

If you followed my hot chocolate fest adventures last year, you may recall that I'd planned on going to Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France, but due to their eclectic schedule, things hadn't worked out. I managed to drop by this year! I went for the 'Aztec Glacé' for $5.25, which included a meringue of your choice- I chose rose. This is an ice cold hot chocolate, and it was....a bit odd? What I hadn't been warned of was the addition of either cinnamon or cayenne pepper (I couldn't tell), which added a little kick to every swallow and made my throat burn a bit. I guess now I know why it's named what it is.....haha. The drink itself wasn't really anything to write home about, in my opinion. The lady that served me was super bubbly and sweet though!

I'm gonna be honest with you- I was a bit hesitant about returning to Thierry since I'd been so disappointed with it last post. Add to the mix the fact that their offerings are one of the most expensive at $10.25, I really wasn't sure I wanted to give it another try. However, I decided to suck it up and just go back. I'm glad I did- their 'St. Dominique' hot chocolate was so much better than the 'Madagascar'. It's really just your classic hot chocolate- but made with Michel Cluizel chocolate so you know it's good stuff. I felt like there was a very slight hint of something nutty (but I could just be making it all up.) Light and chocolatey, but not too sweet- just the way I like it. As for the tonka bean cream choux that was included- I'm not typically a fan of choux pastry, but the cream in this was heavenly and made up for it all. Yum!

IN SUMMARY aka tl;dr

STOP, DROP, AND GO GET ONE NOW

french made baking: $4.25/$6
thomas haas (this is nuts): $6.95
thierry: $10.25

EHH.........IT'LL DO

bel café: $8

CAN I GET SOME WATER PLEASE

chocolaterie de la nouvelle france: $5.25
thomas haas (pep me up): $6.95

roz

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor Aenean massa.Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor Aenean massa.