2024 YYC Hot Chocolate Festival
Hey bookworms!
Another year of the YYC Hot Chocolate Festival has come to an end, and I tried WAY more hot chocolates than last year. I initially started trying all these hot chocolates as a way for me to overcome a bit of my anxiety of driving to new places, and just getting out of the house more. I really enjoyed going to all these places, and I want to take myself out like this at least twice a month. I managed to try 19 hot chocolates this month, which is amazing for me 😅 At one point I did try 5 in one day, but that was a team effort with my friend 🤣
Things I looked at when voting for these hot chocolates were mainly taste, strength of flavor, creativity, price, and personal preference. *ingredients were copied from the YYC Hot Chocolate website*
List of Hot Chocolates:
1. Analog Cafe: Toasted Tahini
Ingredients: Dark chocolate shavings, honey, cinnamon, tahini, honey dipped sesame snap cracker, chocolate sauce, coconut whip cream, and steamed milk of customer’s choosing!
This drink sounded very intriguing, so I was excited to try it. We went to the location near CFM West and the girl working the till was super sweet. I tried the hot chocolate with coconut milk and thought it worked really well! This drink wasn’t too strong, which was nice because I tend to feel sick after drinking too much rich hot chocolate 😅 The coconut whipped cream was pretty creative too. This drink wasn’t toooo chocolatey, but it would probably taste richer if you get it with regular milk. I liked it overall, but it had too many little chunky bits for me to love it. That’s just a sensory thing for me though, so I still highly recommend it!
Note: I tried this again with coconut milk at a downtown location with my friend. We ended up mixing this with the Chocolate Lab’s hot chocolate and we ended up loving the combination more than the separate hot chocolates.
Price: $8.00 for 16oz
3.5/5⭐
2. Abbey’s Creations: Choco Dream Float
Ingredients: Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Powder, Vanilla Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, Milk
Omg this was such a rich hot chocolate. The mix of different chocolates was delicious and the drink was just silky chocolate goodness. They really fill the cup up too, so when they add the ice cream, it’s borderline overflowing 😂 I went to the location near CFM West, and everybody there was super nice. They even gave us a little pup cup for my dog. Overall, that was just a great experience, great customer service, and a great hot chocolate. The price was definitely worth it too!
Price: $6.99
4.5/5⭐
3. The Bullet Coffee House: Birthday Bliss
Ingredients: Cupcake syrup, 3.25% milk, white chocolate sauce, vanilla infused whip cream, rainbow sprinkles, homemade birthday cake cereal Rice Krispie square with white chocolate chips
Happy birthday to Bullet! I tried their hot chocolate last year and liked it, so I was excited to go back. This hot chocolate was so delicious! I loved the whipped cream and the Rice Krispies square. The idea for the drink seems pretty average, but it’s executed well and it tastes great. I thought the price was also reasonable considering you get an edible treat with your drink, and a glow bracelet.
Price: $8.00
4.5/5⭐
4. Euphoria Cafe: Spumoni
Ingredients: Semisweet chocolate chips, pistachio, milk, whipped cream, cocoa, vanilla wafer
I thought this was a bit pricey for the size of the drink compared to other cafes. I like that it comes with a little snack. The hot chocolate isn’t too rich, but it has a authentic pistachio flavor. Aftertaste is a little bitter? Hard to explain, but overall, it’s a nice, light hot cocoa. I think I liked their hot chocolate better last year.
Price: $7.00
3/5⭐
5. Love Sugar & Dough: Himalayan Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: White chocolate, spices, nuts, saffron, whipped cream
This drink was pretty good. I don’t like chewing, so I wasn’t a huge fan of the chopped nuts sprinkled on top (personal preference). The hot chocolate was nice and silky and you could definitely taste some spices. It was an interesting mix of flavors, and I really enjoyed it. I think this was a nice, creative spin on regular hot chocolate. My drink came with a slice of stollen on the side, and that was pretty yummy too. With the baked good on the side, and the saffron in the drink, I think the price is totally reasonable. The drink kind of reminds you of an Indian dessert.
Price: $10.00
4/5⭐
6. Edelweiss Village: Salted Caramel Pretzel Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: Swiss Hot Chocolate, Salted Caramel Syrup, Steamed Milk, Whipped Cream, Caramel Drizzle, and a Authentic German Pretzel Bite with a Sprinkle of Pretzel Salt!
I loved the whipped cream on this one! It was so solid and delicious. The pretzel was also super yummy, and the amount of salt was perfect to counter the sweetness of the caramel. I think the price for this hot chocolate was very reasonable, especially since you get a little pretzel bite with it. The idea of salted caramel hot chocolate isn’t very unique, so I think what really sold it was the pretzel. This was a very satisfying drink though, and I would definitely come back to try more of the food here.
Price: $6.95
4/5⭐
7. Approach Cafe and Bar: Miso Banana Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: Miso paste, Banana, Lime, Chocolate, sugar, milk, whip cream, sesame, puffed rice
Excuse the picture lol, but I really liked this one! I don’t usually like banana-flavored things because they remind me of antibiotics, but this was delicious. I couldn’t taste any hint of lime, but I really liked the addition of the sesame. I didn’t like the puffed rice topping because they don’t hold up well when soaking in the hot chocolate, but otherwise this was one of my fav drinks. I think it was a little overpriced though, because the whipped cream took up like 1/4 of the cup, and it was a small cup to begin with.
Price: $8.00
4/5⭐
8. Pie Junkie: Raspberry Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: Milk Chocolate, Whole Milk, Heavy Cream, Cocoa Powder, Whipped Cream and Raspberry Purée with a bite of our Raspberry Chocolate Ganache Pie on top.
This was pretty yummy and very rich. The initial taste was a bit weird, but then you got the aftertaste of raspberries and it was better. In terms of raspberry hot chocolates, I still think Fringe’s version from last year is still my fav. I really liked the little bit of pie though. Also, the first sips with whipped cream were probably the best part of the drink.
Price: $8.50
3.5/5⭐
9. Cafe Jindo: Yuzu Cheesecake Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: Milk, yuzu, white chocolate, fait-maison cheesecake ice cream covered in yuzu chocolate, whipped cream, citrus zest
Not a fan of the zest (personal preference) but this hot chocolate was very light and refreshing. I could honestly drink way more of it without feeling nauseous from the richness. They use Ghirardelli white chocolate powder, so that tasted yummy. I feel like you could totally recreate this at home. The ice cream ball was really yummy, and probably my favorite part of the drink. I ate a bit of it and let the rest melt into the hot chocolate and it made it even creamier. I would say this is a bit on the pricier end, but it’s a bit more justified with the yuzu ice cream.
Price: $9.75
4/5⭐
10. 722 World Bier Haus: Peanut Butter Delight
Ingredients: Chambord, Frangelico, peanut butter Syrup, Raspberry simple syrup Hot chocolate, graham rim and topped with whip and syrup drizzle Non-alcoholic (no booze = extra syrups)
This was a very underwhelming hot chocolate, and definitely not what I would call a delight. I think you definitely needed to try the alcoholic version of this, because the nonalcoholic version barely had any flavor. The hot chocolate tasted very watered down, and you could barely taste the peanut butter. The most flavor came from the crumbs on the whipped cream… Couldn’t taste the raspberry at all and there was no syrup drizzle when we got ours. It’s a lot cheaper than some of the other hot chocolates, but you can definitely tell it’s cheaply made too.
Price: $5 nonalcoholic
2/5⭐
11. Deville: Blueberry Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: This drink is a mix of blueberry, vanilla, and peppermint in a white hot chocolate with stewed blueberries.
I really liked this one! I thought it was a really creative take on a hot chocolate. It had an interesting aftertaste, but it was not too bad. It was very smooth until you got to the blueberry chunks on the bottom. I would definitely drink this again because it’s the perfect strength of chocolate that won’t make me nauseous. Regarding price, it’s definitely more worth it to get the 16oz.
Price: $9 for 16oz
4/5⭐
12. Love at First Scoop: The Ruby Rose
Ingredients: Whole milk, ruby chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, rose water, whipped cream, pistachios, candied ginger, ground cardamom, dried rose petals
This was delicious. I literally drank half of this while waiting for my friend to get her hot chocolate, and I had finished it by the time we sat at our table. I loved the sweetness level and the flavors of the cardamom and chocolate. I was surprised I liked this as much as I did, because I don’t usually like ruby chocolate, but this was great. I could have done without the rose petals, just due to personal preference, but it was really yummy overall. I would totally drink this again!
Price: $9
4.5/5⭐
13. The Chocolate Lab: Maple Magic
Ingredients: Melted Chocolate (dark or milk), Maple Syrup, Whipped Cream, Maple Drizzle, Sprinkles
I tried this with the dark chocolate and oat milk, without whipped cream. This hot chocolate had a very strong maple flavor, which was a bit overwhelming, but I thought it went really nicely with the dark chocolate. It’s served with a little piece of chocolate, and my friend who is lactose intolerant really liked her dairy-free chocolate, but we were curious what it was because it didn’t taste like chocolate. I think the price for this one is fair because of the quality of chocolate and maple syrup.
Note: We ended up combining this in a thermos with Analog’s Tahini hot chocolate, and thought it was the perfect combination 😅
Price: $6.50
3.5/5⭐
14. Monogram Coffee: Caramel Corn White Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: Valrhona White Chocolate, Housemade butterscotch and caramel, salted whipped cream, popcorn
I really liked this one and thought it wasn’t too sweet, even with all the caramel and butterscotch. The popcorn was random, but tasted good with the drizzles. I appreciate that the butterscotch and caramel is made in-house, and that was yummy. I could definitely drink a lot of this because it was so light. I tried this with oat milk, so that’s probably why it was a bit on the lighter end. I do think it is a little bit pricey for the size, but at least it tasted good!
Price: $8.75
3/5⭐
15. Fonda Fora: Chocolima
Ingredients: Cocoa powder, lime syrup, cinnamon syrup, horchata, whipped cream, Aztec cookies
This was a really creative hot chocolate, so I’m definitely giving it points for that. The cookie was like a biscotti texture and worked really well with the hot chocolate. The lime flavor was really strong and I would’ve liked there to be more of a cocoa base to balance it out. I would really like to come back to try the food though, because the environment of the restaurant was lovely.
Price: $11 nonalcoholic
3/5⭐
16. Oolong Tea House: Blue Lavender Chocolate Fog
Ingredients: Earl Grey Lavender tea, blue whipped cream (naturally coloured with butterfly pea flower), Provence rooibos tea, cocoa, dark chocolate wafers, sugar, vanilla, lavender flowers, optional citric acid & Earl Grey Lavender Cookie.
I really, really liked this one. The cookie was spectacular, and I definitely need to try recreating it at home. It was perfection with a crunchy outside and chewy inside. The hot chocolate was really light, and I thought the flavors were perfectly balanced. I would be able to drink so much of this with no tummy troubles. I’m curious about the mention of citric acid in the ingredients list though, because that seemed like a random addition. Did the citric acid add flavor or some benefit to the cookie? Either way, this was one of my favorite hot chocolates that I tried this year. I also think the price was reasonable, especially because this cup is bigger than most of the other hot chocolate places, and you got the cookie.
Price: $9
4.5/5⭐
17. Boogie’s Burgers: Elvis’ Shake, Rattle & Roll Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Banana Syrup, Ice Cream and hot water. (Peanut Butter Whisky and Creme de Banana in spirited)
I don’t like bananas, but for some reason I only like them with chocolate, in which case I really liked this hot chocolate! You get subtle hints of banana, and the chocolate was nice and smooth. I tried the nonalcoholic version. I would probably drink more of this, and the size was definitely worth the price. This hot chocolate may have been made with water, but the ice cream base added creaminess, so the texture was still smooth.
Price: $5.25
4.5/5⭐
18. Light Cellar: Holy CaCow
Ingredients: Hot Chocolate - Grass finished Bone broth (with Reishi & Chaga Mushrooms), 74% Chocolate (Cacao Butter, Cacao Paste, Coconut Sugar, Sea Salt), Maple Syrup, Collagen, Chickpea Miso, Cordyceps Mushroom, Mesquite, Sea Salt. Marshmallow - Egg White (Mann's Organic Eggs), Marshmallow Root, Beef Gelatin, Sugar, Vanilla Powder
I was really excited to try this one because it seemed like such an odd creation, to add bone broth to hot chocolate. This tasted really yummy when it was hot, but unfortunately I ended up drinking most of it lukewarm because my dog had to eat lunch first, so the savory flavors came out more with the cooling temperature. On a side note, I liked the marshmallow! The hot chocolate was very smooth and rich, which I really liked. I thought the price was great, considering the quality ingredients that went into this drink (everything was organic except the sea salt).
Price: $7
3/5⭐
19: Tops Pizza: Gimme S’MoreZZA Artisan Hot Cacao
Ingredients: Milk, Cacao Powder, Salt, Sugar, Vanilla extract, Chocolate Sauce, Whipped Cream, Graham Crackers, Marshmallow Pizza, Top’s Secret Ingredient
This was on the same level as the 722 Bier hot chocolate, but I gave it an extra star because of the s’mores pizza, drizzle, and graham rim. I’m curious what the secret ingredient was, but either way, the hot chocolate tasted pretty decent. Basic, but decent. It was not too sweet, and I felt like I could drink a lot of it. A s’mores hot chocolate isn’t too creative, but I liked the idea of the s’mores pizza. I also think this was a bit too pricey for what this hot chocolate was made of.
Price: $9.95
3/5⭐
If you tried any of these hot chocolates, let me know what you thought in the comments! I really wanted to try the carrot one from Sammie’s, so if you tried it, let me know your thoughts so I can live vicariously through you 😂 If you didn’t try any of these hot chocolates, what’s your favorite thing to drink in winter? Anyhoo, until next year!
