Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival & Must-Have Sweaters

The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival is one of the sweetest festivals ( no pun intended) that we have here in Vancouver, BC. For this festival, which runs until February 14th, some of Vancouver’s best chocolatiers, pastry shops, cafes, etc. participate and create unique hot chocolate drinks to serve during the festival. There are 30 participants this year and the hot chocolate creations are incredible!

Because there are so many great locations with so many great hot chocolates, you can’t possibly get to them all. Today I wanted to share with you 3 participants that I loved whose hot chocolates I highly recommend you check out before the 14th!

Also, for those of you not in Vancouver and therefore not able to attend this sweet event (.. sorry for the pun again, I can’t help myself lol) I wanted to share a few must-have sweaters. For each hot chocolate event below I am wearing a different cozy sweater that I can’t recommend enough for this season.

49th Parallel Coffee & Lucky’s Donuts:
multiple locations (Kits, Downtown, Main Street)

A Vancouver mainstay, 49th parallel never fails on it’s coffee & donuts. What’s really exciting is that for the first time ever for the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival they have a vegan donut (and hot chocolate). The vegan hot chocolate, called the ‘Chocolate Power Plant’ is made with either vegan almond or vegan hazelnut milk. They’ve also got a dark hot chocolate for the non-vegans and both come paired with a donut.

I went with the vegan hot chocolate with the hazlenut milk and it was amazing. They have a vegan chocolate glaze and sprinkle donut and I had a bite of each. They were so, so delicious. I’m not sure if they’ll be keeping the vegan donuts beyond the end of the festival; so be sure to get yours before February 14th!

Soirette:
1433 West Pender St. (Coal Harbour)

This pastry boutique is a tiny hidden gem. They are best known for their macarons; which are incredible. For the Vancouver hot chocolate festival this year they have two creations- “mining for vibranium” which is a coconut and black sesame hot chocolate; and, “the dazzling mermaid” which is a blueberry cheesecake white hot chocolate. Soirette’s hot chocolate festival entries are always all about the presentation; and this year is no exception – check these out!

The dazzling mermaid is particularly aesthetically beautiful – and the macaron ‘seashell with pearl’ was delcious. The taste of the hot chocolates though? Read on:

Honestly, I am sad to say that these were not my favorite hot chocolates of the festival. They both look better than they taste in my opinion. The 49th parallel and Thomas Haas options are better hot chocolates with less fancy decoration.

Thomas Haas:
2539 West Broadway (Kits) & 998 Harbourside Drive (North Van)

The last participant in Vancouver’s Hot Chocolate festival that I tried and want to recommend is Thomas Haas. They, like 49th Parallel and Soirette, have two hot chocolates for the festival. The first, called “There is Hope” is a milk chocolate and passion fruit hot chocolate. The second, which is really what I came here to tell you all about, is “You’re Fired”. Based on the Time Magazine cover showing Donald Trump from the neck down underwater, they created this anti-Trump hot chocolate where his “head” is a chocolate ball that you “dump” in your hot chocolate. It melts to reveal a marshmallow.

Not only does this anti-MAGA woman adore the idea of this, it was also my favorite hot chocolate of every one I tried. Sticking with the anti-Trump theme Thomas Haas describes it as: “Caramelized “blonde” chocolate, slightly “burned & agitated” with sea salt and a “fake & hollow” chocolate sphere.”

With 15 days left of the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival, you have plenty of time to get your hot chocolate fix on. For more info on the whole festival check out their website.

Now; on to cozy sweaters!!

I wore 4 sweaters to these 4 hot chocolate try-outs that are must-have sweaters for winter.

1) Fleece Pullover:
This is the coziest thing I own. I repeat; the coziest thing I own. Right now, it’s on sale for 35% off, so get yours ASAP!

2. Jewel Embellished Sweater:
Such a pretty sweater that makes any outfit without any extra work. It’s a great way to brighten a winter’s day!  Right now it is 50% off!!

3. Raspberry V-Neck Sweater:
The raspberry shade is in this season, and a v-neck is nice change from turtlenecks, so it’s great to have in your sweater collection.

4. White Cable Knit Turtleneck
This is a great ‘go with everything’ sweater; and it’s really quite soft. It does run large though, so definitely size down 1 size!

Shop My 4 Must-Have Sweaters: