We visited Vancouver to experience first-hand the annual Hot Chocolate Festival there. Over 2 days we had 21 hot chocolates at locations across the city, each one unique and, in many cases, delicious. Apart from Kasama who make their own chocolate from the bean, none of the cafes specified the origin of the chocolate they used to make their chocolate. This is a conversation that needs to be had. Everyone, I am certain, used completely different products to make their hot chocolates, and that choice has an impact not just on the final drink (and even on our health frankly), but beyond that, on people and ecosystems in the countries where the cacao was grown to make that chocolate and where it was turned into chocolate and how. Those conversations matter and the story behind the chocolate, not just the final drink it was used to create, matter. Any hot chocolate festival should consider advertising not just the amazing and innovative flavor combinations that go into creating their unique chocolate, but the actual chocolate that was used as a base of those creations.
Bella Gelateria was the only one of the 21 stops (again, except Kasama) that specified exactly which chocolate they used. Their hot chocolate was made of Michel Cluizel Mangaro Plantation 71% chocolate which has inherent notes of mango and citrus (Cluizel believes that this is because the trees are grown on land that used to grow mango trees which may be a bit far-fetched, but it is true that cacao from Madagascar has wonderful tropical fruity, including mango, and playful acidity). Here it was topped with a cloud of whipped cream (symbolising the constant cloud cover over Vancouver) and garnished with candied citrus fruit. The whole is sprayed with a mist of Italian blood organges.
Even though we were sitting in an icecream shop, in the middle of winter, freezing, the drink instantly transported us to the Amalfi coast in Italy. It was a bit like a movie in my head. One moment I was there, in that icecream shop, taking off my snow-soaked gloves to warm up my hands around the mug of hot chocolate, the next I’m sitting on a warm terrace watching the sunset surrounded by lemon trees and a glass of limoncello. The power of food.
Their second hot chocolate transported us once again to Italy, but this time to the north to Turin; a rich, velvety gianduja hot chocolate with whip cream, sprinkled Piemonte roasted hazelnuts and served with mini cannoli with gelato inside. If their hot chocolates are this good, imagine how good the ice cream must be.
Bella Gelateria:1752 Davie St, Vancouver, BC V6G 1W3, Canada. Open: 11am-10pm www.bellagelateria.com
