Victoria's hot chocolate festival kicks off this weekend

If there’s anything that the chilling temperatures and blistering winds of this past week has reminded us of, it’s that there is nothing better than a steaming cup of a hot and frothy drink. Just in time to cure our winter blues, the Victoria Hot Chocolate Festival is kicking off this Saturday for its first year. 

The festival has partnered with 15 businesses across the city until February 20 to fundraise and build community. Each of the businesses will have a featured hot chocolate made specially for the festival, with $1 from each hot cocoa sale going to the BC SPCA Victoria Community Animal Centre. The festival aims to raise $10K over the course of the month for the organization that provides care for sick and neglected animals.  

Each business has gotten creative with its signature festival hot chocolate. 

Inn at Laurel Point’s Aura Waterfront Restaurant + Patio will have a featured hot chocolate that is a take on a classic Thai coffee, with a dark chocolate base and an infusion of fresh basil.

Bear & Joey will have several customizable hot chocolate options, with choices of different bases and flavours. 

Caffe Fantastico has as its featured drink a Sirene winter warmer hot chocolate. 

Chocolat & Co.’s featured hot chocolate will be a classic option with Ecuador 71% cocoa chocolate.

The Hotel Grand Pacific’s Courtyard Cafe has as its featured drink a hot cocoa with marshmallow glaze and Skor chocolate bar.  

The Veranda at the Fairmont Empress will have Clifford’s Hot Chocolate as its feature, a mix between a classic hot cocoa and red velvet, with cream cheese whip and a graham cracker shaped in a dog bone. 

The Fickle Fig Farm Market in North Saanich and Sidney has as its featured drink a s’mores hot chocolate with housemade Belgium chocolate syrup, vanilla marshmallows, and artisan graham cracker crumble. The drink can also be made into a mocha. 

Floyd's Diner will have as its feature cocoa a pink white chocolate drink made with steamed milk and topped with whipped cream and candied bacon. 

The Victoria and Langford locations of Flourish BeauTea have a strawberries and chocolate hot cocoa drink as its feature. 

The Good Earth Coffeehouse at the Bay Centre will have a traditional hot chocolate as its featured cocoa drink.  

Oso Cookies & Donuts in Victoria Public Market will have the Bear Hug as its drink, a butterscotch hot chocolate featuring torched marshmallow cream, a hazelnut stick, and crunchy toffee bits. 

Pendray Inn and Tea House has several featured hot chocolate options. It has a classic hot cocoa with topping choices of whipping cream, marshmallows, or cinnamon that can be spiked with either Grand Marnier, Bulleit, Crown Royal, Ron Zaccapa, or Meukow Cognac. Chocolate tea drink options are also available featuring a black tea, a green tea, or an herbal tea. 

Pure Lovin' Chocolate has a vegan and gluten free hot cocoa as its featured drink. Its oat milk hot chocolate is made with Fair Trade chocolate and includes the option to add coconut whip cream. 

Wind Cries Mary’s new venture Rudi will have a featured gingerbread hot cocoa made with molasses, cinnamon, and housemade chocolate ganache. 

Shirley Delicious has several featured hot cocoa options available. Its offerings include pacific peppermint—made with cherry candy canes, peppermint whipped cream and crushed candy cane—, surfside s’more—made with dark chocolate, toasted marshmallows, and graham crackers— and cayenne cascade—made with cinnamon maple syrup, cayenne, and dark chocolate. Its citrus grove is a chocolate orange hot chocolate with dark chocolate whipped cream, while its coastal berry is a white chocolate and raspberry hot chocolate with vanilla whipped cream and freeze dried raspberry.   

Victoria Hot Chocolate Festival 2024

When: January 20 - February 20