2022 Vegan Holiday Chocolate Tasting

This year there were so many options for vegan chocolate I had to limit what I bought. I am not sure if it’s because I live in Ottawa now or vegan items are more accessible in general. In the past even just last year when I was in Vancouver I was limited by what I had access to. This year I had to limit what I bought because there were so many options. You can see last years post here 2021 vegan holiday chocolate tasting

This year I purchased most of the chocolates in Ottawa compared to last year when I bought them in Vancouver the exception is from the Plant Curious box that I ordered from BC. I don’t remember all the prices but I will include the ones I remember. From my experience food prices even accounting for the cost of everything has gone up recently that food in Ottawa is more expensive than it is in Vancouver. I tried to include a variety in this review from items that are a good range of prices  between $2-$35 and items that are local to Ottawa to items that are available anywhere. I have been working on this post for a couple of months and since it is already December 28 not all the chocolate in the picture will be reviewed and there are many items not shown in the picture that are reviewed. Let me know if you want me to do another chocolate post either in the comments or on instagram@livingottawalocal.

The first chocolate I found was at Plant X which is a vegan store located inside the bay in downtown. The store is expensive but they have a great selection. The first chocolate I bought was dirty cow XXXmas pudding I believe it cost around $7. There were other flavours but at the price I decided to choose one. I couldn’t wait to try this one from the ingredients it seemed like it would have fruit cake flavour. After taking a bite and wondering what the white powder was I realized it was icing sugar. My friend’s family used to give me a Jamaican rum cake every year and this really reminds me of it. I can definitely taste the rum and it does feel like there is cake inside the chocolate. I think this one was worth the price but it is definitely a chocolate that is meant for a treat during the holidays.

 

 

The next chocolate is the Moo Free white chocolate snow man.  It was $1.99 at Natural Food Pantry which is a grocery store, The snowman is adorable. The taste is similar to other vegan white chocolate I have tried and it does have the chalky aftertaste. It doesn’t have too many ingredients 36% cocoa butter and rice flour are the ones that standout. This is a great stocking stuffer gift for a vegan or people with allergies and it also comes in dark chocolate. 

I received Two Brothers dark toffee in the plant curious box. This grew on me over time. I found the chocolate is a bit too dark to match the brittle. The brittle is a little hard but it is pretty good. It is a nice change from plain chocolate I would prefer if there was a creamier texture to both the chocolate and the caramel. 

The Purdy’s vegan advent calendar was a favourite last year when there were not as many options. This year they added a rotation between the mylk and dark chocolate. Last year I was hoping they would do this. The package is super cute and the chocolate inside is individually wrapped. There were two options available the same as last year reviewed here 2021 chocolate tasting or the one pictured above. I can't remember the exact price I believe it was $25 for the just dark chocolate and $30 for the mylk and dark. These sold out really quickly I got lucky when I went to ask about them they told me they were getting a shipment the next day. I happened to be in the area on that day. Next year I hope they will change the shape or maybe add the caramel selection as this got boring quickly but it is a great option.

 

          Vego cocoa spread was found at Littlejoberry’s which is a local vegan small business. I reviewed the Vego bar in a past blog here Vego bar -chocolate-tasting.html. The  spread comes in a drinking cup  assuming it’s to make a nice drink at the end with everything left on the sides. The problem is the label used to cover the jar left a really sticky residue on it so it needs to be washed before drinking from it. It might work with a straw. It is a cute concept. The spread tastes great and it is a good texture to add something extra to holiday drinks. 

My favourite out of all the chocolates I tried this year was the chocolate advent calendar from Strawberry Blonde Bakery a well known Vegan bakery in Ottawa. The advent calendar was on sale at Natural Food Pantry I believe it was $16 on sale. There is a good mix of white and dark chocolate and different shapes. The chocolate is not wrapped inside the cardboard so I only show the few I’m about to eat in the pictures. If you are in Ottawa you should definitely get this one.  

I found the Bee Friendly vegan chocolate from the UK at Terra20 which isn’t a food store it has a range of eco friendly goods. I believe it was around $30 for the box but it is a rare find vegan British chocolate in Ottawa. This time I had non vegans from the UK try it. They liked the packaging and the creamy texture of the inside of the chocolate. I agree the chocolate coating is okay but the fillings are really nice. I think this is worth the price and would make a great gift. 

I received the melt bars in the plant curious box. The chocolate is a good texture a little bit bitter for my taste. The flavour is essential oil. It is what you would expect from a healthier artisan bar. 

The Rogers dark advent calendar is accidentally vegan. It was nice that I could find the calendar from BC in Ottawa. The Ottawa bagel store was selling them for $16.99 each if you buy two. The package is great and the chocolates inside wrapped in different colour foil they aren’t holiday shaped but they do have a few different shapes. The chocolate is all plain dark chocolate. This would make a nice gift for people that only like dark chocolate. 

For the finale Ghirardelli has a few hot chocolate flavours that are accidentally vegan. I found the double double chocolate at Ottawa bagel shop I think it was around $16 for a bag that makes $10 portions. It was really good especially with the peppermint slim sticks also accidentally vegan found at giant tiger for $2.

 

Bonus drink I found the hot cocoa chai spice mix at the Ottawa Christmas market from choco delights which also has a large assortment of vegan chocolate let me know if you want a future review. The hot cocoa chai mix is excellent I love chocolate chai but usually the ones in cafe’s are not vegan. This is a perfect mix to enjoy anytime at home. 

I hope you enjoyed this holiday chocolate review. Let me know on Instagram @livingottawalocal or in the comments below if you want to see more chocolate reviews and to see all the vegan products I find follow @canadianveganfinds on Instagram.