CocoaNymph

We attended a chocolate making class from a groupon offer. This little shop /​workshop was a fun evening out. The chocolate they sell are very good. Learned a lot about the chocoloate making technics and types of chocolate. Would definitely go back and buy additional chocolates.

Had white hot chocolate, wasn’t impressed. The drink was too sweet and lacked the consistency of a good hot chocolate. My wife had the dark hot chocolate drink which was much better.

Went there for the Hot Chocolate Festival 2014, to try
#15 — «APHRODITE’S DELIGHT»
Made from 72% dark chocolate, with mango rosemary purée and almond milk (vegan and dairy free).
Served with a side of rosemary anise fudge.
Available: January 18 — February 14
There have been reports of weak mango flavour, so they may have changed it up because when I got mine on Friday, it had a strong, sour mango flavour. I was expecting sweet mango, so overall it was rather off-​putting.
CocoaNymph is definitely the place to go if you are interested in trying inventive chocolate drinks during the Hot Chocolate Festival. Try to go with a friend because, like all Hot Chocolate Festival creations, they can be hit-​or-​miss, especially when they are pushing comfort zones with mango and parmesan and other intriguing ingredients.

A little diamond of a chocolate shop. The custom marshmallows surprisingly added a great smoothness and flavor to the drinking chocolate. I went home with a bag full of treats.

Wonderful, knowledgeable and extremely friendly service!
I had a Chocolate flight tasting and it was amazing — I love all the different rich tasting chocolate beverages: hot, spicy, sweet… plus lactose free options too. MMMMMMmmmm! The marshmallows are a delight. I can’t wait to go back and try all the different flavours of chocolate.
Space is limited but cosy. And they sell Earnest Ice Cream by the jar or cone!

Their drinking chocolate with homemade marshmallows are THE best!

You know those days when the sky is crying like you wish you could too but can’t because you’re sitting in a coffee shop and you’d look legitimately crazy for the sudden outburst? Today is such a day. For me, there is only one cure for this kind of womp, and that’s chocolate (well, two, if you include wine, but I do that anyway, so…).
I am *so* gon’ annihilate that salted toffee 64% dark chocolate. Totally gon’ crush that cocoa sorcery, CocoaNymph.
But, I didn’t. I savoured it.
And that, my friends, is how you know you’re in good, high-​quality chocolate hands. CocoaNymph’s offerings are so comforting, so perfect, that I only need the tiniest bit to make me feel like a normal human being again.
CocoaNymph makes the womp go away.

I really don’t know how best to describe this place other than amazing, amazing, amazing.
I’m the person that lives upstairs and actually was one of the first customers when I first spied a grand piano in the store. Asking if it was playable, I expected the owner to say no, not least because it clearly looked like a historic piece, and also because they didn’t know me at all.
When Rachel, the owner, enthusiastically said yes and proceeded to gush about my piano playing, and I had her Barnabas truffle (imagine a Turtle with more sophistication — a whole pecan that’s candied atop a slight caramel base with reduced bourbon so no alcohol but a bit of the bitter liqueur taste to accent the chocolate), I knew it was simply meant to be.
Now it’s 3? 4? years later and I simply can’t say anything more than the store is still as awesome as it was in those first days. That piano, a centenarian in its own right, still sits there and I play regularly, with the staff always encouraging my endeavors to increase my musical talents, and always being knowledgeable in the realms of sweets, teas, ice cream, and the like (all of which they sell!).
If you are in Vancouver, I think that this store is by far the best overall chocolate shop experience in the city. The staff is far more engaging than other stores I’ve been to and they are knowledgeable but not pushy. Finally, I’ve had every single product more than once and they have more than 50 different things to choose from. That should tell you just what I think! (though if you’re really looking for specifics, I recommend the Sea Nymph bar or Illa truffle — the first is a dark chocolate with sea salt and English toffee, the second a dark truffle with sea salt and caramel… or the Lemon truffle (with a cream filling, so it’s almost like having a shot of lemon icing that just vanishes on the tongue), the beer truffle (it has nuttiness that’s reminiscent of a dark Porter stout), the ice creams (made by Earnest, they’re really good and I recommend cardamom myself), or the Sesamo Bianco (white chocolate with a tinge of dark, with Tahitian smoked sea salt… you can definitely tell some major thought was put into this! A friend’s favorite, he even had an order of a kilogram of this to take back to San Francisco!).
A final point — other people have commented how thick the drinking chocolate is. I also find it kind of difficult to drink. However, they also make everything with almond milk. Try it. I dare you to tell you don’t like it then.

I went there for a workshop and I’m glad that it was with a discount because I would have expected more for the regular price of $ 70.
The staff were friendly and seemed like they were having fun. There was some historical stuff, tasting of the raw ingredients and then it was down to decorating our ganaches. It wasn’t really «making» but decorating because the ganaches were pre-​made.
I’d wished that we could have tasted some of their chocolates (even if cut up into smaller pieces) because I would have purchased more at the end of the evening with the 10% off. I did buy some of the salted and sesame barks. Yum. Anything salted really. I find that the chocolates I «made» were so rich that I could only eat one per night.
Yay for the staff (1) reminding everyone to wash their hands and (2) using a glove to hand out pieces for the tasting. Too bad one of the staff talked/​coughed all over the tray of decorations.
Maybe the vibe during the day is different. I would not want to be there alone after dark…

6÷14÷2012
Droooooooooooool.
Seriously, one of my best friends lives above this place. Best condo ever?
My personal favorite is the hot white chocolate — soooooo rich and white chocolatey — perfect size, perfect amount of deliciousness, and a complex flavor profile of spices to boot!
And the owner, Rachel, could not be nicer — she’s let us use some space for our Scrabble gatherings the last couple of years (and we buy lots of wonderful chocolate goodness), and has even done some large orders for us visitors south of the border.
I wish that CN could be in SF too, but at least my friend upstairs brings some chocolate bars every time he visits the Bay!

Sea Nymph chocolate bar. Salted 64% dark chocolate with English toffee
Buy it.

Wow.
Last night hubby and I went to a chocolate making class taught by the lovely owner Rachel. She taught us the history of Cocoa Nymph, the history of chocolate itself, the different origins of some chocolate, etc.
We were also able to taste chocolates from different regions and taste the differences that depend on wear they are grown.
Then the making began! She gave us a tutorial on how to make basic chocolate. Gave us our own chocolate pot, some edible decorations, and design tools and let us create!
It was such fun making and creating our very own chocolates (we made about 12 – 16 pieces each) and at the end of the night we all got a lovely box to put them in!
Love this place, love the people and LOOOVVEEE the chocolate!

CocoaNymph
3739 W. 10^th Ave
This place is so awesome on so many different levels, I proposed to the chocolatier 3 times. Anybody whom makes awesome home made marshmallows needs to be kidnapped by me and make marshmallows for me every day. Her marshmallow flavour combinations are unique in their own right. They’re so fluffy, like a diabetics nightmare on a cloud of heaven.
The sensation orgasm doesn’t stop there. The chocolates themselves are nicely crafted. I tried a piece of the blackberry and the raspberry truffle… both had me at hello.
I went on a lovely date, the perfect atmosphere for romance, spacious, a nice white piano decorated with chocolate and easy going light ambience. You make it your own.
It was a Saturday afternoon and sunny outside, therefore, I made this a date and myself and the lucky man participated in a drinking chocolate tasting. Each drinking chocolate came in a 2 oz. cup shaped similar to a rose petal. Some flavours blended nicely while others were a bet of an oral workout.
Mayan Cocoa was hard core bitter chocolate. Unless you’re a foodie and can work outside your comfort zone, the raw and bitterness will surprise you. This is a good introduction before moving on to the other chocolates so that you can appreciate the origins of what real chocolate is. This is a great hot chocolate for dipping any of the marshmallows. The combination complements each other rather than competing against each other for flavour supremacy.
The Spanish Hot Chocolate tasted like a standard hot chocolate, however, there is a pleasant after taste that hits your mouth that resembles that of a hot cinnamon bun. The combination of honey and cinnamon with the right chocolate texture gave that doughy bakery taste.
French hot chocolate. This hot chocolate is rich with divine combinations. After tasting this, it fuelled by anger for Marie Antoinette who was a spoiled self centered bitch. It is rumoured that she ate chocolates infused with orchids, rosemary and lavender. It’s no wonder the French hated her so much as these spices were considered rich as gold. If you’re not into the flower taste, this may not be your cup of tea, or in this case… hot chocolate. Sadly the lavender overshadows a lot of the other intended notes but there is still an orchid after taste that justifies this creation. As I was drinking this, I pictured myself as Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette with a room full of chocolate and pastries.
Black Pepper chocolate is a punch in the face. It is so extreme that you will either love it or be so shocked, hate it at first and learn to appreciate it later. This was the case for me. I’ve had salted chocolate bars, however, never real raw black pepper hot chocolate.
I bought two social shopper coupons that included the tasting for two, however, without the coupon the prices are reasonable for what you get. I upgraded by grabbing a few boxes of chocolates as B-​day gifts for my two good girlfriends.

I’ve been wanting to try a local chocolatier close to UBC and what better excuse than to visit during the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival!
I visited on a dark rainy day, so the mood of the warm, inviting, quaint little shop was just perfect. After each of the festival flavors were rattled off, this is the one that I ordered:
Dark Drinking Chocolate with Black Sesame (vegan), served with a wafer of sesame bianco chocolate bark. Sounds alluring doesn’t it? And in honor of my BFF, I also ordered the Liz, a rich, white chocolate and vanilla centre enrobed in dark chocolate and garnished with gold.
Mmmmmm mmm… well, sorta. Turns out that dark chocolate in liquid form really isn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, I luuuuv dark chocolate, esp the 68% variety, but mostly — I realize now — in solid form. The chocolate drink was also vegan, which meant that it lacked the milkiness that would normally dilute any over-​chocolatey richness.
To top it off, the Liz was really overpowered by the dark chocolate drink. All I could remember thinking was that I was thirsty — really thirsty. Note to self: Don’t ever pair two dark chocs together, unless they’re both tiny nuggets.
All in all, my favorite part of the combo, ironically, was the wafer of sesame bianco chocolate bark. It was excellent, complete with all the essential elements: savory, salty, and crispy.
In addition to chocolate, CocoaNymph did have flavored marshmallows on display (yum!)…so I know I’ll definitely be returning to try one of those… and maybe a more milk chocolatey drink in the future!

I was summoned to CocoaNymph as per the Hot Chocolate Festival!
Locating this establishment was very easy as it is right off Alma on your way towards UBC with parking widely available on the street.
The staff were extremely friendly and welcoming and the aroma of this place was to die for. If you’re a fan of chocolate, you’ll fall in love with this place instantaneously.
We settled for two hot chocolates that were very reasonably priced:
— Dark Drinking Chocolate with Black Sesame, served with a wafer of sesame bianco chocolate bark.
— Maple Cinnamon Milk Drinking Chocolate, served with caramelized apple ring.
The flavours and aroma of the hot chocolates were very entrancing. Picture yourself sitting in front of a fireplace with a heavy snowfall outside your window — that’s how warming it felt. However, personally, I found the beverages too thick for my liking. I’m much more used to the conventional hot chocolate that’s been relatively diluted with milk, I suppose? I’m not complaining though!
CocoaNymph is a very relaxing environment. Warm décor, great staff, fresh ingredients, chocolates openly displayed, books to read and soothing music. I’d love to come back and try out their Baileys marshmallow!
This place deserves 4.5 stars!

A journey westbound to give my partner a ‘so-​called’ redemption sweet after a so-​so outing at another chocolate establishment brought us here. Bookmarked way in advance, and looking for the right opportunity to sit in on this tiny little shop in the West End, on this rainy Saturday I decided to take her, not knowing what to expect, yet pleasantly surprised at this hidden chocolate shop.
I wouldn’t say it is hidden, but you better know where you are going when you get here. When you enter, it is a small, but spacious place, with a few seats, and a grand piano taking up the center area. Displayed on top are the chocolate assortments that are sold, each with their description and a name that goes with it. They also had two pieces named after the main characters from «Wicked — the musical» and the one named Elphaba had pistacio’s. There was probably about a little over 10 choices that are made at this shop.
Instead of having their chocolates, we decided to share a cup of hot chocolate, and the one recommended was that with a hint of lavender, and served with their in-​house marshmallows. There was a salted one that I remember, on it’s own, was great, and when mixed in with the drink, just made for an excellent pairing. A very comfortable feel in this place, that can be described as more intimate a setting, with the darker tones, and colors used, and the big display piece of the piano make this a destination spot.

I have had my fair share of good hot chocolate in Vancouver at places such as Mink, Bella Gelateria, Thierry, and Chocolaterie De La Nouvelle France just to name a few. And I am happy to announce that I am adding Cocoa Nymph Café to my ever growing list of «Wendy’s favorite chocolate joints of all time».
I was abducted (minus the blind fold and hemp bag over my head) to this quaint and cunning café. The dark brown hard-​wood floor accented the beautiful antique piano in the middle of the room. If that doesn’t scream «notice me», I don’t know what does. As I approached the piano I saw a row of neatly displayed chocolate samples of various flavor and shape waiting to be «picked» along the edge of the piano lid. I was mesmerized.
I looked around the café and saw there are only 4 tables. I say the capacity is no more than 16. Regardless, this is definitely a small cozy place to weather the cold on a raining night like the night I went.
I love how the menu is written on chalk boards. It’s very — personable. I would prefer seeing the menu with a short blurp of description though as I couldn’t tell the different between French, Spanish, and Mayan hot chocolate. The staff said the Mayan contains spices that you’ll either love it or hate it. Spanish is dark chocolate and cream based. French is Marie Antoinette’s favorite — lavender and rosemary. Needless to say I went with the French. The staff did not recommend putting in any marshmallow as the hot chocolate is already intensely flavored but she’ll put them at the side. She was nice enough to give me two flavors of marshmallow instead of one. She recommended the salted caramel (which I got) and I also picked the whiskey.
The French hot chocolate was smooth, not overly sweet, with a good balance of dark chocolate and cream. The floral hints of rosemary and lavender were heavenly. The hand-​made marshmallows were very soft. The salted caramel is a must try. Whiskey is just alright (I think it’s because I couldn’t taste any Whiskey).
I walked away with lots of pheromone released. I wasn’t sure if I was set up for that but who cares? I was happy as a puppy.

I first tried CocoaNymph chocolate at the Unilocal Carnival back in June. I had heard about the wondrous magic that the salted chocolate bites had made. Then I tasted it — the Sea Nymph bar. Yum yum yum yum!!!
I went into the store for the first time tonight to stock up on Christmas gifts. I went for both the SeaNymph (I may have picked up an extra one pour moi) and the Twilight. They are beautifully wrapped and calling my name. Must. Not. Give. In.
Anyway — the storefront itself is a little on the dark side. The smell that greets you is that bittersweet smell of pure chocolate. The piles of truffles were inspiring and I really like the fact that they lay out all of them with names and descriptors so you can really tell the difference between all of the flavours. There were lots of things to buy and I can’t wait to go back and have a chocolately drink!

My very first trip to the Cocoa Nymph was to take THE photo of the «Illa» chocolate for Vancouver Magazine’s 101 Things To Eat Before You Die.
This was also the first time I met Rachel, the owner/​chocolatiere!
The next trip was about a year later to see a live show in her store (yes, chocolate AND live music!) and I remember walking in realizing I had been there before!
That was the day that I fell in love with the store and the amazing woman that is Rachel.
I frequent the store often for shows and chocolate. You MUST visit and try some of the tasty treats.

Mission to Try Vancouver’s 101 Best Eats
Item: ILA Chocolates (aka. salted chocolates)
Price: package of 4 truffles — $ 7.00
Alternative: Chocolate bar, that can also be found at Urban Fair and fancy and lovely colourful wrapping — ideal for the simple chocolate lover.
Textures and Tastes — creamy and a huge hit of Salt, which is so unexpected yet so perfect together. good crunch and rich at the same time. wanting to savour every last speck of salt like it is necessary to make the piece of chocolate complete!
I have never been to the store, but have been able to meet Rachel the owner at the Unilocal event and at Make-​It! It’s awesome how she’s so passionate about what she does and I guess dreams do come true!