Today was hard. I woke up feeling lazy and knowing it was freezing outside so I didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything. Not a great start to the day for someone who’s in the middle of an adventure-a-day challenge is it!?  But it was -14 with the wind chill factor and all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and read.  I wanted to hibernate.

But I didn’t.  I decided a compromise was in order. I wanted to lounge around and enjoy a few creature comforts but I knew I really needed to get outside and find an adventure. So I merged those two needs and came up with this.

Adventure-A-Day: Day 18

I did a quick online search for “the best hot chocolate in Toronto” and then got in my car and headed straight to the one that was nearest to my home – a quaint little chocolate and ice-cream shop in Toronto’s High Park area called Delight.

Owned and run by a husband and wife duo, Delight specializes in handmade organic fair trade chocolates and ice-cream. According to a few reputable sources, they also make one of the best hot chocolates in the city – a traditional European style hot chocolate with 35% whipping cream and solid homemade chocolate.

I claimed the little table in the window all to myself and then laboured over the short hot chocolate menu:

• Regular
• Spicy
• Peanut Butter
• Vegan Hot Chocolate
• Salish Smoked Sea Salt Caramel (the current ‘special’ hot chocolate)

I couldn’t decide between the Spicy and the Salish Smoked Sea Salt Caramel so I decided not to decide at all and ordered both. An impromptu taste test.

Sounds like an adventure!

The owner was whipping and stirring as I looked around the shop at the beautiful handmade chocolates. I couldn’t even glance at the freezer full of decadent ice creams, it was just too cold outside.

Before I knew it I sitting down with my 2 hot chocolates. “I can’t believe I’m having 2 hot chocolates”! They were the perfect temperature. I was warmed up after just a few sips. I wasn’t really sure how to compare two hot chocolates though. Do I smell them and taste them as one would in a wine tasting? I opened the lids and did a visual comparison. They looked the same except for the little specks of ‘spice’ in the ‘Spiced’ cup.I sipped one slowly for a few minutes and then tried the other. They were both very good. Not to sweet and both flavourful in their own way. I liked the spiced version because the little kick from the spice made it unusual. You could taste the spice right away yet it wasn’t overdone. Very delicious. The ‘Salish Smoked Sea Salt Caramel’ didn’t disappoint either. The name alone had won me over and the taste just elevated the experience. It was my favourite.

I settled further into my seat by the window and savoured my chosen chocolate drink for the next half-hour. Thirty minutes of hibernating with my stash of hot chocolate. It was the perfect outing. The perfect adventure for such a cold day.

Tomorrow, I really need to exercise though.

Do you have a favourite hot chocolate? Did you have an adventure today?