Vancouver is undeniably a coffee town, but from mid January to February each year, hot chocolate registers on the radars of caffeine fiends thirsting for warm beverages to ward off winter’s chill.

That’s right, the annual Hot Chocolate Festival is back and in its sixth year, bringing Vancouverites decadent, delicious, creative and downright strange concoctions.

If you’re picturing a bunch of local vendors all in one place, however, I hate to disappoint you. To try these tasty works of art, you have to visit some of the 25 participating restaurants, bakeries and cafes to experience the 59 hot chocolate flavours – and some of them are truly an experience.

My friend Jocelyn and I headed to Mink Chocolates on West Hastings, figuring it specializes in chocolate and would be a great place to sample what the festival has to offer.

As we approached the counter, Marc Lieberman, Mink’s owner, was describing one of his hot chocolate inventions to wide-eyed customers.

It’s called “The Voices in My Head Tell Me this Ain’t No B.S.” No, I’m not kidding. That’s actually its name.

The drink is a combination of organic butternut squash, almond milk, 70 per cent dark chocolate hot chocolate and served with a smoked oyster on the side.

“It’s a meal in a cup,” Lieberman said to the customers who seemed hesitant to try one.

At $8.50 per hot chocolate, it’s a commitment to buy a drink you might not like. So we opted for the “It’s a Clusterfluff”, a white chocolate dipped waffle, plain waffle and a cup of coffee.

The Clusterfluff contains Valrhona Caramelia 36 per cent milk chocolate hot chocolate with marshmallow fluff – an ingredient Lieberman brought in from the United States just for the festival.

We sat down with our coffee and waffles and watched the barista as she prepared the Clusterfluff. Suddenly, a mini torch appeared above the counter. The marshmallow fluff is torched and forms a nice, thick layer over the smooth, rich chocolate below.

We picked up the drink and as we started to walk away, the barista asked us to wait. The Clusterfluff, she told us, comes with a sparkler! How awesome is that? I have many fond childhood memories of running around the backyard with sparklers on Canada day and other special occasions.

On a rainy day, nothing smells better than toasted marshmallows. It’s a reminder of summer on a chilly morning.

We only tried the Clusterfluff because, while a hot chocolate crawl sounds like pretty much the best thing ever, the richness makes one more than enough.

But maybe we’ll make it an annual tradition to try at least one each year.

The festival ends on February 14, so don’t miss your chance to visit a new Vancouver café or restaurant and taste a chocolatey creation.

The festival is a fundraiser for the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters’ Downtown Eastside women’s job training program, so having a hot chocolate also helps a great cause.

Click here to view a full list of the participants and flavours.