celebrating more great chocolate from British Columbia, Canada

This collaborative creation: Sirene Chocolate’s Limited Edition Mocha bar is infused with Victoria-based Discovery Coffee’s delicious private blend. I’ve paired this chocolate for coffee lovers with Guinness Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Beer and it was a match made in heaven for a recent summer-themed custom chocolate tasting event.

Handcrafted chocolate is worth celebrating every day of the year, isn’t it? Indeed, there are numerous days of the year specifically dedicated to the celebration of chocolate. One of my favourites is World Chocolate Day which is celebrated on July 7th each year, as it salutes the various parts of the world where cacao is grown as well as the countries who do a fine job in making chocolate from it. Another great day worth celebrating is National Chocolate Day held October 28th each year.  

In this post, I’d like to capture the spirit of Canada with some fabulous flavours offered by a few of my favourite small batch chocolate makers located in beautiful British Columbia (BC.) We’ll sample the robust flavours of Sirene Chocolate and Roxy’s Chocolate based in Victoria (the capital city of BC) and the creativity of Wild Mountain Chocolate based in the mountainous community of Invermere, BC, in the Canadian Rockies. Each of these companies as well as Rogers’, the oldest chocolate company in Western Canada, produces socially conscious, sustainable chocolate for your enjoyment.

Taylor Kennedy is the creative force behind Sirene Chocolate based in Victoria, BC. Sirene makes award-winning single origin chocolate from numerous countries including Madagascar, Ecuador, Mexico, Trinidad, Guatemala and Venezuela.

Sirene Chocolate is the brainchild of Taylor Kennedy, who decided to turn his passion for exotic flavours and exploration into a multi-award winning, small-batch artisan chocolate company following an 18-year career with the National Geographic Society as an editor and photographer. I love the way Taylor is so true to the bean and makes the unique nuances of each varietal of cacao he works with shine through to create his own recipe for remarkable chocolate.

The Sirene collection includes a delicious 73% Madagascar bar made from cocoa beans that are aged for seven years. The result is a bar featuring bold and fruity flavour notes and the health benefits of a high cocoa content bar. I’m also a huge fan of Sirene’s Dark Milk Chocolate bars–the perfect blend of dark chocolate infused with a touch of milk powder in the final stages of production. The result is a rich and creamy creation that features the fully intense flavour of dark chocolate.

I really enjoyed this assortment of delectables made by Rogers’ Chocolates, but can tell you that I was particularly impressed with the Dark Empress Square, paying tribute to Victoria’s landmark hotel.

Victoria is a great destination for chocolate lovers. In addition to being the home of one of Canada’s oldest and largest chocolate companies, Rogers’ Chocolates–founded in 1885– Victoria is home to a number of enticing chocolate locales. In addition to checking out the delicious offerings of the talented bean-to-bar makers on Vancouver Island, I highly recommended is a visit to the Empress Hotel, not only one of the city’s top landmarks, but also a wonderful place to enjoy High/Afternoon Tea featuring an assortment of chocolate and other desserts.

Roxy’s Mokaccino is a fabulous 48% milk chocolate handcrafted with Honduran cacao and rich espresso coffee beans roasted by the Fernwood Coffee company, also of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Another Victoria-based chocolate maker that is relatively new to the chocolate scene is Roxy’s Chocolate founded in November, 2022, by chocolate makers Ken Finkelstein (formerly of Winnipeg) and his partner Rachel Ditor. I loved Roxy’s Mokaccino, a 48% milk chocolate bar blended with espresso coffee beans from Fernwood Coffee, also of Victoria. This fabulous award-winning bar boasts a rich espresso flavour blended with Honduran cacao beans and whole milk sourced from a local BC farm. Congrats to Roxy’s for crafting a silky smooth bar with a polished finish and perfect snap. 

Also located in Beautiful British Columbia is Wild Mountain Chocolate of Invermere, a tiny community of about 4,000 residents situated in the Rocky Mountain Trench of eastern BC. We attended the Invermere Farmers’ and Artisan Market and were thrilled to meet Glen and Helen Davies, founders of Rocky Mountain Chocolate. If you’re in the area this summer, you’ll find Helen and Glen at the Wild Mountain Chocolate booth every Saturday until September 9th this year. You can also purchase online and take advantage of their free shipping offer.

Helen and Glen Davies are the owners of Wild Mountain Chocolate based in Invermere, BC. They make a great assortment of handcrafted chocolate including their award-winning Mint Bar and the delicious Canadian Maple Bar and a number of single-origin chocolate bars.

You’ll also find a great selection of chocolate in Vancouver. Check out this post for more information about Vancouver chocolate and this post about chocolate in North Vancouver. British Columbia is not only a top tourist-worthy destination, it is an incredible place for chocolate lovers. ❤️ 

Please share/pin this post if you enjoyed it. And please leave us the name of your favourite BC chocolate in the comment thread below. Thanks!