While the Bay Area may be blessed with comparatively temperate weather year-round, there are still some days when the temperature drops, the sky turns gray or the rain clouds descend, bringing the winter blues with them. That’s when it’s time to make like Harry Potter and chase those dementors away with some chocolate — hot chocolate to be exact.
Here are five stellar spots around the Bay Area for picking up a piping mug of cocoa that’s not just satisfying but also memorable.
Timothy Adams Chocolates, Palo Alto
Timothy Woods and Adams Holland, a Sausalito-based couple, opened their Palo Alto chocolaterie 12 years ago, drawing its title from a mashup of their first names. Woods initially trained as an architect, and then found his way into the world of food, working as a chef at a farm-to-table restaurant in Fresno before becoming a chocolatier. “I love people, and I love doing things well,” Woods says.
Pink and purple flowers explode from planters outside the shop, complementing the pink rabbit that’s the shop’s logo as well as its interior color scheme. But all the bright colors pale in comparison to the colors inside the shop’s central counter, a display case gleaming with meticulously decorated artisan truffles. Visitors must tear their eyes away to study the drinking chocolate menu, which features 10 different gradations of chocolate for sipping, from white chocolate to dark Valrhona varieties, up to 100% bittersweet Republic del Cacao chocolate. The resulting beverage is half melted chocolate, half the customer’s liquid of choice — but it tastes better to go with whole milk over the non-dairy almond milk option, according to Woods. Then, it’s topped with a homemade marshmallow. The 62% Valrhona Satilia dark chocolate option hits a careful balance of intensity and drinkability that blankets one’s mouth in a rich chocolate flavor without overwhelming it.
Details: Open noon-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 12:30-9 p.m. Saturdays at 539 Bryant St., Palo Alto; timothyadamschocolates.com.
Hannah Coffee, San Jose
At Hannah Coffee in San Jose, you know what’s in your drink — because the cafe team publishes each recipe on its website. Manager Andrew Harms says that the transparency helps not just their customers but other coffee shops looking to craft tasty beverages.
Their hot chocolate recipe uses 100% cocoa powder, which lets them customize the amount of sugar in each drink and allows for a sugar-free option, he says. It also contains white chocolate sauce, cane sugar syrup, steamed milk, whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder on top.
The team is constantly trying to improve their recipes, and recently did a taste-test of 20 different types of vanilla syrup, according to Ryan Bavetta, who helps to operate the coffee shop that his wife, Salome Bavetta, owns. After experimenting with different cocoa powders and syrups, they opted to stick with Hershey’s cocoa powder, which provides an equally rich — and more cost-effective — alternative to other brands, according to Ryan Bavetta. “We put a lot of research and taste-testing in,” he says.
Details: Open 6 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 754 The Alameda #80, San Jose; hannahcoffee.com.
The Chocolate Dragon Bittersweet Cafe and Bakery, Oakland
In a cozy storefront nestled in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood, The Chocolate Dragon Bittersweet Cafe & Bakery, owned by Lise Dale, a baker and barista from New Mexico, has a cocoa offering for every kind of hot chocolate fan, from the sweet salted caramel cocoa — featuring the shop’s house-made fleur de sel caramel sauce — all the way to the dairy-free bittersweet option, blending chocolate with hot water for a dense, indulgent sipping experience. And then there are the spiced options, like Mexican hot chocolate and chocolate chai, plus a white chocolate version with notes of cardamom and caramel. Note: You may want to bring a buddy or a book rather than a laptop, since the cafe has a strict no laptops or wifi policy on weekends, including Fridays.
Details: Open 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays at 5427 College Ave., Oakland; chocolatedragoncafe.com.
Tifa Chocolate and Gelato, Walnut Creek
Tifa Chocolate and Gelato opened its doors in Walnut Creek just a few months ago, in July, as the Bay Area’s first franchise of an Agoura Hills-based brand. Owned by Naina Balupari, this shop’s hot chocolate comes from couverture chocolate imported from Belgium. It’s then dissolved into half-and-half and steamed, and milk is added (non-dairy milk options are also available) along with any additional flavors the customer might request. “Everything is really fresh,” she says.
The drinking chocolate is endlessly customizable — from a dark, milk or white chocolate base, to additional flavors, like cardamom, rose, chai spice, maple or honey, among others. And you can sip it in a cup or over gelato. The gelateria makes 24 flavors of gelato in-house, including pistachio lemon curd, strawberry rose sorbetto and, for the fall, brown butter pumpkin cheesecake.
Details: Open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays at 1545 Locust St., Walnut Creek; tifachocolateandgelato.com.
Equator Coffees, Burlingame
Made with San Francisco’s Ghirardelli chocolate, this cocoa is light, sweet, a tad frothy and a cozy accompaniment for keeping one’s hands warm at this cafe situated next to the bay. That said, this particular location of Equator Coffees is just inside a new tech office campus, so if that gives you the ick when you’re in the mood to recreate, take your cocoa to go and head out for a stroll along the Bay Trail instead. You can see planes coming in to land at SFO and shorebirds aplenty as you walk along Coyote Point County Park, passing a beach and a hilly waterfront eucalyptus grove along the way. Stroll a tad farther, and you’ll arrive at CuriOdyssey, a family-friendly science playground and zoo.
Details: Open 7 a.m.-4 p.m. daily at 312 Airport Blvd., Burlingame; equatorcoffees.com.