I have been writing a bit lately about my personal enjoyment of various coffees and my experiments with making my perfect early morning cup. (J is for Java;  and X is for X-ploring the X-Factor in Java). So having not had time on my first visit to Eat! Vancouver 2012,  there  was one thing I specially wanted to check out on my second visit. The coffee-chocolate connection.

On entering  BC Place i headed straight to  the Van Houtte Coffee booth where I thought I might get  some more enlightenment about different blends of coffee. There I wanted to explore what my Coffee Profile was. Did I like my coffee Bold, Velvety or Mellow, and Fruity or Woodsy?  Hmmm. I love my coffee, but I suspect my taste might vary according to mood and time of day.

Anyway I thought this diagnostic tool might be interesting. After answering three questions to discover my flavour preference and another three to determine the Intensity of coffee I prefer, it turned out that my profile is Velvety Fruity. The Van Houtte description is Supple and Well Balanced (that's me - well not sure about the supple bit!) - a lively harmony between sweetness and tartness with berry, citrus and floral notes.

I tasted the Velvety Fruity coffee - but of course the samples were black - and I drink my coffee with a dash of cream - so  it was a bit too strong for me. As was the chocolate that went along with it. So I ended up with whatever coffee matched with the milk chocolate.

Oh yes- I think a big draw to that booth was the question of matching one's coffee taste to the appropriate chocolate. Wendy Boys of Cocolico  developed a range of chocolates to go with the different coffee taste profiles. I managed to chat to Wendy for a few minutes  about matching coffee and chocolate flavours and this is what she had to say about it.

After I had savoured the chocolate tasting, I wandered off to check out many of the other booths that had caught my eye on my first visit. Mainly I was interested in unusual varieties of oils and vinegars, and I found several to experiment with.

All in all there was much to see at this Festival, and best of all for me BC Place is a nice twenty minute walk from my home.  Hopefully next years Fest will be there again.