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It is a dark time for hot chocolate in Portland (no pun intended).
Gone are the days when you could pop into Cacao for a sip of cinnamon drinking chocolate, or take shelter from our city’s ceaseless rainfall with a cup of steaming cocoa at Alma Chocolate. And let’s not forget the heartbreaking and infuriating demise of Moonstruck’s retail stores, courtesy of new owner Chocolate Works (boo!).
But it’s not just the closing of specific businesses that has diminished the Rose City’s standing as a hot chocolate mecca. More than ever, hot chocolate is a deceptively simple drink that is rarely prepared properly. Many a Portlander has raised a mug to their lips expecting the velvety mouthfeel and sweet-bitter taste of cacao, only to find themselves gulping warm milk with a vaguely chocolaty taste.
That’s why Creo Chocolate (122 NE Broadway, 503-477-8927, creochocolate.com) is such a godsend. It’s not just that it’s a literal chocolate factory (albeit without any rampaging Oompa-Loompas); Creo has elevated itself into a temple devoted to a single tenet: Any drink or candy with the word “chocolate” in its name deserves to be crafted with artistry and care.
The tale of how Creo became Creo begins roughly a dozen years ago, when Tim, Janet and Kevin Straub began making their own chocolate at home. They were raspberry farmers, but eventually they sold their farm and devoted themselves to their newfound passion.
A sojourn to Ecuador helped the Straubs better understand the finer points of chocolate making (think Bruce Wayne leaving Gotham City to learn superheroism from the League of Shadows, but with cacao instead of ninja swords). Those lessons continue to influence operations at Creo, which has won 100 awards, including eight from the Academy of Chocolate in London.
(Side note: The Straubs are particularly known for their mastery of white chocolate, having won gold in the 2022 “White Bean to Bar Flavoured” category for their Coffee & Cream White Chocolate Bar.
Creo is a haven for chocolate lovers (the last time I visited, I was handed a complimentary salty-caramel delicacy the moment I entered). And just as important, it is a place where drinking chocolate is available in strikingly unique varieties. There is one for every mood or moment, whether you’re looking for a midafternoon pick-me-up, or seeking a soothing drink after a long day at work.
Without further ado, here is an analysis of what Creo’s four types of drinking chocolate have to offer. Cheers!
Midnight TruffleSipping Chocolate
Every self-respecting cocoa maker should have a flagship drink under their belt. You know, the kind of hot chocolate that doesn’t mess around with any wacky flavors in an attempt to be cool—the kind that comfortably satisfies, leaving you to joyously declare, “This is what I mean when I say ‘hot chocolate.’”
At Creo, that’s the Midnight Truffle Sipping Chocolate. It’s the apex of artisan hot chocolate—there’s nothing particularly surprising about it, but it has the sweet and ever so slightly bitter taste of a high-class cocoa that knows what it’s doing (and no, there’s not a single hint of mushroom, name notwithstanding).
What’s in it, you ask? Heirloom Arriba Nacional cacao beans, organic cane sugar and cocoa butter pressed from the same beans, making the flavor and consistency all the richer. A word of advice: When you heat it up and mix it with milk, make sure you melt the chocolate thoroughly. That way, this rich, über-dark hot chocolate can reach its full potential and help your taste buds come alive. $21.50 for 8 ounces.
Mayan Spice SippingChocolate
Remember the scene in Chocolat where an irascible Judi Dench exclaims, “Chile powder?! In hot chocolate?!” Thanks to Juliette Binoche’s valiant chocolatier, Dame Judi came around—and you will too once you taste Creo’s Mayan Spice Sipping Chocolate, which offers an unconventional but unmistakably beguiling flavor.
This is the kind of hot chocolate that would make coffee shop cocoa ashamed of its blandness and instant cocoa question its toxic, codependent relationship with boiling water. Also, it’s one of Creo’s most pleasantly surprising concoctions.
With the second sip, the heat sneaks up on you. Or, to be precise, the spiciness. Amid the swirling layers of chocolate is the unmistakable taste of chile (combined with secret “Creo spices”), which leaves a lively aftertaste in your mouth—a rose at once thorny and beautiful.
Spicy hot chocolate isn’t for everyone; it’s the kind of counterintuitive beverage that delights yet leaves your mouth wondering how it can possibly exist. But for all of its oddness, it’s an addictive, senses-sharpening treat. $21.50 for 8 ounces.
Minty Dark Sipping Chocolate
Personally, I tend to be a little suspicious of mint. An Altoid can be refreshing after a couple slices of pesto pizza, but on its own, mint can be an off-putting flavor—maybe because it’s all too easily associated with toothpaste.
Happily, Creo’s Minty Dark is another story altogether. Unlike the Mayan Spice, in which the chile powder flavor proudly and defiantly announces its presence, Minty Dark actually isn’t all that minty. Complementing cacao with Northwest peppermint oil, it’s a more subtle sort of hot chocolate. The mintiness isn’t the main attraction—it’s there to add finesse.
Like all of Creo’s sipping chocolates, Minty Dark is as much liquid candy as it is hot chocolate. It tastes like someone melted a stack of Andes Mints and mixed them together—and the result is unquestionably delicious.
Akin to a breath mint arriving after a heavy meal, the peppermint flavoring seems to strike ever so lightly once you’ve taken a sip. It adds a refreshing coolness—which, rather than distracting from the chocolate, seems to heighten your appreciation of it.
Sneaky? You bet. But this is one hot chocolate that will please both adventurous and conservative drinkers. $21.50 for 8 ounces.
Brewed Cacao
So…this is a tricky one. This hot chocolate isn’t for amateurs. It’s a hot chocolate designed to push you out of your comfort zone, out onto the ledge with those brave souls who insist on drinking coffee without cream or sugar. Depending on your mood, it’s either not for the faint of heart or the height of cocoa-induced pleasure.
While all of Creo’s other drinking chocolates require you to simply mix chocolate and milk together in a pot, the Brewed Cacao is a little more complicated to prepare. To enjoy it properly, you need to brew the roasted cacao in a French press, just like coffee (the longer it brews, the more full-bodied the flavor will be).
Unless you’re an unusually monastic chocolate lover, you’re not going to want to drink it straight. If you do, it’s going to be pretty watery, so make sure to have plenty of cream and sweetener on hand. $12 for 12 ounces.