As the dead of winter sets in, we all know the best way to cheer up these dreary days is a mug full of hot chocolate at a local café or restaurant. Here area few of our favorite spots for cocoa and other sweetened winter beverages in Newport and beyond.
First, don’t forget to mark your calendar for Thursday, February 22, the date of the annual Best Hot Drink Contest when local bars and restaurants compete at the Newport Winter Festival. The event is held at the Red Parrot, 348 Thames Street in Newport. Complete details to be announced here.
With four locations around the state, including two in Newport, and popular carts seen at events everywhere, Nitro Bar has a wide selection of hot favorites. In addition to the traditional hot chocolate whisked with your choice of milk, Nitro features seasonal drinks like the Maple Sea Salt Latte and the Gingerbread Cookie Latte. Hours: (Providence) Daily, 7 a.m.–5 p.m.; (Newport on Pond Ave.) Daily, 7 a.m.–5 p.m.; (Newport on Thames St.) Daily, 7 a.m.–5 p.m.; (Little Compton) Daily, 7 a.m.–6 p.m. thenitrocart.com.
The Chanler Hot Chocolate Bar is closed for January but returns on weekends beginning February 3 through Match 24. The picturesque spot at Cliff Walk serves artisanal Milk Valrhona Hot Chocolate and Dark Valrhona Hot Chocolate, along with spiked Milk Chocolate with Irish Cream and vanilla Vodka and Dark Chocolate with Tuaca & Grand Marnier. Newport, www.thechanler.com/dining/hot-chocolate-bar.
Empire Tea and Coffee features hot chocolate at three locations, two in Newport and one in Bristol. They serve coffee, tea, espresso drinks, and hot chocolate in flavors including caramel, peppermint, white mocha, cardamon, and pumpkin spice. Open 6AM -5PM in Newport, 6AM-6PM in Bristol. empireteaandcoffee.com.
With locations in Portsmouth and Newport, and a third on the way at Garden City in Cranston, Kaffeology features a nice selection of warm drinks to keep you cozy. They include the popular Snickerdoodle cookie latte with oat milk and cinnamon sugar topping. Or sample the Marblehouse Chai, a spiced chai with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clover whisked with espresso and smooth cocoa powder topped with milk, and dusted with their house spice blend. Portsmouth and Newport, kaffeologycafe.com/
The Nook Coffee House in East Greenwich is known for its seasonal drinks including espresso, lattes, and non-espresso drinks like the Beet Latte or the remarkable Superfood Cacao, with organic fair trade cacao, an adaptogenic 8 mushroom mix including reishi, Lion’s mane, chaga, cordyceps, and shitake, lightly sweetened with housemade vanilla. They also serve hot chocolates in regular, peppermint, and Mexican varieties. East Greenwich, nookcoffeehouse.com.
We’ll hop off the island for our final pick, over to Borealis Coffee in Bristol, where seasonal specials include a spicy Mexican Hot Cocoa with steamed milk, spicy chocolate syrup, cinnamon, guajillo chili, and cayenne. Also recommended is the Merri-Mint Mocha, with espresso, steamed milk, peppermint, and mocha syrup. Riverside and Bristol, borealiscoffee.com.
