An honest guide to Bellingham’s hot chocolate

January is nobody’s favorite month in the Pacific Northwest, but there is one silver lining: It’s peak hot chocolate season. I’d like to think I know a thing or two about hot chocolate. Do I have any real qualifications? Perhaps not — but I’ve sampled a lot of them in my day. (Also, my name is quite literally Cocoa, so that has to count for something.) Hot chocolate might seem like a straightforward drink, but Bellingham's cafes take surprisingly varied approaches. That’s why,