Sweet As Hot Chocolate Challenge
The Crooked Elm is offering 'Stuck on You Chocky' featuring sticky toffee pudding as part of Sweet As Hutt's Hot Chocolate Challenge.
Candy floss, Russian fudge, Filipino-style coconut macaroons, peppermint and bubble gum are just some of the delicious flavours on offer for a limited in the Sweet As Hutt's Hot Chocolate Challenge this month.
The challenge, into its seventh year, will see 15 hospitality operators including cafes, restaurants, a couple of pubs and a bakery in Lower Hutt's City Centre, create their own signature hot chocolate drinks for people to enjoy throughout the school holidays.
Customers will be the given the chance to vote for their favourite hot chocolate on the new Sweet As Hutt's Hot Chocolate website with the winning hot chocolate declared at the end of the challenge, which takes place until July 25.
The challenge, founded by the Hutt City Council to inspire local city centre cafes to be creative as well as draw people out to the city centre during winter.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
💨 Wellington: Is the real summer finally here?
It’s the talk of the town (and every coffee queue): the Wellington "summer" has felt more like a very long, very damp spring! 🌧️ We’ve definitely had our fair share of grey skies and raincoats lately.
In fact, The Post reports that our "pretty average" summer has been tough on the local venues and events that usually thrive under the sun. But don't pack away the sunscreen just yet!
The good news? The next couple of weeks are looking a bit more "settled" (the Wellington word for "not a gale-force downpour"). With autumn officially here, now is the time to squeeze every last drop out of the season! ☀️
Any local hidden spots or activities you’d recommend for a calm Wellington day? Drop them in the comments! 👇
Poll: Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕
Wellington’s identity is built on its cafe culture, but with costs climbing, that culture is under pressure. We’ve seen the headlines about recent closures, and it’s a tough pill to swallow along with a $6+ coffee.
We all want our favourite spots to stay open, but we also have to balance our own budgets ⚖️
We want to know: How are you handling the "coffee math" in 2026? Are you still heading to your local for a chat and a caffeine fix, or has the cost of living changed your habits?
Keen to read more about "coffee math"? The Post has you covered.
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47% I avoid spending money on coffee
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42.4% I still indulge at my local cafe
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10.6% Irrelevant - coffee is not for me
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