For a while we've been searching for a coffee and chocolate pairing which combine together beautifully.
Since we opened the cafe 18 months ago, we've learned that slinging some delicious chocolate into some delicious coffee does definitely not guarantee a delicious mocha.
We've been talking to baristas and coffee shop owners and it seems like mochas are a little forgotten about. They're often viewed as the drink of choice (maybe correctly) of people that don't really like coffee.
But, as long time followers will know, there's nothing we like more than a challenge, so a while ago, we set ourselves the target of Hacking The Perfect Mocha.
One of the biggest challenges has been controlling the acidity in the cup.
Most delicious coffees are light, roasted, and often washed and so brightness comes with the territory. Ironically, this light-roasted approach inspired our cacao roasting process, especially with bars like our Madagascar 70% which pops with red berry flavour as a result.
However, when you combine an acidic coffee with an acidic chocolate, surprise surprise - you end up with a cup of hot lemon juice. Essentially, you need only one of the elements to be acidic or both to be relatively low acidity.
Which brings us to this Yunnan double anaerobic from @killbean.roaster and the incredible mochas it makes, especially with our new Vietnamese Drinking Chocolate.
This drink could only have happened by the people we've met in the last 2 years, and the random nature of stumbling upon things.
We first heard about Yanyi after his pop up at one of our customers @batchbabycoffee and then tasted some of his Butterscotch when we visited another customer, @mays_coffeeandtea in June. Using an espresso technique we learned, also last year, when we visited @mitchfrrr at @effystores (charmingly dubbed snot rockets by @aerodepress of @amuletamuletamuletamuletamulet fame) we're now serving something unique and very special here in the cafe.
70% mochas with this and our new Vietnamese drinking chocolate make a cup that tastes of caramel cheesecake.
80% mochas with this and our Mexico Lavado taste of tiramisu.
