Koko Black - Hot Chocolate (Cinnamon)

Tasted: Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Price: $5.75

Rating: 3.5 stars

Return: Yes, an easy and pretty good experience

I escaped work early on a Friday afternoon and thought I would indulge in solo hot chocolate and given that Koko Black (52 Collins st) is up the road I found myself there and seeking some indulgent, quiet solitude.

Atmosphere & Service

As always the look of this 'chocolate salon' is lovely but having seated myself I waited quite too long for a menu, although to be fair the waiter was very aplologetic when he did realise how long I had expectantly been waiting.

In the interim I found the visually lovely environment audibly annoying! It would probably be fine if I too was contributing to this noisy chatter but seeking indulgent solitude I just found it irritating. It was so loud that when the waitress confirmed my order I had to ask her to repeat it as I couldn't hear her.  Aside from the loud chatter, the incessant coffee machine just added to the noise overload. Perhaps some newspapers or something to distract me would have been nice...

But enough of the whining.  I'm always drawn to cinnamon and chocolate so no surprises what I ordered (that and I'm not that fussed about their plain hot chocolate).  I also indulged and ordered myself a dark chocolate and a raspberry ganache although I won't bother reviewing the chocolates as personally I don't think chocolates and hot chocolates mix too well - too much competing richness on offer.

Although worth a note, I was rather tempted by the tasting plate ($6.50) offering a piece of each of their single origin chocolates but I'm not going to get a good sense of them when drinking hot chocolate.  The autumn Belgian Spoil, including apple tea cake was also appealing, but I feel this treat is best left for chocolate expereinces of two or more.

Part of me likes the sense of how egalitarian koko black is, it is very accessible to all people and they are well represented here although maybe a little over represented by business suits.  But the other part of me always feels just a little deflated by the thought that some of these people think this is the pinnacle of chocolate consumption - but maybe that is just the chocolate snob coming out in me...

Taste & Texture

The hot chocolate arrives looking pretty, a wee bit small but not overtly so.  A strong scent of cinnamon hits me immediately, yum!  Buoyed by this strong aroma, I dive into the froth and it is pretty good and reasonably thick.  Although very sweet, possibly too sweet - a little like topping - but it does deliver touches of cinammon spiciness through this.  So far its not perfect (my wish list would would like a little more froth and the hot chocolate actually infused with cinammon and some luscious dark choc on top) but it is nice.

But back to my beverage rather than my wish list; it is very hot and could do with dropping the temperature a tad.  Likewise I find the texture a too thin, something I personally find common to Koko Black. 

The colour is somewhat dark suggesting a strong chocolate hit, but the flavour is muted and doesn't offer the flavour it suggests, but it is strong on milky flavours - but personally I want the chocolate taste.

Something I must learn to do sooner with my hot chocolates is to stir! Risking my limited froth to the possible benefit of improving the taste and texture of this drink I take a deep breath, fight the urge to eat all of my froth and stir.  At first it seems much creamier, but I keep expecting it to return to that insipid thin texture, but mixing seems to be the key.  It retains a slightly thicker texture and distributes the cinnamon flavour a little more evenly.  It also elevates this from being a 3 star hot chocolate to a 3.5 stars.

On a final note, it lingers nicely but not of chocolate but sweetness with a touch of cinnamon.

Summary

The cinnamon is great for cold winter days and overall this is good. To be fair again the noise does drop when a very large group leaves but still remains loud so just manage your expectations if solo indulging.

Overall, Koko Black is good, there are of course better but it's close, it's solid, it's easy - so, yes, I will return.

www.kokoblack.com.au

Reviewer: Shari
Date 19 May 2010