For the Third Coffee of Christmas my barista made for me…

As I mentioned in the intro to this series, I worked at Caffe Calabria for 6 years, but I give you my word as a professional that I didn’t let that affect my critique of them … and it appears that the majority of Yelpers agree with me on that.

I also added today’s review on Yelp: Caffe Calabria @ Yelp

The Coffee: Peppermint Mocha

The Shop: Caffe Calabria located at 3933 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92104

The Espresso shot: As I put the demitasse to my nose for the first whiff of aroma, I knew this was an excellent shot … simply superb, you almost just can’t get it more perfect than that. I say almost because the crema was a a tad light and dissipated rather quickly, but OMG the taste was to die for. I felt as though I was eating a dark chocolate candy with just a touch of tanginess for the finish. I loved this shot so much that I was tempted to lick the demitasse cup for every last drop … I hope you don’t think I’m kidding, because I really did consider it for a moment.

*Note* Caffe Calabria only pulls ristretto shots unless you specifically ask otherwise, but it makes for super-sweet, flavorful shots every time.

They didn’t have any Holiday Coffee Specials listed on their daily board so I had to ask the barista to make me something special and holiday-ish, so she suggested that I get a peppermint mocha with whip cream … and I never say no to a mocha of any sort, or to whip cream for that matter.

The aroma of this mocha was very similar to smelling a chocolate peppermint patty, but even less peppermint than that. I knew immediately from the aroma that this was going to be a really good drink.

I was not disappointed. This drink was excellent … even as a mocha with a syrup in it, I could taste the espresso, that is a great mark of knowing what the heck you’re doing as a barista. Although this was a mocha and topped with whip cream, I could tell that the milk had been frothed to the proper temperature and consistency by how each sip sat in my mouth and how I didn’t even have to stir the drink to distinguish all of it’s flavor nuances.

When I got to the bottom of my mocha, which was a very sad occurrence since that meant it was all gone, there were absolutely no ingredients lingering around down there.

The aftertaste didn’t last long at all, maybe 5 to 10 minutes … another indication of flavoring a drink properly.

Have you had a Peppermint Mocha from Caffe Calabria? How would you rate yours?

My personal palette does tend to lean towards smooth and mellow, yet earthy with a hint of smoky … meaning I usually love Indonesian coffee, Sumatra in particular and so that should be taken into account when reading my reviews.

MCP Ratings:

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