Brewed Coffee, Cafe Xocolat

Yep, I went back, yet again. And ordered coffee, yet again. How many times do I have to tell myself: Order. The. Specialty. Will I ever learn?! **

I ordered the basic brew this time. The caramel/dulce de leche and whipped cream in their Cafe Panna y Leche stole the spotlight from the flavor of coffee (not that it wasn't good. If you like your coffee sweet. If you like it warm, almost room temp. Ok, I'll stop.), I just had to find out if their coffee was really good. I opted for the house brew over the Cordillera variant.

So! I love the place -- an old early 70's split level house with many familiar details that that just brings back so many happy memories. As a friend once tried to rationalize, every other one of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's must've had a home or a relative's home with at least one detail in it that's found in this place. I love the colorful Moroccan-ish lamps -- I've been wanting to buy one and here at the Loyola Heights branch they have over a dozen! Unfair! I love the signs they put up. I love the furniture, the earthenware cups and plates. I love that they're a wifi hotspot.

But the coffee brought visuals of ash to mind. Oh, but I like the place! I therefore make the resolution to have their famous chocolate concoctions the next time I visit, because I will definitely go back to Cafe Xocolat, just not for coffee.

** note: see my previous Xocolat review.

Cafe con Leche y Pana, Xocolat

Being in any Xocolat branch has its unique feel, it's so tempting to spend hours there just absorbing the smells, transported somewhere else by the character of the mismatched colorful warm and arts and crafts-y decor, and surrounded by the relaxed and home-y comfort brought on by the people who love being there. You just have to join them and feel like a chocolate lover yourself. Oh, and the Loyola Heights branch I am especially drawn to has wifi, yay! I can stay there for hours!

Now for the coffee... They have quite a selection, should chocolate not be the thing that lured you in. I asked for help in choosing a good one, and the person behind the counter recommended, with such conviction, the owner's favorite -- the Cafe con Leche y Pana, a dulce de leche concoction. 

It took some time to prepare, but it did look pretty and very rich. I loved the cup and saucer, they so matched the place. It was just warm, warm enough to drink bottoms up, if you were inclined to. But it was good, if you like sweet coffee. But I don't. The coffee got lost in the sweetness of the cream and dulce de leche, it was almost like blended leche flan. And it was just warm. 

I went back another time and ordered it again -- I know, right? -- and it still took some time, and it was just warm (should I just say room temp?). But I love it there, I would go back another time, sure. For a quiet chat with a friend, working on deadlines, time alone, for the comfort food, the reasonable prices, but you know what I resolved to do --- get chocolate when it's the specialty of the place!