CHOCOX or Chocolate for Breakfast

Waking up this morning, I was not in a particularly great mood.

I still had a post-vacation "hang over" from being back to the land of responsibilities and To Do Lists.

So Starbucks just wasn't going to cut it this morning, I needed real coffee!

Normally, I would default to Kean but it just didn't seem right this morning; I needed wifi and privacy. I cruised by Alta and much to my chagrin, found they have turned into an uppity cafe with a waiting list and Amex Black Card minimum.

What did we ever do before Yelp?

Typing in "Coffee" I was lead to CHOCXO.

First, I must say, how has it taken this long for someone to come up with the brilliant idea of chocolate and coffee!? The pair so beautifully! 

Having been here for 10 minutes I have already tried:

- Medium Soy Dark Chocolate Mocha

- Dark Chocolate Covered Oreo

- Single Origin Dark Chocolate (from a fountain)

- Sea Salt Milk Chocolate Truffle

- Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Truffle

- Sumatra Blend Coffee

Needless to say, my day has gotten considerably better.

I was able to try so many of the products because of the hospitality of the barista and people behind the counter. All of them are knowledgable, friendly and funny.

The whole store is very open; big windows, clean white surfaces.

Everything so far has been delicious.

I am not usually a mocha fan as it has either a powdery chalky taste or a bitter after taste.

This mocha was smooth and rich, not too sweet and blended beautifully with the soy milk and espresso. The barista obviously knows what she is doing, everything was the perfect temperature and the flavor was flawless. She was genuinely concerned about my thoughts and opinions on the drink and was talkative and informative about all things coffee and chocolate.

The covered Oreo isn't my favorite. I just don't care for Oreos in general and although this one is "from Europe" and not a fake American tasting one, it is still an Oreo.

The Single Origin dark chocolate is from Kenya and is wonderfully rich, not at all bitter and very dynamic and earthy.

I don't care for Milk Chocolate, so that truffle was too sweet for me and the Dark Chocolate truffle has chewy caramel inside which didn't blend like I had hoped it would.

In my opinion, the true measure of any coffee shop (especially hand roasted) is the a cup of their simple drip coffee. The Sumatra was what I expected it to be. Not too acidic, very full bodied and aromatic. I very much enjoyed it black and even more with a splash of soy (which they were happy to add for me.) It was a little pricier than I was expecting, $2.45 for a medium, but still worth it. I like supporting local and fair trade.

Overall, I definitely recommend this spot! Great to stop in for morning coffee or post dinner treat.

Their Factory opened November 1 and I will be doing a "Chocolate Tour" soon! Stay tuned!