Caffe' Apropos

We had a horrible mocha experience the other day. It was almost enough to make us swear off mochas forever.
We visited Caffe' Apropos, 443 W. 3rd Ave., in Victorian Village on our way home from campus. We were encouraged by the awning that called the cafe a European Espresso Bar.
The inside was charming.Tile floors. High tables and booths where people sat working on their computers. A wine shop at the back encouraged more grown up beverages too. A cozy area centered a love seat and upholstered chairs around a fireplace. It seemed like a perfect place to gather with friends or to work alone. We took our drinks to go though rather than staying but were impressed with the atmosphere here.

  

The coffee, however, was a huge disappointment. Grace got a Raspberry Truffle mocha, a white chocolate mocha with a shot of raspberry. Paulita got the regular cafe mocha. We were offered whipped cream and as per our guidelines, turned it down. Both drinks cost $3.40 each. The barista was unassuming and polite; we had to repeat our orders and questions though. When we got our hands on our mochas, we were very excited, everything up until then had led us to believe that these would be rich, dark, beautiful cups of coffee full of flavor and a European flair.
We stepped out onto the sidewalk and were strolling toward the car before we tasted our drinks.

Paulita was surprised at the first sip. The mocha wasn't hot and had no hint of foam. Usually, without whipped cream the first sip would be thick foam with a hint of chocolate. 

 Grace's drink was a watery brew with only a hint of raspberry flavor.  Grace took a sip of Paulita's mocha and said, "Do you get a hint of something, well, earthy?"

Paulita took another sip and tasted dirt and mushroom-y mold.

"Gack." Paulita felt herself gagging and wondered if the mocha was coming back up.

In the car, we discussed what could have made that hideous taste, and wondered if the espresso beans might have been moldy.

After the gross taste, we didn't drink anymore. This was the amount of coffee left in the cup -- so nearly full and a waste of the $6.40 we spent.

 Here's our review, with 4 beans as the highest rating we give:

Taste of the mocha:

Zero beans -- we would not take another sip nor recommend anyone else try it.

Ambience:

 

Barista:

 



Overall Rating: