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I like being a bit rude to Mother Nature sometimes. When she’s cold and windy, I flip her the birdy and head to Cold Rock for a big cup of chilly ice cream. When she rains, I laugh in her face as I go out running, ignoring the water that runs into my eyes and makes me appear to have sweat patches in very unusual places. And, when it’s damn hot and the sun is beating down mercilessly, I moon her and head to Koko Black.
Koko Black are gourmet chocolate makers, geniuses, and producers of some DAMN fine hot chocolate. We visited the Bourke St Koko Black store/cafe one warm day, as we’d heard very good things about the hot chocolate.
The interior of Koko Black is quite fitting for its dessert-centric menu: warm chocolate hues, plush couches, and wooden floorboards. Since we were getting the hot chocolate, we just had to get food too.We shared a Belgian Spoil ($12.50); a platter that had samplings of chocolate cake, Koko Black truffles, shortbread, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate mousse.
The Belgian Spoil was a lot smaller than I expected. Ok, I realise how much of a greedy pig that makes me sound, but it’s true. In all fairness, the quality was obviously very good, and we fell in love with the chocolate mousse. I likened it to cake batter, and D, ever the eager beater-licker, enthusiastically agreed. Funnily enough the ice cream was a lot like a traditional chocolate mousse, and was icy and whippy. We weren’t too sold on the chocolate cake, and found it a bit dry. The two truffles that were on our Spoil were the Java Crisp, and the Hazelnut. The Hazelnut was amazing – a true flavour explosion, with different textures and tastes appearing with every bite. We weren’t as keen on the Java Crisp, which was a liqueur-based chocolate.
Now – the hot chocolate. You can order it in a variety of flavours (like chili or cinnamon), but we went with the original for $5.75.
Can I just say – if I didn’t know my mother read this, I would be filling the rest of this post with lengthy expletives. Why? Because the hot chocolate is SO (beep) AMAZING. People, you have no idea. It has a unique nutty and complex flavour. The first sip seems very sweet, then – BOOM – the second, creamier flavour develops as you swirl it around your mouth and swallow. It’s this contrast between sweet and creamy that make Koko Black’s hot chocolate moreish, not sickly.
Needless to say we went back the next day – and it was chilly this time. I’ll give you this one, Mother Nature. But rest assured I’ll be heading to Koko Black come rain, hail, or blistering heat wave.
Koko Black
Gourmet Chocolates and Dessert Cafe
Shop 4
Royal Arcade
335 Bourke St
Melbourne, Vic
(also at a variety of locations around Victoria, and Canberra)
03 9639 8911
