Cocoa colony is filled with nuts – cocoa nuts. It is run by ravenous chocoholics intent on staging a revolution to bring premium quality coverture chocolate from Ecuador to the masses at a fair price. Having opened its first chocolate café outlet at Shaw Centre, there are aggressive expansion plans to blitz across Singapore with 12 outlets targeted by the end of 2015. Having started out with its first stores in Shanghai, ambitious plans are underway to see Cocoa Colony outlets pop up in other major cities like Kuala Lumpur, London and Jakarta.
Cocoa Colony’s main focus is on quality chocolate drinks which range from the purist’s cuppa hot chocolate to the Millennial’s favourite smoothies and perennial crowd-pleasers – gelatos. To complement the drinks, there is also an assortment of sandwiches, pasta dishes and fried finger food available.
Going straight for Amazonian gold, I sampled the exquisite substance that is Cocoa Colony’s raison d’etre. Cocoa 38, 76 and 100 are hot chocolate beverage blends of varying intensity. The 38 would be appropriate for taste buds with a preference for lighter flavours. My choice would be closer to how authentic hot chocolate is consumed in Europe. Cocoa 100 deals out a heavy, full-flavoured impact that coats the mouth in a lingering blanket of rich aroma. Cocoa 76 dials down the strength of the cocoa flavour but leaves me craving a thicker taste.
In the absence of a number between 76 and 100, I would shoot for the Cocoa 100 every time. Initially apprehensive about ordering a warm drink in scorching Singapore, I was glad I didn’t cave in by ordering a chilled drink. After all, chocolate is best drank hot, when the full palate of chocolate flavours is allowed to blossom in the mouth. The best chocolate is always consumed warm and never adulterated with ice or degraded by chilling it.
Unable to resist the assortment of gelatos, I tried the entire range. I was most impressed with the peanut gelato which is handmade with ground peanuts. The texture is slightly gritty with the full genuine flavour of fresh nuts. It is not overpowering like peanut butter and each bite is very light, without lingering in the mouth for too long.
The cocoa bolas at Cocoa Colony is an interpretation of the traditional German Schneeballen. These are crispy balls of pastry coated with any manner of sweets, like chocolate or sugar. The pastry is wrapped in paper and with the swing of an accompanying wooden mallet, smashed into smithereens with a forceful whack. The same rich, flavoursome chocolate is highlighted again here, with the crisp pastry adding a nice crunch to the ensemble.
After all that eating, walk over to the front of the counter to marvel at the two chocolate fountains that feature prominently at each store. The warm chocolate sauce flows in a constant stream and is bewildering to watch, or even better yet, to take a swig from. This proprietary blend, perfected by the chocoholics at Cocoa Colony is used as dips for their many deserts as well as drinks.
If after all the indulgence, cocoa guilt sinks in, consider for a moment that the chocolate here is coverture chocolate and not regular commercial chocolate. Coverture chocolate is very high quality chocolate that has at least 35% real cocoa and at least 35% cocoa butter in it. Also, consider the documented benefits of cocoa, including relief of depression, strengthening of the cardiovascular system, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and cognitive decline risk reduction.and associated with reducing cognitive decline in old age. On top of that, chocolate is a fantastic antioxidant.
For more information, visit www.cocoacolony.com
List of Cocoa Colony outlets:
Shaw Centre, #01-06, 1 Scotts Road, Singapore 228208 | Tel: +65 6235 8328
Great World City, #B1-01, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, Singapore 237994 | Tel: +65 6235 0262
Suntec City Mall, #02-737, 3 Temasek Boulevard, Singapore 038983| Tel: +65 6837 0208
The Cathay, #01-08, 2 Handy Road, Singapore 229233 | Tel: +65 6659 7678
City Square Mall, #01-12, 180 Kitchener Road, Singapore 208539 | Tel: +65 6509 0350
The Star Vista, #01-50, 1 Vista Exchange Green, Singapore 138617 | Tel: +65 6268 6125
313@Somerset, #B1-37, 313 Orchard Road, Singapore 238895 | Tel: +65 6509 0356
