Dom’s coffee in Avon is supposed to be among the best coffee shops in Connecticut.
Yet, they use beans roasted by the nearby (West Hartford) J. Renee Coffee Roaster.
So what could make Dom’s a place for good coffee if they are using someone else’s roasted beans?
To figure it out, we decided to try something that would be completely unique to Dom’s coffee.
Something you couldn’t get at J. Renee or any other place using the same beans.
They have a version of a mocha that incorporates…charcoal.
As you can see from the picture, and there is almost no good way to take a picture of this, it has charcoal in it.
Now the kind of charcoal that is edible (potable) is called activated charcoal.
Activated charcoal is usually made from coconut shells heated at super high temperatures until they turn to ash.
So this charcoal mocha also has some coconut powder added to it as well, to play off the flavors.
The ingredients to this are: espresso, activated charcoal powder, mocha powder, coconut powder, milk.
It looks truly horrendous.
The grey color looks like something you should not be drinking.
The only reason people started drinking SMALL amounts of activated charcoal was that it helps neutralize some poisons.
In larger quantities, it poisons you.
That health warning aside, I don’t like coconut , so the only reason for trying this particular drink was staying true to some silly principle of trying to understand what a restaurant has to uniquely offer.
Because almost any other drink on the Dom’s menu could be gotten at J. Renee roasters itself, we need something unique.
The charcoal mocha is certainly unique.
Surprisingly, it comes together really really well.
There actually isn’t a charcoal flavor at all.
The coconut does a lot of the work, without being overpowering.
The chocolate flavor is mostly absent, just adding a little sweetness at the end, which is too bad.
If you like coconut, you’ll really like this.
It’s a fun drink, super solid, and exciting to try something new.
The Rating
7/10
Address: 20 W Main St, Avon, CT 06001
Hours: Open daily until 5pm
Phone: (860) 255-7232