Cousins Who Coffee

 

When: 5/3/13

Background: As I am sure my blog followers are aware I have not blogged in a long time due to weightwatchers! I have successfully so far lost +/- 9lb, but I must admit my points tracking has severely fallen by the way side as of late! So with it being my birthday yesterday me and my cousin (Abbie aka the Catering Student Extraordinaire) went for coffee in Rugby.

What: Chocolate and Praline Tart

Where: Costa Coffee Shop, Rugby

What was Good: It looked really pretty! With its pale golden pastry case, filled with decadent and delicious looking chocolate praline filling, and golden nuggets adorning it. Plus it is one of the few goodies from Costa that I have not tried! So I thought “Why Not!” and had a piece along with a foamy hot flat white coffee. 

What was Bad: Its texture was really really strange!! The pastry was too crispy for my liking. It made my mouth feel funny! And flavour wise it was really quite boring! Chocolate Praline for me is like "Ferrero Roche” Nutty and sweet with a really chocolatey taste. But this tart was not like that. It was sticky and plain… Waste of pudding!

Would I Have It Again: No.. No I wouldn’t…

Waffle-O-Meter:

Costa Coffee.. Don’t Do This To Me!

 

Date: 27/11/12

Background: A LOOOOOOOOOOOONG day was spent doing mandatory training at work.. A very long day indeed. But, my lovely Stacey agreed to pick me up afterwards. So whilst waiting for her to finish, I went to the Costa Coffee at QEHB. As I am sure you are aware by now, I am determined to work my way through their pudding menu!

What: Honeycomb Crunch- Biscuity tiffin style-esque bar with a layer of milk chocolate, with honeycomb pieces

Where: Costa Coffee, QEHB

How Much?: £1.85

What was Good: It looked really nice. If you remember from my homemade mug cake, I decorated with crushed sprinklings of Crunchie®. This is because I absolutely adore honeycomb!! The texture, the colour, the sweetness, I just really really like it! So naturally the sound of this festive, sparkly pudding really appealed. I like the texture, the consistency reminded me very much of tiffin, you know almost Rocky Road-y? But without the fruit.. or marshmallows.. But, not quite a cake, but not quite a biscuit texture? It was lovely and soft but also very crumbly, and substantial, not light, but definitely not solid and cloy-ey. And generally speaking, I liked the honeycomb bits in it! I also really liked the combination of solid chocolate layer on top, paired with the soft, crumbly texture of the base.

What was Bad: However, it was totally lacking in flavour!!! They could have made it really decadent with an intense cocoa flavour, but they just did not fulfil this fantasy at all! It was sweet, but that was it really. Yes it feels rustic and homemade, but it had all the flavourful excitement of a boring pre packed treat…. Disappointing and sickly!!

Would I have it again?: No, I wouldn’t. I have yet to find a pud that lives up to the Gingerbread Muffin of Costa’s legacy

Waffle-O-Meter:

You Can Never Have Enough Muffin!

 

Date: 13/11/12

Background: I had a somewhat not entirely interesting mandatory training session for 6 hours at work… And the only thing that got me through the day was the knowledge that a delicious pud was waiting for me just across the road for when I had finished!

What: Cherry and Almond Muffin

Where: Costa Coffee Shop, Queen Elizabeth Hospital- Birmingham

How Much?: £1.75

What was Good: It took so much willpower to not buy another Gingerbread Muffin I cannot even explain. But I NEED to try the whole delicious range of cakes and other sweet treats that Costa has to offer, so I chose upon the golden brown Cherry and Almond Muffin, garnished with sugar dusted toasted almonds. Classic case of eating with my eyes again!! The cake itself was slightly sweet, and had an aromatic hint of almonds within it. And what little sticky cherry jam there was in the heart, was very flavourful and intense!

What was Bad: I was entirely underwhelmed I am afraid! Apart from the jammy centre, there was no taste of cherry within the cake itself, and equally so with the almonds, there was only an aromatic after note! I mean don’t get me wrong, the texture was lovely, soft, light and  airy. Just the texture you would want from a muffin, but I was very sad about the muffin-y experience of today. I wanted a flavour sensation and ended up with a generic sponge flavoured sponge with some jam.

Would I Go Again: I most definitely WILL be returning to Costa! There are too many treats in store for me to sink my sweet tooth into! I just will not be having this muffin again!

Waffle-O-Meter:

Costa Coffee…. You Purveyor of Autumnal Cakey Deliciousness!

 

Date: 01/11/12

Background: “Pinch Punch, First of the Month!” Happy November Everybody! With it being half term, it is high time my Mum does her family Christmas shopping, and because Birmingham is a very good place to shop, her and my Pa came and we ventured to hit the town! Coffee time meant Costa, and I simply could not resist this delicious looking muffiny treat!

What: Gingerbread Muffin

Where: Costa Coffee Shop, The Bull Ring, Birmingham

How Much?: £1.80 (To take away is £1.50)

What was Good: It was so cute! Seeing the gingery muffin topped with a sweet caramel fondant and adorable decorative iced gingerbread man, really made me NEED to buy this muffin! I saw it, I wanted it! Naturally with good gingerbread, the cake itself was soft, moist, dense but not cloy-y, with a subtle spicy ginger flavour. The golden syrup heart was a wonderful surprise! It was sweet but tangy and smooth, but in my opinion was not much! The highlight of this confectionary wonder for me was probably the impossibly cute gingerbread man decoration!! I am definitely one of cuteness and kitsch and it involved me doing lots of high pitched squealing!

What was Bad: Maybe the icing was a little sickly? Maybe… and also maybe there should have been more ginger in it…. But I am being incredibly picky!! Generally speak this muffin was delicious and I cannot wait to return for seconds!

Waffle-O-Meter:

Apologies for the poor quality image!