So we decided to try out a relatively new cafe called Vanilla Bean Gourmet for our coffee fix one day as they had become relatively popular on the local social media networks and gathered a lot of positive reviews. The decor and ambiance was not too fancy and very casual, perfect for just popping whenever for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Looking around for a while, I noticed an actual kitchen with a chef and cooks along side baristas at the counter for drinks. I soon realized that this was not JUST a coffee shop but a bistro of sorts as well.
The food menu was not too huge which is awesome as there is benefit in an establishment that does a small menu well than fumbling over a large menu and doing nothing to anyone's satisfaction. Another thing is that having too many choices can lead to choice paralysis for customers which definitely hampers the experience. That which actually had a wide selection was the hot drinks menu (which is what we came for really). What I loved about the cafe is that they have their own original concepts for drinks that they try to make form scratch.
We strayed away from the boring cappuccinos, flat whites and americanos to partake of this unique menu so I ordered the butterbeer latte while the others that were ordered were the pumpkin spice latte (made with their in-house produced pumpkin spice syrup), and the s'mores hot chocolate.
Butter Beer Latte
Pumpkin Spice Latte
S'mores Hot Chocolate
I first had the butterbeer latte and all the flavours were perfectly balanced. It was very satisfying and not overwhelmingly sweet. The pumpkin spice latte, however was a little sweeter. I've had this flavour from other coffee places and I believe that it could have been better. The thing is that I wasn't sure what I was drinking, the pumpkin spice really did not present itself in the drink and it just tasted like milk and sugar. Maybe it was not prepared properly I can't say for sure as I, as a result, did not order it during subsequent visits. I sadly did not get to try the S'mores hot chocolate but my friend really enjoyed it and the presentation is certainly unique and very fun! Those are actual toasted marshmallows which means that actual effort was put into this drink, not something you find elsewhere easily these days.
I have returned over the last few weeks since these pictures were taken as the drinks and the ambiance provided at Vanilla Bean Gourmet is a nice alternative to the everyday Starbucks and Rituals (very popular coffee franchise in Trinidad and Tobago). In addition, it has also been an apt venue for the occasional breakfast/ brunch. For those of you who live in Trinidad, I highly recommend! Thanks for reading, Cheers!
REFERENCES
Mohammed, Kareem. 2019. Vanilla Bean Gourmet. Google. https://goo.gl/maps/Vq3g7r9waoFoUhqx6.