Coffee and Chocolate


Anybody who has followed this blog would know a few things by now. A couple of those are that I love coffee and have a sweet tooth. So, you can imagine my excitement when a festival brings together both in one setting. While this was not the first year of the event, it was my first opportunity to attend the Southwest Coffee and Chocolate Festival. With perfect weather, ticket in hand I made the drive to the fairgrounds excited for a day of all things caffeine and sweets. 

At first the event was very overwhelming with the number of booths and delicious smells coming from all directions. There was a hidden desire to try everything, but once I got over the initial excitement it was easy to settle down and pace myself through the event. The sweets were all very unique, and delicious but the biggest surprise was in sampling so many coffees in one sitting. It was very eye opening how each coffee tasted so unique and different with each booth. How these roasters put their own spin on the coffee bean showed how talented they are in their ability to roast the beans. While everything was unique and tasty some of what I tried stood out and were my favorite of the festival. 

For the chocolate or in this case sweets aspect of the festival there were two that stood out and were foods that I would have again whenever I saw them. The first is CafĂ© Chica who specializes in Bombo donuts. While I have had these before the flavors are constantly changing and what was at the festival is probably one of my favorites to date, the Strawberry Cheesecake. The bombo itself was light and airy, while the filling was tart, rich, sweet, and fresh all in one bite. This tasted exactly like a cheesecake, and was easily one of the best bites of the day. The other bite that stood out to me and was one of my favorites was Auntie M’s Macarons. The macarons were light, yet still full of flavor and they were also flavor combinations I had not had before in a macaron. My two favorites were the Cherry Almond and the Snickers. With so many rich, and sweet dishes something light like a macaron was a great bite, and Auntie M’s are ones I will definitely have again. 

For the best coffee of the festival, it was between a roaster and a latte. My favorite coffee roaster from the festival was Roots for having some of the most unique coffee I have ever tasted, and making a flavored coffee that I could drink an entire cup of. The first was a coffee that was aged in Scotch barrels. It was a rich, and full bodied coffee that still had all the characteristics from the barrel. Subtle flavors of oak, vanilla, and a subtle smoke flavor made for a very complex cup of coffee. The flavored coffee was the Bischochitto flavor, and it tasted exactly like the cookie with a cup of coffee. The cinnamon, sweetness, and anise flavor were all present, but the coffee was still the main star of the drink. The best latte came out of the Double Cup Coffee truck, and it was the Cookie Butter Latte. My initial thoughts were it was going to be very sweet, but it was anything but that. It was rich, with a subtle cinnamon flavor, and the sweetness balanced out the entire drink. It was worth the wait in line to try this one, and if I see this truck again, I will make sure to stop. 

This was a fun experience that I am glad I attended. I already knew that New Mexico had a great coffee scene, and this only enhanced it and opened my eyes to new places I want to visit. It is always great to see so many small businesses get to showcase what they do, and the number of people that show up to support them is always great to see. While I am not sure I would go again, it was a great experience and one I would recommend people go to at least once. 

To see photos of my adventures check out my Instagram at the_nm_tx
To support my adventures and get exclusive content check out www.patreon.com/thenmtx


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