When I wander into a Whole Foods, it's usually to pick up some organic produce or some specialty item I can't find at a generic supermarket. On my most recent visit, and after racking up a beefy bill at their hot bar, I browsed the assortment of High Road Craft ice creams in their freezer isle before heading to checkout. With all the unique combinations and local appeal, I was in. After searching through some of their base-only offerings, I ultimately picking a pint that hit close to home.
As a bleary-eyed, frequently-hungover undergraduate student at the University of Georgia, a cup of Jittery Joe's coffee got me through many a painful morning. Three or four of these local coffee shops littered Athens, Georgia and I visited them numerous times a week throughout my college career. Owing my middling GPA to the jolt of java Jittery's Joe's provided me over the years, I felt it necessary to pay homage to my old caffeine dealer by choosing High Road's Caffeine & Cacao. Pulling off the charcoal top to the container, I uncovered an unassuming layer of light-colored ice cream with chocolate ganache cascading down the sides; all for only 190 calories per serving.
Securing a sizable scoop of the coffee-flavored ice cream, my first impression was a bit surprising. I was expecting an enormous rush of bold mocha flavoring, but instead I ended up with an overly mild, super-creamy base. Typically small-sized operations tend to be more robust with their flavors, leaving cautiousness to the major ice cream conglomerates. but that wasn't the case here. As I put a few more spoonfuls down, I was coming around. The taste was similar to that of a cup of premium roast that had been overly creamed. It wasn't something I disliked, just something I wasn't expecting. This would be the perfect coffee flavor for the non-coffee drinker. The sensation of cream and sugar come into play well before the bitterness and floral undertones of the beans ever have the chance to materialize. Then I encountered some of the chocolate ganache.
This luscious combination of milk chocolate and cream is flowing down the outer edges from top to bottom and you can taste the high quality chocolate. It's thick, rich and strings from the carton to your spoon with every bite its involved. It shared the same consistency of melted chocolate fondue, despite the fact it was surrounded by frozen ice cream. The intensity of the ganache isn't something I'd be able to handle in every bite, so their decision to relegate the rich drizzle to the outer portions of the pint was fine by me. The calm, coffee ice cream also included some crunchy pieces of chocolate-covered coffee beans that added another textural component. This 2011 Flavor of Georgia winner wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly pleased with the end result.
Where I Found It: Whole Foods Market
Grade: C
