Saturday, April 27, 2013

Sunshine and cupcakes


Last week, Stellenbosch decided to give the flooding and miserable weather a break and instead broke out its reserve vintage of limited edition Sunshine.  And what a glorious few days it was. In the spirit of not wanting to waste such fantastic weather, Adrian and I decided to venture off campus and take a walk. We ended up at Hazz coffee shop on Ryneveld street, a regular haunt of students (we're everywhere), tourists and business folk looking for an informal meeting spot, and wow are we glad that we did. Just walking into the shop provides a hit of the most delicious roasting beans and made us want more- always a good start when I've enjoyed the coffee before I've drunk it yet!

We decided to splurge and each try one of the delicious looking confectionery items on display. About R40 each later we were seated outside under the trees happily discussing studies and test results (there's probably no better place to discuss such heavy topics, with the promise of chocolate cake on its way to soothe the soul).

The waitress was lovely, besides a mistimed joke about us having ordered hot chocolate instead of cappuccinos that left both of us hastily correcting her before realizing she was having a laugh at our expense o_O Not so sure it was the right tack, but different strokes for different folks. Thoughts on strangers making cracks like that? Funny or not?

Besides that, the coffee was absolutely divine and the red velvet cupcake with white chocolate that I had to accompany it was the best I've ever had. The chocolate cake didn't quite make "soul soothing" status, but it was (apparently) still rather delicious. All in all it was well worth the R36 spent, and I would definitely go back ASAP if I wasn't determined to have tried every cup of coffee in Stellenbosch within the next year or two. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!


Thursday, April 18, 2013

First stop: DCM coffee and muffins

In the search for the best cup of coffee in Stellenbosch, we started close to home.
Home is, of course, The Neelsie: the student center for Stellenbosch students and by far the most popular place to get an all day caffeine fix on campus.

DCM coffee and muffins is an awesome little hole in the wall that never sees a quiet moment, especially with the chill of winter finally settling over the town. With muffins the size of small houses and a decent selection of coffees, teas and hot chocolates it is definitely the go to favourite in the lives of students.

Product: Cappuccino and Bar One muffin

Cost: R14 + R20

Rating: Good, but definitely not outstanding (Ok who am I kidding? Melted Bar One in a muffin is a sure fire winner every time)

Downside: No option of hot milk, and depending on when you get your filter coffee, you also get a healthy dose of leftover grounds in your cup (yuk).

Upside: The staff are always smiling and friendly, even when they're still there at 10pm serving students who just finished tests and need some hope in their lives.