When was the last time you walked into a coffee shop where you were greeted by a sweet hostess and offered a sampling of delicious hot chocolate, then referred to a master taste technician (I'm not 100% sure that's the correct job title) who finds the perfect mixture of ingredients to make the best tasting cup of joe (or hot cocoa) you've ever had? Oh--that's never happened to you? Well, us neither...until this week! While strolling the streets of Durango, Colorado, a passerby recommended Animas Chocolates & Coffee. We stopped in, planning to pick up a coffee and some hot chocolates and be on our way, but little did we know what a treat we were in for! The hostess welcomed us, explained their hot cocoa types and flavors, and provided us with samples in cute little ceramic mugs. The taste technician (which is what I'm calling him), joked around with the kids and made sure each one of us had just what we wanted. We ended up dining in for the full experience, every moment being dazzled by these employees who were going above and beyond to make each guest feel like a VIP. When we met the owner and heard how this shop came to be, we knew we had to tell everyone we knew about the experience. Buckle up. This story is too good to be true: Years ago, the owner, Carley, was working at a resort on the shores of the Animas River. One day, she was out exploring the resort wilderness around some abandoned mines and stumbled upon an antique book containing hundreds of recipes for chocolates and other confections. (Not even joking. The book is framed on the shop wall.) She started experimenting with some of the recipes, adding or changing a bit here and there. Long story short: people loved the treats. She started a chocolate business, naming it after the river where she found this life changing book. She honed her techniques, experimenting with flavors and creating state of the art truffles with superior craftsmanship. She decided to name her truffles after the rapids on the Animas River. Class I is nice and easy like salted caramel, Class III and IV adds some flair like rose infusion, lemon, or sour jelly beans found in the Tacoma Power Plant. Class V gets a bit riskier, made with rum, whiskey, or absinth, like my favorite Crazy Woman Creek. They began making hot cocoa with chocolate leftovers, and from there, this chocolate cafe was born. The kids loved the peppermint flavored Miner, and Dusty and I enjoyed The Smokin' Bandito, laced with mescal. Today, the goal of this phenomenal staff is to provide each customer with a one-of-a-kind experience. And boy, do they! We enjoyed this cafe so much that we came back the next night! As soon as we walked in, the guys shouted out a big hello from behind the counter and immediately picked up where we left off from conversations we had the night before. Marc, Carley's husband, showed us around the room where they make their own chocolate. No, I didn't say where they make chocolates. I said they make their own chocolate, as in roast the cocoa beans and grind them and do all the steps so that (some of) their product is 100% made in the store, "bean to bar." (As a small shop, they can't keep up with volume, so some of the chocolate used in their products is imported from Belgium.) Marc taught us about the process and let us taste some cocoa beans--which the kids decided didn't taste at all like chocolate, and he gave the kids free truffles for finding the answer to his favorite question: Why is their motto "lose your soul to chocolate"? Everything about Animas Chocolates was top of the line: the atmosphere, the chocolate, the drinks and the people. We left there the second night feeling like we had made friends that were hard to say good-bye to. We cannot recommend this shop and it's chocolates enough. If you ever find yourself in Durango, be sure to stop (and if you do, tell them we said hi!) If you want to try their chocolates, you can order them online from their website. They even do corporate gifts!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2022
Categories |