Little Green Cyclo
Specialty Premium Vietnamese Coffee - Plant-based Mocha (beverage)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 3.75 fl. oz. (111 mL) / 7.5 fl. oz. (222 mL) in total container/can
Calories: 45 calories in 1/2 can
Cost: $3.99 for 1 can
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA
Specialty Premium Vietnamese Coffee - Plant-based Mocha (beverage)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 3.75 fl. oz. (111 mL) / 7.5 fl. oz. (222 mL) in total container/can
Calories: 45 calories in 1/2 can
Cost: $3.99 for 1 can
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week.
Today's Mocha plant-based beverage was from Little Green Cyclo (Brisbane, CA). The company, founded in 2010, has built a following around their Vietnamese food in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 2019, the company started gearing up to add new coffee flavors. Happily for us, they weathered the economic changes the Covid-19 pandemic presented and now offer delicious Vietnamese (plant-based) coffees to enjoy.
Speaking of weather, today was another in a series of 90+ degrees F. (32.2+ C.) days. So this refrigerated coffee/mocha was extra refreshing.
This Mocha coffee beverage was designed to "serve chilled or over ice." Being colder, the aroma notes were a bit more subtle, but still conveyed an attractive rich coffee, cream, and very faint coconut mocha cream scent.
Flavor notes for this mocha beverage included: Rich aromatic coffee (made with robusta and arabica coffee grown in Vietnam), and mocha-light coconut cream.
One can contained a hefty 200 mg of caffeine. Being sensitive to caffeine, I enjoyed a (smaller) 1/2 can portion, even though I would've been delighted to have more.*
Texture: light and creamy (almost fluffy)**. The coconut milk seemed lighter than dairy cream/condensed milk one might usually find. Vegetable gums also contributed to the texture. Shaking the can before opening is recommended. ("Refrigerate after opening. Some coconut milk separation is natural."). I didn't find this to be an issue.
Flavor notes included: rich and satisfying iced coffee + coconut (milk + cream) + chocolate powder (Guittard) with a smidge of vanilla. This drink was made with high-quality ingredients. I enjoyed the highly complementary and subtly complex flavors--and the fact that this mocha wasn't too sweet.
Ingredients: Filtered Water, Coconut Milk (Coconut Cream, Water), Coffee (Filtered Water, Robusta & Arabica Coffee), Coconut Condensed Milk (Coconut Cream, Filtered Water, Cane Sugar, Guar Gum, Sea Salt), Guittard Chocolate Powder (Cane Sugar, Cocoa, Unsweetened Chocolate, Vanilla), Gum Acacia, Gellan Gum, Himalyan Pink Salt, Nitrogen
Allergen-related information: Contains Coconut. Manufactured in a facility that uses dairy and tree nuts. Vegan, Gluten Free
*Vietnamese coffee is typically made with robusta (or mostly with robusta) coffee, which has more caffeine than arabica coffee. As the name suggests, robusta coffee beans also provide robust and intense flavor. I liked the choice to include a blend of robust and aromatic (arabica) coffee beans from Vietnam.
** This can of coffee contained a small amount of Nitrogen (released with a tiny whisp of aerosol when the can was opened) that can create a smoother (textural) tasting experience. Nitrogen can also help preserve flavors (slow down/prevent oxidation process).
