35 - The Laughing Goat, Boulder

Coffee Shop:
The Laughing Goat Coffeehouse (on Pearl St)
http://thelaughinggoat.com/
1709 Pearl St
Boulder, CO 80302

Date Visited:
Monday, July 11, 2016
About 7:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

Purchased:
12 oz hemp milk mocha: $4.31
(.55 cent charge for hemp milk)
(HEMP MILK)

WHAT.  This is not something I can get just anywhere!  HEMP MILK *MOCHA*.  Just emphasizing.

While I was perusing the menu I saw that they have hemp milk, which I have NEVER HAD WITH COFFEE BEFORE.  Brand new adventure right off the bat.  The barista was waiting and asked what I would like.  I said that I wanted something espresso, but was deciding.  She said they have really good mochas.  I asked if the chocolate syrup is vegan.  She said it is.  And the hemp milk mocha was brought into my life!

They source organic chocolate from a small farm in Ghana.  Then they just add some cane sugar to make the syrup.

So I ordered a 12 oz (smallest size) hemp milk mocha.

Not really physically beautiful, but beautiful that it exists.

The latte art was not beautiful, but it was entertaining.  There was also hardly any foam, so I am guessing that the hemp milk didn't foam very well.  Maybe it doesn't foam well by nature, or maybe people aren't used to the specific techniques of hemp milk.  Hemp milk can be very nice and creamy, so I think it has a lot of potential in this context.

First, it was awesome to try hemp milk with espresso.  Hemp milk has kind of a distinct background taste.  It seems sort of bitter to me, or maybe just nutty. [Ooh, I was just skimming some hemp milk information and I cam across the flavor description "maltiness".  I like it and mostly agree.  There is a hint of background maltiness.  But I don't think that sums up the whole background taste.]  Since I was also trying it for the first time as a mocha it was a little hard to pick apart the espresso/milk/chocolate tastes, but the overall blend was really cool and unique.  I don't think it was my favorite blend of flavors, but it was still really exciting to try and good enough that the excitement did not diminish.  The taste also really grew on me as I drank it, so I think some of the reason it didn't immediately strike me as amazingly delicious was that it's just a "different" sort of taste that took me a little bit to get used to and expect.  I think hemp milk tastes less "traditional," but a lot of that is probably just because it isn't commonly used.

Also, a note - hemp milk isn't as common and it can be a bit more expensive, so I think a .55 cent extra charge is reasonable.  But I think they have the same charge for the other nut milks as well.

I don't think the hemp milk paired very well with the chocolate.  So even though I was very excited about these two choices, they may not be the best together.  Both have their own strong, distinct flavors, which are on separate parts of the flavor spectrum, or perhaps on different spectra.  I think they competed a bit instead of adding to each other.  It sounded like their chocolate syrup is just plain chocolate and sugar, so very dark, which would be less creamy/smooth and pretty strong, so especially considering this it makes sense that it wouldn't blend as well with another significantly different strong flavor.  So I think it's awesome that hemp milk/espresso things can exist here, but I don't think I would get it with a mocha again.  I am guessing I would have loved hemp milk more on its own, but I can't be sure.  I also have to agree with the barista that they have really good mochas.  I think I would have loved the mocha more with a different milk as well.  But I am really happy that I tried the combination and got both.

And I was still really happy with my drink.  Even though I think it could have been better, I did like it.  As I drank it I think I got more of the chocolate taste first, then more of the hemp milk taste as I swallowed.  So it was just kind of a weird transition.  Upon separating the flavors and thinking carefully, I think that I LOVED the chocolate, so extra plus for their awesome mochas, and was mostly ambivalent to the hemp milk.  So I think hemp milk is a really cool option, but not must-have.  Although I would really like to try it with a regular latte/cappuccino sometime as well.  I think that I would prefer it to soy milk, and it's definitely healthier.  Hemp milk is one of the healthiest milks.

This coffee shop is so awesome and such a great place to hang out.  And it is called The Laughing Goat.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Does it get better than that?  I think it can, but I also think this is a point that could be argued.  One note - they serve Kaladi Coffee, so even though I was in Boulder I still got Kaladi Coffee from Denver.

It's a really big space with a lot of seating.  Most of the tables are little "two-person" tables.  I put quotes because there are two chairs and two people could sit, but the tables are really small.  They are a good size for one person.  Two people could easily sit with drinks and talk, but if two people had laptops or other things to work with it would be inconveniently, perhaps impractically, crowded.  This isn't a detriment though.  There are other seize seating options and it would also be easy for two people to sit "together" at separate tables.

The seating areas are pretty crowded with tables and chairs, but it is navigable and they make it work so it feels cozy.  I sat toward the front of the coffee shop so I could be near the windows, but there was a really large area in the back.  There is a stage area for events at night and they can rearrange the chairs/tables to really get an "audience" feel.  I think this would be a really cool place to hang out and listen to music as well, though I have not.  (I have been here one other time.)  There is also a nice little outdoor area out front, which was popular and full.  It was mostly shady, with some sun.  It's on a main street in downtown Boulder, but it's not a really fast or loud road, and the railing, sidewalk, tree, and parked cars give a little bit of a buffer so I think it's the sort of outdoor area that I would enjoy.  It's an awesome street - lots of cool shops and stuff.

Their fountain to get water out of is very quaint.

They asked me if the drink was for here or to go and gave me the mug by default.  They also have recycling and compost.

This was also a fun visit because I always want to get to coffee shops very early, but don't do it very often - this time I got here less than an hour after they opened.  It was pretty quiet and relaxed, then I got to watch it get busy and see the line grow.  It was pretty busy after about 9:00.  The majority of the plentiful seats were filled.  It was busy in a cheerful sort of way.

The wi-fi was slow, though not intolerable, and it seemed reliable even when it was slow.  There were a couple times when it was annoyingly slow, but mostly it was okay.

Ha - I actually did not deal with parking this time.  I was dropped off.  But I think the only option is street parking.  It was pretty busy so the best option is probably a block or two away off the main street (I think it's all time-limited in the near area until 6pm or something).