There are coffee drinkers, then there are coffee drinkers. In one camp, it’s about roast and origin; stark and pure. In the other camp, coffee is basically a vehicle for sugar and whipped cream.
With all due respect to the purity people, my personal java preference is for the foofy drinks. The closer the beverage comes to coffee ice cream, the more appealing it gets.
So, Crimson Cup’s Peanut Butter Frozen Mocha (or PB Mocha Freeze, as the sign says) is about as good as it gets around here. The beverage is practically a milkshake, meaning that it’s just as sweet and rich as ice cream, only much easier to guzzle through a straw. According to the counter clerk at the Clintonville location, the flavor is new this season, entering a line-up that also features frozen beverages with caramel and chocolate.
It’s not so much the peanut-butteriness of the frozen mocha that earns points here. In fact, it’s hard to tell that there’s peanut butter in the mix. It adds perhaps a faint sturdiness. The dominant accent is coffee merged seamlessly with chocolate in a thick, virtual milkshake medium.
The drink is served fancy, with streaks of chocolate syrup drizzled up the side of the cup, and an offer of whipped cream on top (Who says no to that? A dieter? Dieters should maybe consider another option in the first place.) Also worth noting: a complete lack of ice cubes. Given the recent Starbucks lawsuit over the potentially excessive addition of ice cubes to its iced coffee beverages, take solace in the fact that Crimson Cup’s frozen mocha beverages involve no ice cubes. If ice is part of the mix, it’s blended up fine to help create the beverage’s dreamy texture.
You can score your very own at 4541 N. High. The Crimson Cup stop has both walk-in and drive-through ordering options.
For more information, visit www.crimsoncup.com.