Afternoon tea is all the rage at the moment and there are some excellent ones to be had in the City Centre. But what happens if you want an afternoon tea outside of the city? And what if you want something a little different to the norm? Let me invite you to get on a tram to West Didsbury for an afternoon tea with a difference…
Cocoa Cabana is right next to the Burton Road Metrolink station and a real haven. Chocolatier and cake makers extraordinaire you can now get a Christmas themed chocolate afternoon tea in their beautifully vintage style shop. You’d have thought a chocolate afternoon tea would be fairly sedate with some dainty truffles and perhaps a hot chocolate on the side; oh you are in for a treat.
On arrival we were greeted with the choice of hot drink. I opted for the spicy white chocolate and ginger with raspberries. It was a particularly cold day when we visited the café and the ginger made my lips tingle. The raspberries were fresh and nestled at the bottom needing to be dug out with a long spoon, absolutely heavenly once they had heated through and gone slightly gooey. I was so excited to try it I didn’t even get a photograph, what a bad food blogger I am. Ah well, guess it means you will have to go and try one!
The sandwiches are served on the softest bread minus their crusts. The brie and cranberry was perfectly balanced with just the right amount of both fillings. That said, the absolute winner was the turkey with sausage stuffing. I’d have happily gobbled down 3 or 4 of these babies. I’ve had a few afternoon teas and always leave a little disappointed at the tiny scraping of filling given in the sandwiches. That is definitely not the case here and I had to leave one of the salmon sandwiches as I was quickly filling up.
Here you see the reason I left that salmon sandwich looking lonely on its stand… the scones are massive and tasty but the star of this show is the salted caramel to put on top. Cocoa Cabana have won awards for their salted caramel truffles and it is clear to see why. It is thick and sticky with just the right amount of salt and sweet to balance without either stealing the show. My tummy was full to the brim yet I sat with that huge pot of salted caramel dipping my finger in a fair few times before I realised I really did have to leave it behind.
The lovely ladies at Cocoa Cabana wrapped up the top layer I had failed to manage so I gobbled them after my tea. The macaron was wonderfully crisp on the outside with a lovely sweet centre. I noticed one of the award winning salted caramel truffles and it brought back lovely memories of my lunchtime dipping my fingers in a full pot of the beautiful stuff. The cake pop had a Christmas pudding like centre whilst the brownie was so gooey it literally had been baked for minutes, just so it held together. If you like chocolate, a lot, then this really is the afternoon tea for you. Just make sure when you go, because you will, that you have an empty stomach and a clear afternoon because you will also need an afternoon to lie down and reminisce about the wonder of it.
We didn’t pay for our afternoon tea but this review is completely honest and unbiased… once you try it you will agree.
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