Savor Brooklyn's High Class Mocha

Having opened its doors for the first time only two weeks ago, Savor Brooklyn has certainly gotten off to an eventful start. Post-tropical storms and elections had thus far prevented me from checking in on the eatery whose opening I'd anticipated since July, but the snow-covered ground only made me crave SB's delicious warmth more. 

The cafe has yet to solidify its menu, but no matter. Such frigid weather calls for one thing, and one thing only: A great, frothing mocha. The barista behind the counter warned me that the mocha in particular was a bit pricey, which piqued my interest. 

"What qualifies as 'pricey'?" I asked. 

"$5.25," he said. 

$5.25 for a mocha? I know a lot goes into the creation of a mocha, like...milk, but $5.25? Is there a Christmas ham buried somewhere in the bottom of it? A nugget of gold? Jimmy Hoffa? There was only one way to find out.

I expected to be greeted with a towering concoction served on a silver platter, topped with mounds of homemade whipped cream and maybe some sort of ganache garnish—or better still, a tasteful sprig of mint. 

What arrived was a standard porcelain coffee cup, the mocha topped with a dab of foam that wasn’t even poured into the shape of an oak leaf or the placid face of the Virgin Mary. (If you squint, though, it does look like toucan. Agree?)

Owner Helen Traversi, who happened to materialize as I sat down, explained that the mocha was made with espresso, Battenkill Valley milk and, the pièce de résistance, hand-cut slabs of real Belgium chocolate .

I took a sip. It was…bitter. Not necessarily bad bitter, but intense nonetheless. It became clear that this was a sophisticated mocha, for sophisticated people. 

A child, maybe 10-years-old, was sprawled on the seat next to me, enjoying roughly the same experience with his hot cocoa—also made with Belgian chocolate—that I was with my mocha. His mother, seeing Traversi walk by, expressed her distaste for paying $4.25 for a hot cocoa.  

“He didn’t think it was sweet enough, for a kid,” the mother explained as the child eyed Traversi irritably, dumping spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his dainty cup.

“Does it taste like special hot chocolate to you?” she asked after Traversi had walked away. “It tastes like regular hot chocolate,” he said with a peevish slurp.

I could empathize. To my palate, which only earlier that day had been accosted with no less than three pounds of leftover Halloween M&Ms, the mocha was not quite satisfying. A connoisseur of fine chocolate might relish the experience, but my philistine mouth would have been fine with over-sugared Starbucks swill if it meant saving a buck or two.

Will I be back? Heavens yes. Mocha aside, Savor Brooklyn is an excellent place for doing just that: Savoring. 

The Wi-fi is free, and though outlets are scarce, they do exist. Sufjan Steven’s “Casimir Pulaski Day” streamed gently through the speakers, which, paired with the soft peach walls and gentle light, offered a cozy antidote to the sharp blue snow and waning winter sun all too apparent from the restaurant’s exceptional front windows. It seems like an excellent place to bring a book or catch up with a friend. 

Next time, though, I’ll probably just get the coffee. It’s only $2.