Coffehouse Northwest

Located on the outskirts of downtown on the otherside of the 405, you’ll find Coffeehouse Northwest.  Here instead of coffee, our goal was to try the highly prized hot chocolate that we had heard about in various reviews.  We were not disappointed.

The space is very simple and has a very neighborhood feel.  Coffeehouse Northwest can almost be thought of as the In-N-Out of coffee.  The menu here is simple and on a chalkboard.  There are only about 8 things listed and they’re all the basics.

For coffee, they use Stumptown Roast coffee.  So, coffee drinker beware, based upon our review above of Stumptown.  But, the hot chocolate is really where they set themselves apart.  The difference lies not only in the preparation, but also the chocolate they use.

Not to be content with the typical “mocha syrup” that other coffee purveyors use, they use cocoa nibs from Venezuela.  The nibs are put into the milk, then steamed, which permeates the choclate flavor throughout the drink. You’ll be happy that there isn’t any “chocolate sludge” in the bottom of your cup after you finish your drink.  We really, really enjoyed it and truly was “hot” chocolate.

Prices here are a bit above other coffee shops by about 50 cents to $1, but are well worth it.  Service was very friendly and they were more than happy to answer any question you had about their drinks or coffee.  Albeit  a bit out of the way, we’d come back here long before Stumptown and suggest you should too.