Emporio Bar, Ludwigsburg

On a miserable, cold and rainy day one of the best activities one can do, aside from staying under the doona in a warm, cosy bed, is to find a warm and cosy place where you can enjoy a good coffee and thaw out.

We entered Emporio bar to the sound of Ibiza-esque tunes and warmth, and settled on the sofa bench after taking of my coat, hat, fleece and scarf, I perused the menu for the coffee selections.

After seeing the typical latte macchiato's on the table next to me, in huge glasses and nothing but a pale beige colour due to the rich brown coffee colour washed out by the abundance of milk, I immediately decided against this option instead opting for a plain old cappuccino.

The cappuccino wasn't too bad - although the coffee was once again bitter, the froth too airy, not quite hot enough and no chocolate on top.   As we broke out the scrabble board again, too warm and cosy to walk home through the rain just yet,  we decided to sample the chai lattes as I wasn't sure I could manage an espresso or even an espresso macchiato with such bitter coffee beans.

The chai lattes were, as most are, sweet warm spiced milk. The glasses they were served in were much too large - I'm just not sure how people enjoy drinking so much warm milk!  The flavour of my chai (Elephant Chai) was quite good with just the right mix of spices (cloves, cardamom and cinnamon)  without being overpowering, although there was too much honey which ruined the flavour a little by making the drink sickly sweet.

My other half's latte (Green Chai) didn't have much flavour - a very mild mix of spices - essentially it was just like drinking warm milk with loads of honey -  and again -  too sweet. Not sure how they came up with the name 'green' chai as I detected no taste of green tea at all...

While it was a good way to escape the rain, and the atmosphere inside Emporio's was cosy and relaxing - good music, not overcrowded and relatively comfortable seats, I don't think I could honestly say I would go back for the coffee.

Rating
Atmosphere                                      4/5
Coffee bean                                   2.5/5
Milk                                                   3/5
Overall coffee experience           3.5/5