I received an email from Jeni’s saying that all their locations now offered this…and I think I snagged it just the next day: the L’affogato. (“Affogato” means “Drowned” in Italian. Nice.) Basically it’s two scoops of ice cream with two shots of coffee poured over it. Not just any coffee, though, it’s cold brew from Slingshot Coffee Company. And you can get whatever flavors you want of their ice cream to get the coffee bath treatment. I chose one scoop of their salty caramel and one scoop of their honey vanilla bean.
I would like to try the espresso they’re using solo, just to get a baseline for the taste…but paired with the vanilla it was sweet and awesome. The vanilla was muted but that was fine…the blend was excellent.
If you’ve had Jeni’s salty caramel then you understand that the next question is obvious, because the salty caramel is not what you might call a timid flavor. It is big and brash and salty…like most of the best things in life. Would the ice cream overwhelm the cold brew?
The answer is no. It was an even more evenly balanced pairing than the vanilla, though I’m still glad I got a different flavor because that salty caramel will beat up your taste buds and take their lunch money…in the best way possible.
By the time the two scoops were history, there was nothing but a cocktail of cold brew and melted ice cream. I expected this to be pretty much all a salty caramel taste but the cold brew held its own throughout. It fought to be recognized to the bitter awesome end.
Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience that will indeed give you a boost. And with my caffeine tolerance, if something can wake me, that’s saying something. So if between the ice cream and the cold brew you’re not perking up, you might want to see an expert to ensure you’re still alive.
I hope this is an ongoing permanent addition to the Jeni’s menu. But just in case, go grab one soon.
