The Drink of the Gods

If there was a chocolate god, he would have hung out at SOMA. I don’t know if he would have gotten a seat though, the place is packed with chocolate worshipers, young and old. SOMA has struck a cord in chocolate lovers hearts and yes, it lives up to its hype. These guys make fair trade, organic look sexy.

Taking a step into SOMA you are hit with an intense chocolate aroma. Just take a deep breath of the chocolaty air and soak it all in. At the core of SOMA is a husband and wife duo, that are chocolate genius’ and aren’t afraid to be completely exposed. The clear glass chocolate laboratory along the back of the entire store doesn’t hid a thing from the process of bean to bar. It allows customers to sip on their intoxicating drinking chocolate and watch it all being made in front of them. The open concept, sky high ceilings and raw, exposed brick space was designed to take away some of the mystery of the chocolate process. Personally I think there might need to be some intense diagrams if they really want to let people in on 'how it's made'. But the space definitely encourages curiosity and is the perfect blend of a retail, chocolate factory and science center of sorts.

The duo are purists at heart and wouldn’t have their chocolate business any other way. You are only going to find fair trade, flavour grade, organic and artisan chocolate makers here. They even go as far as to sort each bean by hand. At the heart of SOMA is all about getting back to the roots of chocolate and right down to the science of it.

But when it’s all said and done it’s about the chocolate. So, how does it taste? Let’s start with the Mayan Hot Chocolate the short intense shot. Don’t let your eyes fool you, this small espresso size shot is packed with an intoxicating rich flavour. With the first sip, this thick and dark Venezuelan chocolate coats the entire pallet and will make even the leading chatterbox (yes, me) momentarily speechless. After swallowing the spices of cinnamon, ginger, orange peel and chili peppers appear and simply put this hot chocolate in a class of its own. Then I tried the 'Bicerin,' an intense small glass of melted dark chocolate, espresso and light whip cream- omg. I actually had to spot my interview with the owner- take a moment. OK. Can we start again? Yes, I lost track of our conversation but when I uttered, "Wow" and did a nod to the drink, she got it.

Let’s not forget the bars. The chuao (pronounced chew-wow) is legendary. A pure and delicate criollo from Venezuela with 70% cocoa content. This dark chocolate is in no way bitter with the perfect hint of flavour, a well executed balancing act. Get back to the roots of chocolate and try the 'old school' bar. Rough cut chocolate, so you can taste the origin and essence of the bean. Ground cocoa nibs and organic cane sugar. Raw with no further processing and refining. Simple and pure.

So are you going? Great! Can I come with? Oh, PS- they just opened a new location on King. Your welcome.