Grabbing a candy bar is always one of the tastiest ways to get a little burst of energy. For a serious jolt, the Caramel Toffee Nut Mocha at Urban Beans in Central Phoenix has enough sweet ingredients to get you in high-energy mode and you'll feel like you're drinking a melted candy bar.
So much for that New Year's resolution.
See Also: Urban Beans' Double Espresso
Manager Stephanie Cox tells us that the drink is a house favorite. It makes sense considering that the sizable cup is first visited by a good sized layer of dark chocolate syrup, which is then joined by a toffee nut syrup. What follows is four shots of espresso -- Urban Beans gets their beans from local roastery, Espressions -- steamed milk, whipped cream, and a patterned drizzle of both caramel and chocolate syrup. Be prepared for sweetness. Sure, the coffee cuts through the sugar a bit, but it can fight only so hard against the powerful goodness of toffee, caramel, and chocolate.
And they're not afraid to mix it up at Urban Beans -- literally. A portion of their drink menu is dedicated to "smashes," or icy blended drinks that also don't stray far from the candy bar aisle. Take The Joyous Almond for example, a drink made of chocolate, coconut, almonds, whipped cream, and shaved ice.
Hungry patrons need not worry, either. There's plenty of food to choose from, made in the in-house kitchen. Quiches available during our visit included sausage and fontina and roasted heirloom tomato, parmesan and thyme. And a chunky, cheesy lasagna looked like a great option for lunch, too.
The coffee house offers a comfy and friendly vibe, complete with plenty of local art filling the walls.
Stephanie tells us that working at Urban Beans is great because of the interaction with customers -- the shop gets a lot of regular customers with a steady flow of newbies, too.
Check out a few fun facts about this super-social manager/barista:
1. She is a mom of seven kids. 2. She loves tattoos and tells us what you can't see at work is that she's a very tattooed mom (who's even inked a few people, herself). 3. She's married to a police officer. 4. She has a degree in the medical administration field where she worked many years but loves the interactions with customers at Urban Beans much more.
