Dessert detectives: Red Rock Coffee
Reviewing popular menu items based on quality and taste
June 5, 2023
In our Dessert Detective story, El Estoque staff members take on new cases at a bakery or a café to decipher the quality and cost of its most popular items. Continuing the alphabetical trend, we visited Red Rock Coffee, a café in Mountain View that sells coffee, tea leaves, pastries and snacks.
Affogato: $6.50
The Italian coffee-based affogato perfectly balanced the taste of espresso and ice cream — the drink is not too bitter and not too sweet. This is the perfect treat even for non-coffee lovers who dislike the bitterness of espresso — when paired with the ice cream, the tastes perfectly complement one another, making it a great cold treat for the summer.
Rating: 8/10
Honey Lavender Latte: $7.50 (16 ounces)
The first sip of the latte is filled with the delightfully strong taste of lavender, which is then followed by the distinct sweetness of honey. However, the lavender is quite strong, meaning the drink will only appeal to those who enjoy floral flavors. Furthermore, as the honey tends to settle on the bottom of the cup, you will need to stir the drink well before you take a sip in order to ensure that the final sips of your drink are not too sweet.
Rating: 6.5/10
Mocha: $7.00 (16 ounces)
Unlike Mochas from other cafes, Red Rock Coffee serves a Mocha with a more prominent taste of espresso than chocolate. Nevertheless, the coffee and the chocolate are well blended, ensuring that neither ingredient is too strong. Overall, the drink is pretty standard and does not stand out from other Mocha drinks.
Rating: 6/10
Carrot Cake: $6.50
The carrot cake was the best out of all the desserts. Although the cake itself was denser and drier than the average carrot cake, it’s the perfect combination with the heavier frosting. The frosting on the carrot cake is not made of the usual heavy whipped cream, creating a nice creamy texture that melts in the mouth. To top it off, the fruit on top of the frosting balances out the sweet cake with a sour, tangy taste.
Rating: 8/10
Raspberry Coffee Cake: $4.25
With an overly moist texture, this dessert was more reminiscent of a pound cake than traditional coffee cake. Coffee cakes complement coffee due to their crumbly texture, the Raspberry Coffee Cake’s moist crumb made it pair poorly with the drinks. Furthermore, even though coffee cakes are typically sweet to balance out the bitterness of coffee, the Raspberry Coffee Cake’s sweetness was overwhelming even when paired with coffee.
Rating: 3/10
Brownie: $4.00
The first bite of the brownie was a bit of a surprise. Unlike the cake-like texture that brownies usually have, the dessert had a denser and smoother texture that was composed more like fudge. However, the taste of the brownie was not overly sweet.
Rating: 7/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Although the prices of the drinks and food are on the more expensive side, considering that Red Rock Coffee is an independent store in Silicon Valley and all of its ingredients are natural and of high-quality, the prices are extremely reasonable. While the pastries and snacks were not exceptional, the drinks were definitely worth the visit.
The highlight of this café is its ambience and environment. The café is right next to multiple parking lots, meaning that parking is not an issue. Furthermore, the neighborhood that it is located in is safe and quiet, making it a perfect place to work at. Most importantly, the café itself is a quiet environment and has many seats both on the first and second floor available for people to study in. Overall, the food, drinks and environment make this the ideal study place for students.
