Mugg & Bean (Cavendish Square Branch), Cape Town, South Africa: Red Cappuccino

After having dinner [review] at Mugg & Bean, as well as sampling its Quick Cappuccino [review], I decided to try its Red Cappuccino offering, which is a new kind of cappuccino, made from rooibos tea, that is starting to be served at restaurants and coffee shows around the city. A few weeks before my dinner at Mugg & Bean I had tried my first red cappuccino [review and more info] at a charming coffee shop, called @ the Waterfront, in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, and was eager to repeat the experience.


Sadly, it was not to be. The version of the red cappuccino that the Cavendish Square Mugg & Bean served suffered from exactly the same problems as the Quick Cappuccino - namely hardly any foam and too much milk that masked the taste of the tea and resulted in a rather unpleasant drink. The cappuccino also wasn't served correctly - the foam is supposed to have a swirl of honey in it (which really complements the tea), as well as cinnamon, and in this case there was no honey and way too much cinnamon. In fact, there was so much that most of it sank to the bottom of the cup, resulting in a rather unpleasant gunge factor once I had finished the drink. Finally, unlike the Quick Cappuccino, which was only just warm, the Red Cappuccino was incredibly hot, and there was no biscuit.

brainwavez.org Opinion

Where: Ground Floor, Cavendish Square, Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Saturday: 09:00-18:00; Friday: 09:00-21:00; Sunday: 10:00-16:00

Phone: +27 21 683 3329

Web Site: http://www.themugg.com/ [Cavendish Square branch]

When: 3 November 2006

Size: There is only one size - 250ml - but it seemed to be the size of the Easy Cappuccino (300ml) [7/10].

Foam: The foam was slightly thicker (about half a centimetre) than the thin layer that came with the Quick Cappuccino and it's taste wasn't particularly noteworthy (although that's not to say that it was bad - I was just rather indifferent to it). There was far too much cinnamon on top. Usually I wouldn't complain about that (and, in fact, this partly accounts for the high foam rating), but in this case it all ended up sinking to the bottom of the cup [7/10].

Heat: Boiling (or close enough to it) [10/10].

Tea: As with the Quick Cappuccino, there was far too much milk in this drink. I could hardly taste the tea, and it was all rather unpleasant, especially when I finally managed to get to the bottom and found all my cinnamon lying down there. Blegh. [3/10].

Price: R10.40 [?]. This is a really good price for a red cappuccino (the average price tends to be about R12) [7/10].

Overall: If this had been the first red cappuccino I had ever tried, I would have resolved never to have one again. It was that bad. If you're never had a red cappuccino before, please don't have one here. [3/10].

Tester: Mandy J Watson

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