SNOWFLAKE - Long Review
Theirmilk chocolate gelato was up next. It less supple than the fior di latte possibly due to being underworked during serving. The colour was consistent with a milk chocolate gelato and attractive with no visible solid particles. There were hints of chocolate when directly smelling it and it had a much stronger aroma in the mouth which was pleasant. The flavourslowly revealed itself inside the mouth with an initial split of the milk base from the cocoa suspension leading to a chaotic distribution and a powdery sensation.(The powder sensation can occur when a lower temperature is used during preparation to preserve more subtle flavours of the cocoa.) When the chocolate finally arrived it was pleasant with a characterful bitterness and hints of dried fruit. Overall the milk chocolate gelato was enjoyable when considering these subtle nuances.
Snowflake was setup in 2012 and has several branches now open in London. We visited their branch on the hustling and bustling Edgware Road near Marble Arch and greeted with a very spacious, calm, well-lit and inviting gelateria where the staff were both attentive and friendly. The gelato was in a display counter with ???12??? milk based Gelatos and ??8?? sorbets on show. The Gelato was presented well in a display counter with each flavour having an individual spatula. When given time the team skillfully worked the gelato back to life with a spatula but there was some inconsistency in the use of the spatula. The portions were generous!
As usual, we started as close as we could get to a white base, in this instance a great fior di late. The fior di latte was attractive, of good colour, a matte appearance and consistency that made us want to get stuck in. Digging into the gelato rewarded us with a product that was of good consistency, had no crystallisation and melted readily in the mouth without leaving a greasy feeling though it did feel a little too cold and numbed the taste buds. It had a pleasant milky smell outside the mouth but surprisingly had less of an aroma when in the mouth. The fresh milky taste was the dominant flavour as expected with relatively strong caramel and vanilla notes for a fior di late and a floral hint. The closing sensation was a slight sense of dryness of the mouth. Overall, we were happy with the fior di latte.
A milk chocolate flavour gelato was available. There was no dark chocolate gelato, for that we would have needed to sample the sorbet. The milk chocolate gelato was less supple than the fior di latte possibly due to being underworked during serving. The colour was consistent with a milk chocolate gelato and attractive with no visible solid particles within the gelato. There were hints of chocolate when directly smelling it and it had a much stronger aroma in the mouth which was pleasant if unremarkable. The flavour was slow to reveal itself in the mouth with a rapid split of the milk base from the cocoa suspension leading to a lack of uniform distribution of the gelato in the mouth and a powdery sensation. The powder sensation can occur when a lower temperature is used during preparation to preserve more subtle flavours of the cocoa. When the chocolate did reveal itself it was pleasant with a characterful bitterness and hints of dried fruit. Overall the milk chocolate gelato was enjoyable if unremarkable.
The final choice was made under the server’s advice, the brand’s namesake -Snowflake flavour. Itwas an attractiveblend of hazelnuts, white chocolate and coconut in a white base. Unsurprisingly ithad a healthy whiff of coconut but it was in the mouth that it flourished.The characteristics of the white baseinitially is taken over bythe added ingredients that conveyed a nutty and floral middle phase. The rearguardcoconut flavour brought to mindatropical influence. The white base carried the natural tasting flavours well throughout the mouth. The strong flavours overrode any sense of coldness or dryness that was present with the fior di latte. A definite winnerin this trio, unless you don’t like coconut!
The brands values are perhaps driven by the gelato alone. While it doesn’t come with bells and whistles, choosing carefully perhaps rewards you more.
http://www.snowflakegelato.co.uk
London wide – We tried the Marble Arch store but please see the website for addresses and telephone numbers