Excavations of Claymore: Raz-ma-taz

Sorry for the lack of archaeology last night. I was really sleepy and decided it would be wiser to go to bed than to drink coffee and stay up late. Also, half of my tasters were not able to share their taste buds when we first tried this week's drink on Wednesday. The Addict had been coffee-free for a week and didn't dare sample the Raz-ma-taz. We convinced her the smell would not be too temptatious and she gave it a sniff.

"I give it a 3," she said.

"Out of what?"

"Ten. It smells like cough syrup."


The consensus on Wednesday was that this drink is not even close to as cool as our own Razzmatazz. There was definitely more raspberry in the smell than the taste. Part of this may be due to the fact I generally order a large with a single shot of espresso to dilute the bitterness, but that night I forgot and ordered a small with the same amount of espresso; however, Razz agreed that the amount of raspberry and chocolate was negligible. Frankly I'd have thought it was plain coffee with no flavor added.

It was not a wasted trip to Claymore, though. Oh no. We befriended the barista (can that term possibly be correct for a man? The bar...tender? The bardude? Okay well, from now on it's bardude). He played us some Lady GaGa and we had a mini dance party while the line grew behind us. For once I was the cause for the long wait and not the victim. It was a nice change. I felt worse about the fact that apparently I was being given the most exquisite, quintessential shot of espresso known to man. The bardude started gushing over how it was positively the most beautiful espresso shot he'd ever seen; just look at the foam, etc. etc. I hadn't the heart to tell him a novice like me would hardly know the difference.

Well anyway, the journalist in me knew there was more to the story than first impressions and I returned to give the Raz-ma-taz a second chance tonight. This time I ordered it right: a large with skim, one shot of espresso and an extra shot of raspberry. And instead of chocolate-flavored syrup, the barista, Laura (you see, the word barista in this paragraph doesn't make me uncomfortable), used hot chocolate mix. As it should be in a mocha, she informed us.

Mnomanoms had come along and she ordered the new drink, the Cup of Ham (name coined by Laura). For all intents and purposes it's the same drink as the Raz-ma-taz - EXCEPT that it's not a mocha and is therefore made with syrup, not cocoa powder. This novice is slowly becoming a connoisseur. Thanks for being the new thing I learned today, Laura.

So the official rule for the Raz-ma-taz is to ask for extra raspberry and use dark chocolate cocoa powder for that tingle of true razzmatazzz. "It's like being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket," said Mnomanoms. Mmmyes =)