For a few years, the legendary Columbus confectionery Mmelo had its very own drop-in spot in the Short North. There, shoppers could admire the artisanal treats and make impulse buys at random.
These days it’s still pretty easy to order from Mmelo’s website, it’s just less impulsive. Acquisition is a matter of making a selection, and opting to pick-up your order 24 hours later at Mmelo’s home base on Polaris Parkway. Mmelo ships too, but, you know, sugar cravings can be awfully time-sensitive.
But then a recent foray into a Westerville coffee shop, Java Central Cafe & Roaster, presented a new option. The joint is serious about more than its coffee. It takes its sweets scene seriously too, with a selection of baked goods and candies that included offerings from both Pattycake and Mmelo.
Here, we have the sweet spot, literally, for the joys of a reckless, impulsive purchase. Beckoning at the time was one deeply dark Mmelo chocolate bar studded with a treasure trove of dried blueberries, raspberries, mangoes and bits of dried flowers.
The chocolate element is 65% cocoa, blended with cocoa butter and sweetened with cane sugar…which is the best sugar. Compare that to the current candy environment where even classic chocolate purveyers like Hershey are substituting fake “chocolatey” ingredients into its products (looking at you and your 2023 betrayal, Hershey Heath Bits), there’s a reason why things don’t taste like the good ol’ days.
Mmelo is the solution to all of that disappointment, delivering a dark chocolate experience that is smooth and sweet and charged up with tart little zips of fruit bits. None of it is fake. All of it is worth eating, and probably slowly, because one of the joys of quality chocolate is that it actually tastes like something and you’ll want to enjoy that flavor.
Java Central features a few other options, but to take in all the glory of Mmelo, head over to its website where you can explore the full range of options that include pretty bon bons and something important called chocolate salami.
Find it all right here: mmelo.co.
