Chocolatea Cafe and Tea Bar

     This summer's vacation took us to Baltimore, Maryland with day trips to Washington, DC and Philadelphia. Our significant dining experiences, however, happened mostly in the Baltimore area. We stayed near the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University, and most of our mornings were spent at this cafe frequented and staffed by college students. Few things in life give me a sense of excitement and hope like the aroma of academia.
     The space is small and, as I would've expected, it includes a tiny library nook. Their menu includes an extensive variety of chocolates, teas, and coffees, hot, iced, and frozen. The teas alone take up five pages online! Hubby is picky about his coffee, and since he found a satisfactory cup here, this became our starting point for each day of exploration.

   

     John welcomed the morning with a large and comforting latte. I tried that once, but I also tried their iced latte. Their coffee has body, and the flavor is robust. For breakfast we ordered a plain (sorry, classic) Belgian waffle, and a toasted bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, onions and capers. With all my experience with bagels and lox, I never paid attention to the capers. This time, I discovered what a punch of flavor they bring to the party.

   
Even on Father's Day, this was Hubby's retreat of choice. The official celebration would happen at dinner, but I know the hour he spent at Chocolatea reading the Wall Street Journal with his big mug of coffee in hand was the best part of his day.

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