Following the very enjoyable visit to the nearby Fearless Coffee, I took a long walk before reaching Third Circle Coffee – my original destination on that particular cafe exploration of Rosemount. I had it in my head that they were open till 4pm so when I arrived at 2:40pm I thought I was winning… Until I entered the premises hidden behind – once again, unsurprisingly – steamed up windows, right after a family of 4, to realise the small place was packed.

Thankfully, there was a table free that could accommodate the group in front of me, plus a couple of raised “bar” seats in the corner and a few low ones by the aforementioned window, so I was certain to be able to shake off the wet coat for a minute and enjoy my crafted brew, which I was ready for at that point. The minimalistic decor gave off a hipster vibe (which tends to correlate with good barista skills, but I have not done a study on that!), albeit the strangely intense techno-style music* chinked that perception somewhat.

(*As I understand from reviewing their Facebook page later, they play different tunes every day from the retro record player, explaining its prime positioning – and they invite you to bring your own vinyls too!)

When I got to the counter and ordered my milk chocolate mocha, I was told they were closing in 15min (and a later check online confirmed I had remembered wrong!). I said that was not a problem and that I would be done by then – but I was asked if I was ok with a takeaway cup anyway. Truly, I wasn’t – also considering that no one else with their mugs looked to be in a rush to leave – but I wasn’t going to be difficult and conceded; after all, a good coffee should taste great in all wrappers!

I sat in the corner and awaited my drink as another few customers placed their take-away orders. And then waited and waited some more, increasingly understanding why I was offered a paper cup – the delivery was pretty slow, even though there were two assistants: the lady who took my order and looked in charge of the operation, and a male colleague on sole coffee machine duty.

I finally got my mocha 5min before closing (I didn’t have to check the clock as the lady did the rounds advising all patrons) so I wasted no time putting it to the test. While the presentation was lovely, the taste wasn’t quite there: it lacked the chocolate flavour, instead I was getting mainly milk and coffee – like a smooth flat white.

As I got through half of the cup, I noticed there was undissolved chocolate on the bottom; so I picked up a stirrer (hoping not to stir up some annoyance with the staff for hanging about, seeing that the place emptied in a handclap) and gave it a good mix. That didn’t make much difference, and I had to keep stirring to try and release more chocolate flavour into the brew; sadly, what came with that was the bitterness of the cocoa, rather than comforting sweetness to pull the drink together.

It wasn’t a bad mocha, to be clear, and the skill and passion for coffee are certainly there – plus, I heard a few positive comments from leaving customers saying how they enjoyed their experience. Naturally, I can’t say the same considering the circumstances but I would happily return here – for a flat white, perhaps? But compared to its neighbour Fearless, I know which one I’d chose for my mocha fix in Rosemount.

To learn more about Third Circle Coffee, visit their Facebook page.