the chocolate tree

the coffees and cakes were recommended to me, so i thought i'd check this place out on a whim. i was utterly delighted to find that they stock a huge range if vegan friendly chocolates, cakes and hot chocolate drinks.
treated myself to one of their new festival vegan apple and cinnamon hot chocolate. it couldn't have been more perfect,greattaste without being too sickly.
the only reason i didn't rate 5 is that although the team were more than pleasant (and helpful), i'm an stickler forgreatservice and pleasant was all it was.

in a bizarre moment which shaped my future career as a sports journalist (still desperately seeking a staff job though) i visited the chocolate tree, an independent coffee shop plonked directly over the road from the conglomerate beasts of costa coffee. i had coffee and a chat with none other than paddy ashdown - a patriarchal figure of british politics.

he advised me to do what i loved, and not what i thought had the better prospects for financial gain. so thanks paddy, i now slave away at some pretty unspectacular places like cowdenbeath (sorry fifers), airdrie (sorry people of lanarkshire) and peterhead (sorry folk in the north-east of aberdeenshire) - but his advice was good and only bettered by the coffee served in the store.

visiting on numerous occasions afterwards, i can confirm that the coffee wasgreatand the cake and chocolate selections are brilliant too. the staff are all very knowledgeable on the type of coffee bean you are getting, including the difference in the flavour profiles.

with a fantastic location in a busy residential street and within walking distance of the bruntsfield links public park, the cafe can be packed to the rafters, but ultimately, it is worth the wait for their delectable coffee and saccharine sweet or elegantly bitter tidbits.