Coffee + gelato = love?

I had my curiosities and doubts about this new place that opened recently in Greenbelt 5 called "Caffe Ti-amo." It sure generated a buzz when it opened to lots of fanfare and featured local celebrities not too long ago...but is it any good? We decided to find out.

The draw of this place is its gelato, or Italian-style ice cream, supposedly sold with 90% less fat. How much less the fat content of its gelato is, we probably will never know unless nutrition facts are published, so we'll move on to other matters.

When you think about it, Caffe Ti-amo's strategy of selling gelato and coffee makes perfect sense. Many of the popular drinks of high-end coffee places like Starbucks or The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are actually the cold, blended ones, with dollops of whipped cream and other decadent, calorific toppings. Nutritionally speaking, they might as well be made out of ice cream...so why not offer the real thing? :p

The signature offering is something called "Affogato." Pictures of this exotic-sounding featured concoction are displayed all over. Essentially it's your choice of vanilla- or tiramisu-flavored gelato with a shot of piping hot espresso. Maybe next time. We'll try them separately for now.

I had ordered a regular mocha coffee, with a packet of brown sugar and some cinnamon, while Mabie had a regular-size gelato. At this size serving you have the option of two flavors, and she picked coffee and tiramisu.

Mabie's gelato: Tiramisu on top, coffee at the bottom

Their coffee is...surprisingly good. There are cafes that will sell you mocha that tastes like hot chocolate with just a hint of coffee in it. Caffe Ti-amo's is the other way 'round; it has a lot of brewed coffee's punch with just enough cocoa taste to remind you of its "mocha" moniker. Fans of full-bodied coffee, I think you have a new haunt to call your very own.

How about their gelato? It was also pretty good, actually. Previously we had tried tiramisu-flavored gelato from another shop. While it was good, this place's tiramisu gelato trumps it. Even the coffee-flavored variety was also pretty strong yet creamy.

The funny thing is, while technically we did not order the affogato, we had ordered a combination of coffee and gelato that, for all intents and purposes, might as well have been affogato anyway. Mabie was feeding me little spoonfuls of tiramisu gelato in between coffee sips, and I could already imagine how their signature creation must taste.

As I end this post, you might wonder where on earth Caffe Ti-amo came from. Judging from the name, is it from Italy? Spain? Looking at their stand of add-ons might provide a clue. The little table has, among other things, tall sachets of white sugar that indicate its origins from Korea.