Moho elderflower cider

Moho: sustantivo masculino

1. (en fruta, pan) mold^(conj.⇒) , mildew;
   criar ~ [fruta/queso] to go moldy^(conj.⇒)

My mind boggles when I try to think of what this slick-looking bottle's target audience is. Given the name, non Spanish-speaking is pretty likely. It's organic, so hippy or at least slightly crunchy. Non Spanish speaking, slick-looking but crunchy girly types? My god, it's THE cider for Gracia ex-pat yummy mummies! Do yummy mummies even drink cider? They certainly don't strike me as "cider drinkers", but Moho's organicity and cute bottle might persuade them to make an exception.

Anyway, onto the verdict. First, let me make a disclosure. After an unpleasant night involving several pints of Bulmers (Magners, for you foreign types) and a car mat, my relationship with cider became somewhat strained about 10 years ago. When I moved to Spain, I realised that other types of cider did, in fact, exist, but largely tasted like old socks. It was at that point that I decided to cut my losses and move entirely to beer. A cider fan I am not.

In non-expert conclusion, however, I have 2 and a bit words for ya: elderflower alcopop. I can imagine my younger self having 4 Mohos, dancing on a table and giving my real phone number to a dairy farmer called Glen who introduced himself with the immortal words, "Are ye courtin'?" That may or may not be a true story, but it gives you an idea of what these babies tastes of.

Anyway, there's little more to be said about Moho. It's sweet, it's fizzy and tastes strongly of elderflowers. Weirdly, it tastes nothing at all like apples, even though it's a cider and they make up 90% of the drink. In all, it's...fine, and while I wouldn't want to drink it all night, if another made an appearance, I'd have a sip.

That, of course, was before I looked at the Moho website. The stupid navigation and autoplay music I could just about ignore. Then, fair readers, I spied this:

"The DJ continues to play out funky, sensual music in the background, her senses are raised, her passion flows, she locks eyes with a stranger...she strides over toward him, sips on her Moho, places her cold lips on his and whispers "so glad to be in Moho with you". 

With that tripe, even if Moho tasted like liquid ambrosia, I'd be far too embarrassed to ever be seen in the same room as one again. As it is, I might have to smuggle the empty bottle to the bins in the middle of the night. Try at your peril.

The product: Moho Elderflower Organic Cider

The verdict: very sweet, very fizzy, perfect if you harbour a secret love of alcopops

Where we got it: Delishop

Price: don't know, as I can't find the receipt. A few euro, nothing terrible.

Bocamel Bakery, Barcelona

On my way to lunch the other day - and I'll tell you about that later - I popped into Bocamel to kill some time. Since babydaddy's fallen off the sourdough wagon (his starter languishes in our fridge looking like an old pot of magnolia paint down the back of the shed), interesting bread is a bit scarce round ours, so I thought I'd pick some up.

Bocamel is a bakery and coffee shop, although both parts are fairly small. There's a bar and some tables as you come in the first door, moving down to the bakery set up. You pass the kitchen as you exit through the second door. I got a small (500g?) multiseed bread and half a large apricot and walnut loaf for around €4.30. They had other bread and sweets to chose from, but the shop felt like it had a pretty small selection, but whether that's how it rolls, or due to the time of day, I wasn't really sure. Either way, I had plenty to choose from, it just felt a little...empty, both on produce and customers.

Multiseed bread at the front, apricot and walnut at the back

We've tasted both the breads and are pretty impressed. The multiseed is delicious - close textured but light, really tasty and with a great chew. In contrast to some wholewheat breads, it wasn't too worthy. Sure, it wouldn't be my first choice for sandwiches, but goes great with meals and I imagine would make lovely toast. 

The apricot bread wasn't at all what I was expecting. Going on what I know of fruit breads, I had my money on something dense and sweet, the perfect thing to lather in butter and serve with tea. But I was wrong - this stuff is soft, airy and only slightly sweet. It would be perfect to eat alone or combine with food - things that aren't too assertively garlicky come to mind - but it strikes me as being pretty versatile.

Bocamel's a good find - Bakeries in Barcelona tend to either stick close to the barra or assume that I want my magdalenas made of spelt and horsehair. Bocamel made a nice change.

Nearest metro? Arc de Triomf

Go again? Yep, I'd like to try their coffee and taste a few more breads

Bring the babies? Certainly not more than one! The buggy fitted fine, but there was no one there and I didn't check the bathrooms. On a busier day, I'd say it would be hard

Back from the dead

Wow, it's been a while, blogland.

Sorry about that. I've been off having babies and whatnot, and I feel like a better reintroduction ia due. Right now, though, I'm too hungry to be bothered, so I'll just launch into the good stuff, while trying to convince babydaddy to get Chinese food. You know, from the best Chinese restaurant in Barcelona? Unfortunately, they don't deliver, which makes the convincing more challenging. No secret beer stash either, so I can't use it as a bribe. Damn. It might be a long night...