What's Good

Is that rain? Quick, run into Café Mokka (495 J St., Arcata), slide into a window seat and watch the back garden get all misty. We can't afford to waste wet days anymore, so make your mocha a double ($3.10). There is no pit crew of headset-wearing baristas, and you are not going to slug this down one-handed while you drive. This one comes in a two-hands cup, brimming with homemade whipped cream and dusted with cocoa and sugar. Do you think freshly whipped cream doesn't matter? Well, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and taste is subjective, but you are wrong. So very wrong. Taste the real thing and think on your sins. There are also no mysterious containers of whatever-the-hell-accino mix and no cloying syrups. Just two shots of espresso, steamed milk and a generous scoop of Guittard chocolate (note the little melted lump at the bottom of the cup) that make for an old-fashioned, bittersweet mocha to sip while you watch the trees drip on the path outside.