Giapo: Genuine Italian Gelato

One day when me and a friend where in the city, we were wandering around Skycity Cinemas looking for food. We tend to spend four times longer debating the relative merits of everything, so when they said 'what about the organic ice cream shop just down the block a bit' we didn't think twice (well, we did, because we did about everything) about nipping around to compare its offerings.

Giapo's gelato shop is one I've walked past a lot in my years at Auckland University. It is, after all, roughly between the library and Borders bookstore! However, I didn't really give the crowded little purple cafe a second glance, especially as it was always quite busy. Luck was with us that day, and it wasn't busy, so in we snuck and stared speechless (...nearly) at the paradise spread before us. Aloe Vera sorbet! Incredibly cocoa-y ice cream! Avocado, Tiramisu, Macadamia?Completely organic gelato? Something like two dozen different gelatos and ice creams - and what's that? DARK hot chocolate? We looked at the prices and quailed a little, but then paid up in the name of Organic Ice cream. To our astonishment, the cones were monster sized - too large almost to finish, but certainly worth the price. I will say that Aloe Vera and Chocolate, while very nice individually, don't really go together... My sister has also dragged me down there, to try the free fair trade banana ice cream - apparently she followed them on Facebook and knew about their special secret promotions!

We've been back since, to teeter on the incredibly high chairs, and try a different flavour. The hot chocolate machine was out of order the first time, but last week I braved the $8 and tried one (and yeah... that was a little too expensive). It was delicious, and I've been trying to replicate it at home by adding eight tmes the usual amount of cocoa!