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Showing posts from January 1, 2012

TGB cafe, Ahmedabad, India

Exclusively elusive, this tucked-away cafe is worth the search. Behind the cake cabinet sparkles the well cared-for espresso machine, from which all manner of drinks are prepared- one menu item involved espresso, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and Peanut Butter! Despite such exotic options I ordered a cappuccino. It was delightful. Although not complex in flavour, its taste (and cup) was clean and enjoyable and prepared with care. Just like in Italy, yet only ten minutes from Mahatma Ghandi's ashram- TGB, Thank God it's ...?

Testa Rossa Caffe, Mahlerstrabe 4, Wien (Vienna)

Conveniently located to most museums and the downtown area; this cozy little cafe on a side street is in the heart of Vienna. Luckily for us, the espresso was good and the barista and owner of the cafe, "Michael", were open to making a coffee for us that was designed by us. We enjoyed the well balanced and flavourful cortados (1:1 espresso ‘cut’ with warm steamed micro-foam milk) that was prepared with care.  A complete difference and refreshing experience to the general Viennese cafe scene. To speak more about this particular idea: in many cases, when we enter  a cafe, restaurant, or any place of business, and ask for a style of coffee, whether it be a cortado, machiato, cappucino, etc., generally no matter what we order, we are going to be served what the server (barista?) deems to be served, and not particularly what we have asked for. Get our drift: “you get what I serve you!” I suppose many people are happy to order from a menu and not ask how it is being made, or a

Max + Muh, Deggendorf, Germany

This was our third time to Max+Muh. Again Sabrina was the sole staff person, being barista, baker and sales woman! Sabrina makes, from scratch, high quality baked goods, quality sandwiches as well as she is the head barista of the cafe. Her croissants were delicious; light and buttery, a very good accompaniment to a decent espresso macchiato. Although one suggestion is to go deeper into the quality of espresso making., However, although it seems to us that the beans are fairly well roasted,  perhaps they are not of high quality,  because there is little range of flavours, not very alive in the taste - just good! Would be great to have more flavourful coffee, as the talent and equipment is there to pull some great shots. Over all, a friendly enjoyable place for coffee and excellent fresh baked goods.

Blueorange gastro OG, Margaretenstraße 9, Vienna

We found Blueorange in the downtown of Vienna. A slightly modern facility with Cimbali grinder and espresso machine. The Barista seemed open and interested in what we were hoping to drink, but unfortunately split our shot between two cups and ran it for over 40 seconds. Such a long shot can invariably produce nothing short of a watery shot and bitter grey flavours. So, up to the bar for a second try, this time the barista, again very open and friendly, made an espresso into one cup only and for only 20 seconds. Unfortunately the milk was the leftover milk in the container from a previous latte and was over-whipped. The Barista allowed for me to try and bring the milk back together, which is a seemingly impossible task at this point, but nonetheless we gave it a go and had a much better Espresso macchiato. Flavour notes are a little orange, sweetness and a touch of chocolate. 

Alt Wien Kaffee, Schleifmuhlgasse 23, Wien (Vienna), Austria

Finally we found a roaster, cafe and Barista (Oliver) who actually has knowledge and a passion for  coffee! Oliver expressed succinctly our findings while being in Vienna; he mentioned something like the following... the traditional coffee houses in Vienna don't know what coffee is, they serve over roasted burnt coffee with milk that isn't prepared properly... The espresso bar at Alt Wien Kaffee has 6 grinders, some of them are Luigi Mazzers and they use a Faema espresso machine. We tried three single estate espresso's; a Brasilia, a Hawaiian Kona by the name of Captain Cook and an Ethiopia Sidamo. All were very nicely roasted, good even brown, not very oily and fresh smelling. The Hawaiian was very good, fruity, a little weight and body and (with floral notes)perfumey. The Brasilia was delicious; missing the licorice taste we know and love, but was a medium to full body coffee, with a creamy rich sensation. The Ethiopian Sudamo was good, but not great. Possibly becaus

Jheel's Ginger Coffee Bar and Bakery, Udaipur

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One of only 3 espresso machines in Udaipur is purring happily at Jheel's. The attention to detail by the Barista was appreciated in that he was willing to go beyond the menu and prepare coffee to our taste. Set upon the lake famously filmed in James Bond's Octopussy, the real drawcard for foreign tourists to meet at Jheel's is the opportunity to sit upon the edge of Lake Pichola and drink espresso- shaken or stirred- but definately delicious.

Café Sacher Wien, Philharmonikerstrasse 4 , Austria

We tried another Viennese Cafe experience, this time there was a line-up outside the door, but luckily, we noticed that there is another section to the cafe that allows smoking just next door, without the line-up... Cozy, small and lovely cloth wall paper which made such a nice decor and experience... we ordered the classic  Original Sacher-Torte  as well as an espresso machiatto. The torte was sweet, sugary and nicely presented, leaving me to want less and less because of the belly upset from it. The espresso was powdery, grey, burnt and un-appealing for such hype about the cafe. Again, another unpleasant coffee tasting experience — too bad because it is soo simple to purchase high quality roasted beans and make an excellent espresso, which is what we did at home earlier .. :) 

SCHLOSSCAFÉ, Parkhotel Schönbrunn, Hietzinger Hauptstr, Wien(Vienna), Austria

Spacious, clean, new-ish... yet hollow of any substance in the espresso department. When we entered the Hotel there was a beautiful smell of fresh blueberries and then we went into the Cafe and smelt the common scent of ground coffee beans. Unfortunately the espresso macchiato that was served to us was powdery, dry, flat, slightly burnt and only made better when we added whipped cream to it. This was a good cup! When you have good quality beans, grinder and espresso machine, then there is not much that needs to be done to make a good to excellent cup of coffee: except attention by the barista!We have learn’t: to be able to drink a bad coffee, add a dollop of cream. And the antidote for a bad cup is to drink a good one! Hopefully more cafes will take up the study and craft of espresso based drinks using international standards rather then ritualistic coffee brewing methods that have been handed down through the generations without question or inquiry into whether or not these traditio