After many days of postponing meeting up with different set of friends made it last evening to coffee bean. Everyday passing by the place it looks always packed. And packed it was. It is quite expensive but the coffee and desserts are really much better than other places here. The sandwich was nothing much to shout about. There was a young couple making out in one of the sofas. My friends kept turning around and staring at them so much that they left. So if u do end up going to the new coffee spot where everyones running to try the walnut brownie.
The thing with Colombo is I am still to come across a very good coffee (except the one I make at home). There is this five bucks coffee that u get in Chennai. That is the best coffee I have ever had in my life.
9 comments:
Yeah ... I'm waiting for the day Star Bucks opens up here. Think it will be any time soon??
Theres a place in India called 'Cafe Coffee Day' which is amazing...
great atmosphere, good coffee and best of all, extremely affordable! They should start a chain over here..
Buddhika - As far as I know a friend in Tea trade told me that Star Bucks has been looking to set up here for ages now. Should be here in the near future. Is their coffee that great?
Gutterflower- Cafe coffee day is nice if situation in country improve they will definitely come. You got to try the fresh and honest cofee from this machine that u get in small shops. Its really the BEST
C'mon guys you really don't think the Starbucks makes GOOD coffee now do you ??? They make coffee which tastes the same at each store but I wouldn't call that good...
It is a well known fact that Starbucks in the US spends more on health insurance for its employees than it does on its coffee beans :o)
The art of making a really 'good' coffee has so many elements that it borders on the virtual impossible for a school kid doing a part time job standing behind a coffee machine to perfect the art of making truly good coffee.
For instance there are the beans...which part of the world they come from impacts greatly on their taste characteristics. A coffee blend with beans from only one region would most likely be biased too much in one direction. It's a bit like tea, the taste characteristics vary from the upcountry to the low country. Teas are blended to get the perfect balance of tastes to please the masses that drink it.
Once the coffee beans are blended they are roasted. The roasting process is also an art. A good roaster has at least 7 years of blending and roasting experience !
The roasted beans need to be used to make your cup of coffee as soon as possible to retain the freshness and flavour characteristics, they are packed in vacuum packed bags to ensure their freshness.
Once the pack is opened and the beans are ground the skill of the barista comes into play. The grind must be just 'right' or the water will flow through the coffee too fast (weak taste) or too slow (bitter taste).
The 'hardware' part of the equation comes into play now...the coffee machine...proudly displayed on the counter for all to see.
Most commercial coffee machines have only one water boiler...to heat the water to make the coffee (which should be around 94 degs C) and to create the steam to steam the milk (over 100 degs C). Does anyone see the irony here. It is impossible for one boiler to maintain the water at two temperatures so there is a compromise usually in the temperature of the water which goes through the coffee being too hot. It is only a few machines that employ a dual boiler system that maintains separate temperatures for the steam and the water which makes the coffee. La Marzonno is one of these.
Now there is the water which goes into the machine...chlorine and other additives in the water can alter the taste of the coffee. It is important therefore to use a filtration which basically removes all the additives in the water and distills it so only PURE water goes into the machine. This process is usually called reverse osmosis. VERY few coffee shops use this method as it cost quite a bit to install and require regular maintenance.
Now the art of stream milk....this takes much patience and practice to perfect. To make a good cup of coffee the barista needs to make sure there are virtually no air bubbles in the milk so it velvet smooth when it hits the coffee and mixes with the crema (the top layer of oil on the coffee).
The temperature that the milk is steamed to also needs to be right so that it doesn't 'burn' the milk so that its the perfect temperature to drink (between 60-70 degs C) when it reaches the customer.
Now if you can get all that right your have a truly GOOD cup of coffee :o)
We have been trying making coffee adhering to these principles for over a year now but we are still not perfect!
Sorry for the lengthy post but I thought I would share with you what goes to make a really GOOD cup of coffee. I have yet to have one in Colombo....maybe its time for us to open a Truffles there ?!?
Mc - when you do manage to make that perfect coffee do let us know and we will all be there. What is truffles another coffee chain is it?
Truffles is my cafe in Melbourne...at this stage is the only one. If I say so myself the coffee is good but not yet perfect !
www.trufflesmelbourne.com.au
Hope the coffee is as good as your website :) . I wont advice you to open a cafe here right now but the crowd at coffee bean is still full house here. thats the usual scene with any new place here.
I am well aware of the fickle nature of Lankan consumers....they flock to every new place that opens for first few months and then abandon it for the next 'hot' place that opens. How many people are patronising Coffee Stop these days after Coffee Bean opened ?
The few places that have stood the test of time are the German Restaurant, Flower Drum and & Flower Lounge...does anyone have any other favourites to add to this list ?
Flower drum and flower lounge are my all time favourites. Coffee stop is doing ok. Another favourite restaurant of mine here is Mango Tree
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