Avila

The closest coffee shop from work is around the corner in Hindmarsh Square. Unfortunately it's a little out of the way location that doesn't get much foot traffic.

The third attempt at a coffee shop since the building opened has been going for a week. Their name is Avila. They do a nice job. It's not the best coffee I've ever drunk, but it's good enough that I don't feel the need to walk any further when in need for espresso.

Smooth coffee - it's a blend from Campos. Friendly service, most of the barista's are reasonably skilled, nicely decorated cafe if you want to stay. Slightly over-priced, $4 for a take-away large single-shot. I'd consider it excellent value at $3.5 It's a definite recommend.

While I'm at it, I've started using Decaf Sucks to help me locate decent espresso. The only frustrating thing is that some people on the site rate Hudson's as good coffee, which just goes to show that everyone has a different (wrong :-) concept of coffee that should be recommended! It's a good little site with mobile variants an iPhone app available (if that doesn't float your boat, the mobile version of the web site renders just fine). I'd just like to see the app support the concept of favourite coffee spots and then it would meet my needs perfectly!

| 28 Oct 2011 | #

Briccone

After the apparent closure of De Luca's, I needed to find a new place for coffee close to work...

So this morning's large skinny flat white is from Briccone, in the middle of Rundle Mall, at the east end.

First up, pleasant staff, and reasonable pricing ($5 for a large cup). Watching the barista, he's certainly better than average in technique - noticeable in tamping and extraction. Quick and proficient in delivery. Clean working environment. But how does it taste?

A good solid flavour, which is a little surprising given that my coffee would have been one of the first pulls of the day. The flavour was quite enjoyable - good smooth flavour, but without any great distinctiveness. Strength-wise, It was a little weak. I'm not certain that volume wise this was a double shot, more like a shot-and-a-half leaving me wanting more; that same volume of coffee in a medium cup would have been perfect, but in a large cup the coffee was overpowered by the milk.

The coffee wasn't burnt, and neither was the milk scolded. Good micro-froth in the milk, leaving a silky consistency. Nice after-taste. The crema was excellent in volume and colour. Above average latte-art skills.

Overall, I'd have to rank this an 8 out of 10.

| 08 Feb 2011 | #

cotd - Organic Nicaragua

Today's coffee of the day is Organic Nicaragua, which is a Fair Trade product.

"There are a total of 112 organic coffee producers who contribute to this coffee, 95% are small producers. This shade grown crop complies with the national organic programme requirements to produce a coffee with a rich praline flavour with a smooth sweet finish."

Coffee purchased at Rio Coffee.

| 14 Nov 2006 | #

Silvia / Rocky Links

• Lots of stuff about Silvia and Rocky: http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/rancilio_silvia/
• About grinders, and a look inside Rocky: http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.electricmills.shtml
• Cleaning Miss Silvia:http://technocosm.org/espresso/rancilio-silvia.html
• Cleaning Rocky:http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/cleanrocky
• Cheating Miss Silvia:http://www.coffeekid.com/archived/rancilio/cheatsilvia
• Judging Expresso Extraction by Crema:http://www.virtualcoffee.com/judge.html

| 06 Nov 2006 | #

cotd - Espresso Perfetto

The current favourite coffee in our household is Espresso Perfetto - Medium to Strong. Based on Cuban coffee, this blend gives a rich, sweet, full bodied cup in the perfect Northern Italian style, with the perfect lingering aftertaste.

| 24 Oct 2006 | #