Views and thoughts: 2016

Last time when I blogged about this café, I didn’t know I was going to become a regular though impressed with the quality of the desserts and coffee there. People revisit a place for various reason, for me, mainly because of the friendly baristas there, constant surprise of different single origin coffee beans and varying roasting profile, and my poison ramekin – crème brulee!

S40 La Spaziale

A good coffee machine is pivotal of brewing a quality beverage. While I’m neither a qualified barista nor expert in coffee machine, from what I read of the Coffee Tea & I magazine and some espresso machine books, this La Spaziale S40 is a powerful Italian beast and not easily wielded to froth silky milk rich with microfoam for latte art. Thus baristas capable of wielding it, I think they’re qualified to be called the skilled bull-fighter.

The boiler is made of copper which is said to have some sort of antiseptic effect on the water which boils within it. From an article I’ve read, some of the hospitals back then used copper for their needles, bedframes etc to lower the growing rate of bacteria. But how far true is that theory is not verified yet.

But, make no mistake this is the very beating heart of a cafe...

As I became regular of this café, I’ve tasted all of its food and beverage and think that I should properly introduce them one by one here. Though not all is included here, but these are the hot items I would say that shan’t be missed. The uniqueness of this cafe lies in their steadfastness bringing us the Italian cafe culture. I'll explain further along the way.

Espresso (single shot) RM7.50

If you’re a strong coffee lover, you should give at least one try on their espresso. They changes their coffee beans weekly and even though some time it is the same origin beans, they might have different roasting profile, causing the beans to taste rather differently.

The trick of drinking espresso is to taste it without its sugar, then taste again with sugar added. You'll be surprise how good it'll taste like. Espresso got its name for being served fast, in express style at Italy. Thus it shall be taken just as fast as well, before its thick golden crema silently faded away. It is the crema that carries the rich aroma of the coffee.

Though sticking to the beans which delivers the taste that you favour is awesome, but how would you know that is your favourite until you have tasted other coffee beans of different roast? I remembered my “starbucks-maniac” period when I always stick to the starbucks’ espresso blend and nothing else. That time I thought that is the only roast I’d like, until I met the Peaberry beans at Monkeycup Café. Then after drinking coffee for some time here, I began to like other beans as well, such as the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Honduras Arabica and Costa Rica beans. To me, the exploration of different coffee taste is like an adventure of uncertainty and surprise, sometime you’ll get the taste you like, sometime you’ll get the taste which not quite satisfy you, it’s basically very lively like our everyday life, you will definitely find something to be cheerful or grateful of in the end of the day.

Espresso Macchiato RM8.90

Usually I will ask the friendly barista as to what she/he recommends for the day, because they will fine-tuned the coffee every morning before they start serving the coffee, and sometime the coffee beans refuse to "awake" just yet. When that happen, they usually recommend this espresso macchiato instead of cappuccino because they know that I prefer a strong cup of coffee.

Shakerato RM11.90

When the coffee is blossoming that day, the barista will serve me their signature shakerato without the need for me asking for it. To begin with this new poison... I first tried it when the barista treated me a glass after I enquired about this wine-looking-like beverage filled a table of four there that day. One of them actually had 3 glasses before I had taken the first sip.

It is basically ice-shaken espresso drinks. It is well chilled but not diluted by the ice.

The first impression of this drink is pretty much like tasting a glass of wine, first the chilled espresso shot cushioned with a layer of crema foam will give a nice shake to your taste buds, then the unique sour-sweet of that coffee beans will hover around, sometime mixed with the little bitter-sweet honey left in your throat even after swallowing it. It is the kind of drinks to leave quite an impression and definitely will imprint your taste buds.

This drink is highly recommended for strong coffee lover!

Americano RM7.50

If you would prefer to have a moderate coffee, perhaps americano would be a better choice for you. Personally when I have americano, I prefer to stir in some sugar to enhance the coffee taste. It is a perfect companion to their signature tiramisu.

Cappuccino RM8.90

I believe some of you might have heard of something like wet cappuccino or dry cappuccino, well, I would say this is kinda like the standard wet cappuccino. They serve it classic Italian style, espresso based beverage with nicely frothed milk and about 1cm microfoam on top.

Some time when the coffee is not that strong due to its coffee beans profile, I would have it with double shot espresso.

As to their Caffe Latte, it is also served in classic Italian style, without the microfoam, which also means without the classic latte art. You might be wondering how is that qualified as Caffe Latte without the latte art? Well it's pretty simple, in Italy, Caffe Latte is the mixture coffee and milk without its microfoam. 'Caffe' is coffee while 'Latte' simply means milk. The classical Italian style Caffe Latte is served without the latte art. So if you want some pretty latte art for your collection, you should go for their Cappuccino or Caffe Mocha instead.

Caffe Mocha RM10.00

Perhaps the name of 'Mocha' strikes the head of many as a chocolaty sweet coffee, probably due to the infamous mocha drinks at Starbucks with a few extra pump of sugar or sweet chocolate.

In Italy, Caffe Mocha is espresso based beverage coupled with dark cocoa. So the main cast here is still the espresso, while the cocoa plays the role of sidekick.

You can expect the stronger taste of espresso coupled with the subtle touch of dark cocoa, giving it the bitter-sweet at just right ratio. Personally mocha is not always my first choice in any cafe because too often I encountered the over-sweetened coffee, and they generally taste like chocolate drink with coffee instead of the other way round. But the caffe mocha here is just right for me.

Affogato RM11.00

Their Affogato is relatively subtle probably due to the medium roast beans they usually use. Personally I prefer to have Affogato when they're serving Java arabica beans, especially the special blend from Tobing estate. Their ice-cream is vanilla flavour, which match their beans really well. But you might need to drink fast before the ice-cream all melted away, unless you prefer it in melted form of course. Everyone has got their own preference ;-)

Hot Chocolate RM 12.80

If you want something warm during a rainy day but wants to stay away from caffeine, this should suit you well.

Their hot chocolate is rich in chocolaty taste but not too sweet. It's surprisingly soothing to the throat and it doesn't leave the sticky feeling in the throat like those average chocolate drinks does.

My favourite part of this drink? Marshmallows!!!

Don't you just feel like you're in the movie of "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" by just starring hard enough on those lovely marshmallows? Hehe... careful, don't slip into the chocolate lava! :-P

Iced Chocolate RM14.80

Craving for chocolate drinks even when it's sunny? Fret not for their chocolate drink is also served chilled, also topped with marshmallows ;-)

English Tea RM9.90

Feeling a little English and would like some tea? They have quite some variety offer to quench your thirst.

Personally I prefer the chamomile tea. It is especially soothing when you know you're about to have a sore throat or cough.

If you're a home barista like me, you can bring a packet of your favourite coffee back home to brew it yourself and tune it to the taste you like. The good thing about the beans at Khaki is that they're comparatively fresh. But some time the coffee beans is limited edition, like the Yirgacheffe beans or the very rare Blue Mountain beans, they only serve it without selling the beans. So keep a look out for your favourite beans on their facebook page, the barista is kind enough to inform the coffee beans for the week so you can plan your coffee trip.

Whole Coffee Beans

As to the food, their creme brulee is a must try item!

Creme Brulee RM14.80

Their creme brulee is filled with these fresh tiny black vanilla seeds. Giving the thick cream an authentic vanilla flavour that you simply can't resist!

If you are craving for something much filling than a ramekin of dessert, I would recommend their Khaki brunch set. Not only the presentation is nice, the taste and combination of the taste is excellent!

Khaki Brunch RM17.50

Khaki Sandwich RM18.90

Alternatively, you might want to try their upgraded Khaki Sandwich. Last time they used to serve their sandwich with the croissant as the bread crust, now they have replaced it with focaccia bread, which gives it a more solid crust and better overall combination of taste.

If you want something of moderate filling but less sweet than the dessert, perhaps their signature mini croissant will satisfy you.

Mini Croissant (strawberries/pesto/butter filling) RM10.90

The best thing I like here is their coffee books corner. Personally I like to have a read on the coffee books or magazine while having a few sips of my favourite cup of coffee to relax after maybe a long week of exams or assignments.

The interesting thing about coffee is that, there is endless possibility of the drinks you can make and the only limit is your imagination, from the recipe I got from those books, I managed to made some myself and experiment it with some slight variance to their recipe. Well, standard recipe is always a good place to start exploration of taste :-)