33 Yarra St, South Yarra
24 January 2010 @ 1.00pm. Coffee Brand St Ali
This was a significantly better experience than the first visit. The service was prompt and there was no confusion over the type of coffee available.
Score 17/20
By SamW
Thick & foreboding, like chocolate thunder, this was incredibly well extracted. The crema stayed thick all the way to the last sip. Like a Guinness, oily rings showed my drinking pattern (aka lacing). There was no bitterness and a soft acidity.
Coffee – Short Macchiato. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Score 18/20By SimonL
Hail the macchiato! It was served in a glass with just a stain of milk and dollop of foam. Fantastic. This was breath of fresh air considering all the fashionable (from the barista end anyway) over milked macchiatos that have pervaded the Melbourne coffee scene recently.
This coffee had superb presentation. The milk stain just ever so slightly tempering the acidic component of the espresso. Rich yet well poised and balanced with a roasted nut and earth with a hint of aniseed. The fresh, and mouth watering, bitterness was well integrated and grippy, gently extracting itself on the finish then loitered pleasantly for ages.
Coffee – Cafe Latte Ethiopian YirgacheffeScore 16/20 By SimonL
The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe certainly worked well with this style of coffee. The strength was border line for me, and the coffee was pleasant rather than spectacular. Certainly it was well crafted; a huge difference to the last one experienced here. Overall it had good strength and reasonable complexity with caramel (but not too sweet) nutmeg spice, faint aniseed and a lovely balanced milky creaminess woven in with the espresso.
Coffee – Ristretto Ethiopian YirgacheffeScore 15/20 By SamW
This coffee was a smaller, more compact and cooler (temperature not social status) than the espresso. The crema was quite thin, but overall an enjoyable drinking experience.
Service 3/5Ambiance 3/5 Busy 3/5
