December espresso trek I went on an espresso trek last saturday with my friend Audun. We visited five bars in downtown Oslo and had a single espresso in each. Why? well, it's something fun to do together and actually a bit educational since we decided to judge them according to acidity, balance etc. Well, maybe more interesting for me than for Audun since he cups coffee at work all the time.
Note: - these were random samples, so the shots served do not necessarily represent the average quality of shots served at each place - we sampled shots during the most busy part of the day, so maybe the shots suffered a bit as a consequence.
Ristretto (!) shot. Crema breaks up even before we've gotten the chance to drink it, but looks good until then (some flecking). The taste is a bit too acidic and the aftertaste is long but not that pleasant.
Overall verdict: 3 out of 6
United Bakeries Fruitiness: 2 Acidity: 4 Sweetness: 2 Taste balance: 3 Aftertaste: 4 Price: 20 kroner (served in paper espresso cup)
(using beans from Den gyldne bønne)
Very nice new bakery / coffee bar / sandwhich shop on the Karl Johan main street. Shot made by former norwegian champ Gunnhild Seljenes. Nice crema with flecking. Great to talk to Gunnhild again.
Ristretto(!) shot. Made by swedish barista champ Anne Lunell. Shot looks nice. Love that a small glass of water is always offered by the barista when ordering espresso there.
Overall verdict: 4 out of 6
Kaffebrenneriet Bogstadveien Fruitiness: 2 Acidity: 2 Sweetness: 2 Taste balance: 3,5 Aftertaste: 1,5 (Audun: "makes me want to taste something else as soon as possible..") Price: ? kroner
(using beans from Solberg&Hansen)
Thin, light crema. Bitter. 35-40ml per shot.
Overall verdict: 2
We were then supposed to go to a branch of the "kaffe&krem" - chain, but they had closed down, so we went to a bakery instead ("Baker Hansen").
Too hot (Audun: "looks like a volcano erupting"), too large volume with clearly visible "white eye". Reminds us of mocca pot coffee in consistency and mouthfeel. Not a good way to end the trek :)
