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2 weeks ago, KF Chan and I dropped by Espressamente-Illy at Pavillion.
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This was my 1st visit as this was the no.1 cafe in Chan’s list of good cafes for good coffee.
Before we reached, Chan told me that he got a great shot pulled by Michael himself in his last visit at the Bangsar Village branch.
According to him, a big reason of that is the Illy tin is newly opened and somehow everything is right in place. Also, it might be the quiter environment and his mood on that day.
So, I am really looking forward to try the coffee when we reached there.
On that day, Michael, the owner and business development manager for Illy, is present even that day is his off day.
Chan introduced him to me and the three of us chatted briefly a little about the recently concluded WBC and Illy.
After that, we moved on to the bar counter to order our coffees.
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At Espressamente, the coffee setup consists of a La Marozocco Linea FB30, a Mazzer grinder with the Illy tin (this is an Illy cafe, so the only choice) and a tamper (Michael ordered it from Australia).
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The drinks menu is comprehensive with coffee as you can see from the menu board. So there is plenty of options for you rather than just the usual cappuccino and latte.
As usual, we started off with espresso as this is the indication of the quality of the coffee.
Both of us stood at the counter and waited patiently for our espresso like what the Italians do.
The manager (can’t recall the name – Chan, you can help me out) pulled our shot.
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The process involved:
1. Doses the leftover coffees out of the grinder.
2. Grinds new coffees.
3. Distributes the coffee to the middle, then tamp twice.
4. Pull the shot and check if the flow is at the correct rate.
5. Dump the shot and repeat 2-4 for our order.
Visually, the crema is pale brown. It is hard to get thick brown crema in my opinion when your beans is more than a month old.
Even then, we have to taste to see if it is decent enough to be considered a good shot.
Taste-wise, Illy espresso is a balanced cup for everyone’s taste buds. Not a coffee to be shout of but definitely better than the other Italian blends.
In my opinion, the inclusion of a small percentage of Robusta in the blend might help to give the blend a little kick and more body.
More importantly, it is the preparation that makes the difference. I alwasys believe that a barista can make or break the coffee.
As we are always curious about the Illy’s philosophy on the vacuum-packed tin, we asked the manager how long the Illy coffee tin on the counter is opened.
We were told that it was opened at least more than 6 hours ago (usually 1 tin is finished by 1 day as the volume is high compared to most cafes and espresso is the base for all the coffee drinks).
So Chan told the manager on his great shot that he got from Michael at Bangsar and reasoned to him that it might because the tin was newly opened on that particular occasion.
So we asked him on what is the ideal freshness from the Illy tin. He told us that usually the tin is opened at least 6 hours to allow the coffee to rest. Our view is this is needed to allow the nitrogen gas inside the tin to dissipate clearly so that the CO2 from the coffee can be released to give the coffee better crema & tast.
Also, beforehand, Chan told me that he was informed by Andrea Illy himself in his last appearance at Espressamente that the freshly roasted coffees in Illy’s roasting plant will have to be rested for at least a month before packing.
Our view again is that this is due to the release of CO2 needs to be completely over before packing as nitrogen will be pumped into the tin. If there is still C02 release, the tin might explode when in heat and opened.
Next, we move on to the cappuccino. The same person made us our cappuccino and poured us a heart latte art.
Not many cafes do that but I believe the microfoaming (I still see bubbles but it may be the chemistry when certain milk blends better in certain coffee blends) can be better.
Espressamente is using the Marigold brand of fresh milk. After tasting almost all the major milk brands including Farmhouse, Sky Fresh, First House and etc., I prefer Farmhouse but the cost is higher.
Even then, like I mentioned above, it is the preparation that matters. For example, the milk must be in the right temperature so that the sweetness in the milk is enhanced and properly microfrothed for the creaminess and silkiness associated with a good capp.
Overall, Espressamente-Illy is a cafe that you must visit if you looking for good coffees. I will definitely drop by again whenever I am in that area. May be I should ask Michael’s permission to make my own order.
