I happened to be in Aeon/Jaya Jusco Shopping mall in Klang, Bukit Tinggi.
Went to have lunch at Black Canyon Coffee House. The write-up and marketing materials on their coffee looks quite impressive. So I ordered a cappuccino.
Wow! Let me tell you… everything that can go wrong in making a cappuccino went horribly wrong.
First, the barista poured out some milk to froth. Guess what.. they use Nestle UHT milk #@$@^@. How cheap you wanna go? I know fresh milk (pasturised and homogenised) is getting more and more expensive. Even Starbucks uses one of those cheap milk, but to use UHT is really pushing.
Then I thought, hey maybe a nicely frothed UHT can still taste nice leh. But alas, this barista know nothing about frothing milk.
Ok, next we took a tiny packet of coffee beans. When I say tiny, they are really tiny. They use specifically packed coffee beans of 14g in weight. Wow! Following the standards of making a double espresso, eh. Unfortunately, when you weight in exactly 14g of coffee into the grinder, you will not get 14g of coffee in output. At least 1 gram or two are wasted in the chute of the grinder.
What I got was a horrible 10 to 13 seconds extration of scary looking espresso DEVOID of crema.
Here’s how a double shots cappuccino looks like.
Soap-bubble type of cappuccino.
Ugh, sounds horrible. What blasphemy.
Scott
Dear Scott,
Your site states:
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So, what is espresso?
Espresso coffee is a small (1 to 2 oz.) shot of pressure-brewed coffee, using about 1-2 tablespoons of finely ground coffee.
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I find the measurement 1-2 tablespoon, to be highly incorrect. There is no official standard for measuring how much volume is in a tablespoon. That information is practically useless.
The correct dosage is 7g for a single and 14g for a doubleshot. Allowances are given based on the Barista preference or taste profile of a blend or some other factors like machine, grinder and etc.
Anyone attempting to improve their espresso skills or striving to achieve consistencies must avoid the “tablespoon” method.
it takes about 1 tablespoon to fill up my single basket and about 2 tablespoons for the double basket. I suppose his measurement is also not wrong. I would of course concentrate more on the grind and tamping pressure
I went to try Black Canyon Coffee in Aeon City a couple of times. I haven’t try their hot coffee. All I have tried is the food and the iced coffee. And it wasn’t as bad as you would comment on the hot coffee. I haven’t been there for some time. Not sure if the standard has gone down the drain but I will be going over there this Saturday. I’ll check out how it goes.
Hi Hiro,
I have been to Black Canyon at Summit a few months ago, I would say the food is decent and the iced drinks are not bad. But I agree with KF’s view on their coffee is not that good even I didn’t try it.
Reason: You can see a lot of coffee grinds in the grinder, which is not a good thing as that tells you how fresh the coffee will be with the oxidation. There are other reasons too. Also, I rarely drink coffee outside as I am capable to do better coffee with my Silvia at home.
so.. is it espresso devoid of cream or cappuccino devoid of cream?
Dear Jedi,
I’m refering to “crema” from the espresso. Good and decently fresh coffee, when properly extracted into an espresso… you will see a nice layer of golden brown “crema” (not cream). They add to the espresso flavour, mouthfeel and aroma.
That was what missing.
But this esperience is in Jusco, Klang. I did not try many Black Canyon outlet. Not sure if others are better.
HA HA HA,,,,,,
Tell u what…
last time i went there with my girl friend.
What i do????
I try 2 ask 4 making my own cup of cappuccino.
Coz i din know how is their bean and the brewing time…
So i ask the barista make me the espresso than i froth the milk.
Wow… the espresso really fast………. only take 10 to 15s of double shot….
Oh my god!!!!!!
After the espresso come out. I ask for a milk.
Really like u said UHT. Some more not cold one!!!!!
Never mind lah i just make it loh!!!
Finally i pour a Rabbit. Their eyes come so big….
Last…. the taste really er~~~~~~ BAD!
But But But…. Their food really nice…
Hope they can improved their coffee skill.
Nice sharing. I’m learning to taste better coffee and doing it a home. Thanks for sharing, guys.