Went to Espressamente again today with my wife. My first experience was not that great.

But I was impressed by Michael D’Alessandro’s response… “We are not a Starbucks who in reality, is more about the people than the coffee, we are a specialist coffee bar who are as much about the coffee as the people.” 

Reached there around 3pm and lucky me, Michael was around. It was lovely to be able to chat with like-minded coffee enthusiast.

He was true to his word and offer to make me a nice drink. I asked for an espresso for myself and an americano for my wife.

Many times one can somewhat predict the quality coffee by observing a few visual clues.

Let’s consider the 4 “M”s of good espresso.

Macchina (espresso machine) – La Marzocco, good machine.
Macinacaffe (grinder) – Mazer, excellent grinder. Need a good Mano to adjust the grind.
Miscela (coffee blend)
Mano (the barista)

Here’s the Mano. How do you recognise an expert? Notice his attention to details.
– Cleaning the portafilter.
– Flushing the portafilter to ensure that it is hot.
– Wiping it dry.
– Careful dosing and tamping.

The visual from the extraction looks good.

Here’s the result.
It is good. Smooth, medium acidity, moderate body and a nice after-taste. No bad bitterness.
In fact my wife was raving about it afterwards and she is one who normally gets headache drinking bad coffee. The americano was just as good, with hint of fruitiness. You know how I always rant about not finding good espresso in any cafes in Malaysia. I take that back. Here’s one worth trying.

The Miscela (coffee blend) of course is Illy. Normally I don’t fancy Illy. In most cafes, they are very much lacking in freshness. I guess in Espressamente with reasonably high volume traffic, their beans should not be staling so fast. And Illy was known to be quite a forgiving blend.

Therefore, if it is reasonably fresh with the 4 “M”s in sync, you should get a pretty good cup. And if you are at Espressamente the next time and the espresso is not good, most likely it will be the Mano’s fault. Ask them to redo or complain to Michael.

Lastly I asked to try again their cappuccino.

What can I say? It was better than my last visit. Microfoam was better. It’s a decent cup of cappuccino that I consider above average and certainly better than most cafes. Oh yes, the cups.. it’s top notch. Thick and beautifully designed.

Here’s Michael on the left with his crew.

It’s a pleasant afternoon, good espresso and nice coffee.

For good coffee in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia… visit Espressamente.