of mojitos and other madness: coffee & cake

i really don't quite care what everyone says, but oriole cafe still serves up the meanest latte on this island. serving up quality 'honest' coffee, the baristas at oriole take no short cut in the brew process. all creations start with freshly roasted beans that are only ground on demand, tampered twice and then brewed with water at the right temperature for the perfect duration of time to yield the basic yet very awesome building block of any coffee creation - the espresso.

the latte is one coffee beverage that i think truly reveals how much pride a place takes with its coffee. it is a simple beverage with only a shot of espresso and steamed milk but many places tend to over do the milk proportion, not only drowning the coffee aromas but many a time over steaming the milk or putting in way too much froth, as opposed to creamy foam. a latte should really taste like a perfect balance of milk and coffee in one's mouth. creamy yet bold, smooth yet subtly stimulating all at the same time...and these sensations should carry through the entire cuppa. oriole's latte is what i would define as quite the perfect cuppa...a shot of good espresso, topped with beautifully steamed milk encasing the coffee in its very own envelope of luxurious milk crema!

accompanying my latte last sunday was oriole's grilled lemon cake topped with clotted cream and vanilla poached apricot. the plan originally was just to have the latte but sitting down i remembered my sister's rave on this dessert so i decided, what the heck....let's fully refuel for the fire fight gig! with a touch of tang, drizzle of sweetness, crunch of the pistachios, the crisp yet moist, sweet yet sour combination added up to an awesome tea time treat.

i sometimes wish that i worked closer to town...just so that i can have a good cuppa every morning but i guess i'm happy with planning my shopping trips around the region for now *grin*.

oriole cafe