In praise of the cafe creme

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
drH
Posts: 891
Joined: 4 years ago

#1: Post by drH »

I visited a French cafe and bakery outside of Boston (MA France), which is my (now not so) secret sources of incredible French baked goods.
For the first time, I ordered a "cafe long" expecting the barista to make an americano.
I watched her tamp the dark grounds from an old Mazzer doser and twist it into the machine. She flicked on the pump and walked away. The liquid start flowing out, and I cringed as the flow accelerated into a gush, filling my cup maybe 6oz in about 30s.
Oh well, I thought, it will be bitter and brackish and a bit thin but I won't complain about a hot drink on a cold day.
But to my surprise it was beautifully presented with a nice layer of crema, and the taste wasn't bitter at all. In fact I would describe it as velvety smooth, chocolatey, and even a bit sweet.
The coffee, as far as I could tell, was Carte Noire, imported from France.
Packaged coffee. Gushing extraction. How can it be this good?
Mind you, this won't satisfy the light roast drinkers looking for layers of fruity complexity, but I'm surprised that this preparation was able to avoid all the bad qualities I usually associate with mass produced darker roasts.

Anyone else experiment with this style of coffee? Any other improvements or insights to share?

User avatar
baldheadracing
Team HB
Posts: 6225
Joined: 9 years ago

#2: Post by baldheadracing »

It's a café allongé - which translates into "long coffee." They're somewhat popular where I live because France, Quebec, etc. AFAIK, it is a French drink, not Italian.

Scott Rao was inspired by it for his blooming allongé on the decent.

I think the latest similar drink is the Sprover/Spro-over, albeit pulled with light roasts.
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada