High-end coffee-machine giant KRUPScaught the steam coming off our bustling coffee culture. This year, Halifax became the fifth city to join the KRUPS Kup of Excellence, an annual contest to find the best espresso in independent coffee houses.
The competition works like this: Coffee fans select their top five cafes in an online vote, then KRUPS assembles a local seven-member jury in each city.
Our panel assembles at the Prince George hotel to meet our guides, Natalie Bibeau and Raffi Kouyoumdjian, for an espresso primer.
Java Blend (6027 North)
Java Blend, on North Street started roasting coffee in 1938, with owner Jim Dikaios holding the reins since 1971. Cups of espresso pass around and we’re soon putting our knowledge and skills to work. This brew is complex, with citrus notes not typically found in espresso.
After our tasting, Jim takes us to see his roasting machine and shares part of his vast reservoir of knowledge. I could have listened to him talk coffee for hours.
Uncommon Grounds (Various locations)
I’ve always liked the industrial feel of Uncommon Grounds but after coziness of Java Blend it seems cold. The coffee is served in plastic glasses (strike one). It is horribly bitter and quite thin. I don’t finish mine.
Smiling Goat (1551 South Park)
A new entry to the local coffee scene, this organic espresso bar on South Park just turned one. It is tiny, decorated in rich coffee tones with a beautiful green subway tile along the back wall. Very chic. They use a special kind of portafilter without spigots, which allows for a thicker, denser crema. At least, that’s the theory. Our espressos are practically foam-free and very bitter.
Interestingly, they’ve chosen to serve us a double shot; I sip mine and promptly end up with black lips and tongue. We aren’t offered water on the side, a must when drinking espresso to cleanse the palate and prevent dry mouth. I desperately want to wash away the taste.
Steve-O-Reno’s (1536 Brunswick and 2854 Robie)
On Brunswick, the granddaddy of coffee culture is here. Greeted by barista Zane, self-professed “coffee nerd,” we hear of varietals, blends, finish and all kinds of terms typically associated with wine tasting. Zane’s passion is infectious and we’re confident our coffee will be great. This is our second favourite: It lacks the complexity of Java Blend and it’s not hot enough. The taste is not too bitter nor too watery. We leave Zane for our final stop.
Just Us! (5896 Spring Garden, 1678 Barrington).
This Wolfville-based company is all about fair trade. There is a lot of fair trade merchandise for sale here. The shop is comfy, with little secluded spaces for long, lingering cuppas. Sadly, there is nothing long and lingering about their espresso—watery is the nicest thing I can think of to say.
Even though espresso has less caffeine than most coffees, we’re nicely caffeinated and giggling like prom kids in the limo on the way back.
Natalie and Raffi leave the jury to its decision. We deliberate. Next year, we hope more cafes will make it to the finals—Trident is a major omission, I feel. We part with an appreciation for the folks who make our daily brew a labour of love.
Halifax’s winner of the KRUPS Kup of Excellence? To none of our surprises, Java Blend takes home the inaugural honours.
This article appears in Oct 2-8, 2008.
I am sorry to hear your thoughts on the espresso, but just for the record, having served the water myself to the judges perhaps that was a comment meant for another. Should I have on the other hand missed you in the melee I apoligize for the oversight.
Liz, Liz, Liz… what are we going to do with you? Your review of The Mongolie Grill made 0 sense, but I let it slide because you are entitled to your own opinions. But this totally unfounded and absurd review of Smiling Goat, you are not entitled to, by a long, or should I say “double” shot. There are no “chic” subway tiles, always foam, never bitter, always water, never anything left over in the mouth except for something that tastes so beautiful you wouldn’t want to wash it off anyway. When you slammed Mongolie, my confidence in your opinion wavered. Slam the best cafe in Halifax, and your opinions, to me, are just a very bitter taste in MY mouth. Epic fail, Liz.
No crema, no water… and green tiles!? Erroneous. The only thing that’s green here is Liz Feltham’s undeveloped taste for espresso and confounded review of The Smiling Goat.
Liz, I am a declared espresso-snob and have been very picky where I will drink my daily espresso in this city for the last 18 years. Most places, despite having a decent machine, grinder, and good beans cannot produce a drink worthy of being called espresso. I have been blogging about the Halifax espresso scene for the last 2 months, and have drank many, many shots at the 5 cafes you reviewed. I know I have my favorite cafe and favorite barista which is obvious in my website, but I would say the top 3 cafes are Steve-o-reno’s, Java Blend, and Smiling Goat IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER. I just had one of Jim’s award winning shots this morning, and I must say it was probably the best shot he has ever pulled for me. I agree with you, JIm is an amazing source of knowledge and great to speak coffee with. Similarly, there is no question in my mind that Zane, @ Steve’s, is a champion-level barista. Although I might prefer Jim’s blend, I think Zane is able to do wonders with Steve’s house blend (chocolate, and cherry notes). His shots are perfect temperature (unlike other places that are too hot) and can be the most syrupy in the city. (Never thin) Yet, your experience at Smiling Goat really surprises me. First, the no crema remark ! While the crema may not be like Zane’s I have never had a shot that was “foam-less” from Geoff’s naked portafilter. Bitter ? I have never had a bitter shot at any of these 3 shops since reviewing them in the summer. Lastly, the bit about NO WATER I find amazing. That is one thing, Geoff always has served me a glass of water with my shot from day one !!! Perhaps, 5 shops in one day was too much or maybe you had one too many espresso corretto’s. On the other hand, I have to agree with your views on Uncommon Grounds and Just US. In my mind, they are best for camping out with your computer and doing work, not for enjoying espresso.http://espressosnob.wordpress.com/
Some more thoughts… while I was excited that Halifax joined Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal for this year’s Krups competition, I was very disappointed to hear about the composition of the judges. I was speaking to Gord of Uncommon Grounds, along with Zane and Jim. It is real strange that Krups would go with a local jury and not have a number of national judges who would travel from city to city. Moreover, many of the judges were not coffee or espresso experts… So, I think they got the right top 3 based on the online voting, I would take the results based on this review with a grain of salt (or sugar)… I hope you didn’t put sugar or creme in your shots.http://espressosnob.wordpress.com/
refarding: Smiling Goat (1551 South Park) the comments of Liz Feltham do not gel with what I know of this place of its products and service. Nor the “beautiful green subway tile along the back wall” which does not exist. When Liz reports “Our”” and “We” or “Us” does this mean a cadre of judges had “foam-free and very bitter” drinks or that she alone sat there with a pre-existing coffee buz and staring into space long enough that the creama disappeared?If they “chose” to give you a double shot, does that mean your ordering is as poor as your reporting? And I constantly see water being served, not that it would wash your bitterness. I can honestly say I have never had a less than perfect drink at Smiling Goat. I’d like to hear from the rest of the “We, Us and Our” gang.
I should note that, in addition to being esteemed judges of espresso quality and, evidently, temperature, Krups also produce can openers and waffle makers.- Ken
Hiya – I’m Liz’s editor. No one’s denying Smiling Goat isn’t a contender. It’s one of the top five finalists. SG made it into the top 5 and deservedly so. The point is, on the day of the Krups judging, they dropped the ball. Liz is reporting on her experience. Other judges are welcome to comment here. (And btw – SG does have ceramic subway-like tiles. Grey, kind greenish, tiles behind the counter.) In any case, I’m glad the Goat has fans who are hopped up on espresso and who want to post here to defend their joint. Some might be a little too caffeinated to get near a keyboard, but whateva – that’s what this comments section is for!
Ken,Don’t forget, Krups was the company that helped bring quality espresso machines to the home (as shown on this link):http://espressosnob.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/krups.jpg
Wow! I didn’t realize you had to be colour blind to be on staff at the coast. Greyish perhaps, green, definitely not. It seems to me the only one dropping the ball is Liz. Do we need to take a long hard look at the archives?Defending the joint is just cause for a place that truly deserves it. One bad review can take away from a small family owned business and we’ll be damned if we let you have the last word. It takes a hell of a lot of espresso to be “hopped up” since anyone who has a worthy opinion knows it has a lot less caffeine than a cup of coffee. Liz may not have enjoyed her experience but when she made that many errors in one sitting it does taint her credibility as an unbiased critic. Not that I held any trust in her opinions anyway.
The idea of KRUPS holding a competition to identify the best espresso or café in a city is as absurd as the folks at HASBRO (makers of the Easy-Bake Oven) holding a competition to identify the best restaurant in a city. Patently absurd!Liz’s mistake was in believing she was there to review anything in the first place. Her job was to sample some coffee – and according to general consensus, pick a winner & promote KRUPS (well done – she did this well in the first line of the article). It’s supposed to be a feel-good competition with some local press for the participants and a whole lot of press for the good folks at KRUPS. Having local media personalities on the jury is about getting local press for KRUPS, and attempting to make the competition look quasi-legitimate, as opposed to some stunt by the marketing arm of a huge multi-national. Sad that it takes a corporate gong-show to get local media to focus on Halifax’s growing and vibrant quality focused coffee scene.Well done Halifax for having enough of a scene that KRUPS thought it important enough to spend some seed money there. This is a sign that your market for espresso is growing (and ready for KRUPSIAN exploitation) and good things are ahead. Poor show to Liz and her editors for not realizing this competition was a celebration. Do you think anyone with real coffee credentials would participate as a judge in a corporate dog and pony show like this? Her opinions reflect the level of her expertise.So shake it off – get on with making great coffee and keeping people happy.
Yeah, this is shameless promotion for our corporate waffle-making, lousy home coffee brewing overlords. Krups is also a sponsor of the US Barista competition. Not being a total coffee hound, I found that out on the New York Times. They – gasp – mention Krups, too. Is that competition a dog and pony show, too? Check out the articlehttp://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/dining/09bari.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=barista%20espresso%20&st=cse&oref=sloginThe SCAA expert in the article says the chances of an avg customer encountering a well-made espresso is 1 in 10. Basically, he says you’re only as good as your last espresso pulled – and that goes for everyone, not just the SG.Also, Lakechick, it doesn’t take that much espresso to get hopped up. According to Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking, tea has 50mg per serving; espresso 80-115; and brewed coffee 65-175. Maybe you’ve got a high tolerance, but after a double espresso, I am flying! I never drink drip coffee. I get all shaky and stuff. Maybe I’m the one who’s hopped up! Anyway – if anyone is still interested in talking coffee, I’d like to know – if you had to put together a fantasy local panel of judges, who would you pick? or even nationally, who is a Canadian coffee expert?
Let’s take a step back, and re-focus on the purpose of this article. It is showing the country that Halifax is on the map when it comes to espresso. Regardless of the outcome for us, I would like to Congratulate Jim and the team at Java Blend. There is no one else I’d rather lose to. After all we would be a different espresso bar if it weren’t for Jim.
Liz creates ripples all the way to Vancouver… espresso capital:http://www.robertcsar.ca/1/post/2008/10/more-krups-news.html