Colombian - Cafe Hernandez
Welcome to the Espresso Idiot's review of the Colombian blend available in house at Cafe Hernandez. This colombian espresso is available from the selection of fine espressos offered by Cafe Hernandez and is normally available in bean or ground form to take home and have made for you in house. Note that if you are buying to take home, the shot will not be free and will cost the same as simply purchasing and drinking in house. At $2.60 per shot, the price of this espresso is marginally above the normal going rate for espresso shots in Sydney.
"Cafe Hernandez hits the mark with this lovely epsresso offering. Not much of an aroma to this coffee, but the smooth and mellow taste will win you over if you're looking for a medium bodied espresso shot."
Espresso Idiot, 29 October 2006.
Summary Information
Overall Score: Another fine medium bodied espresso from the Americas. Well roasted and put together to produce a good shot. 7 out of 10.
Presentation: Beans kept in ground form in airtight but no tlight proof containers on top of food cabinet in cafe. Skilled, and helpful barista staff. 5 out of 10.
Bean Type: 100% arabica. Well roasted and blended for taste. 7 out of 10.
Crema: A bit too thin on the shot for my liking. A bit weak and pale in colour. 7 out of 10.
Aroma: Very light, almost non existant aroma. The weakest aspect of this espresso. 5 out of 10.
Taste: A medium to light bodied espresso shot. Very flavoursome, and the flavours are able to wash over the palate. No bitterness or dominating sharp taste. 8 out of 10.
Review
Cafe Hernandez has produced another espresso availabe to consume on the premises that will add to the reputation the place has created of the last 30 plus years of operation. While the Colombian may be far from perfect, this is still a finely put together espresso that delivers well in the light to medium body range..
As with all of the in house espresso at Cafe Hernandez, the beans are pre-ground, or at least were when the Idiot visited. The beans being stored in ground form of course exposes them to more air than if they are stored as complete beans due to the increase in surface area of the ground product. This increases the spoiling effect of air on coffee. In addition, the light is able to penetrate the storage containers and this is undesirable too. This is in contrast with the fresh roasted status of the coffee (although it will of course have time to de-gas) and the helpful barista staff that are on site. The machine is centrally locate do for those of you that like to see masters of the dark arts in action, you can check out the form of the barista first hand.
The first thing that I noticed about this shot was the absence of aroma from the shot. To register any kind of smell from the shot I had to stick my nose right into the cup, obviously not right into the espresso shot as that would both hurt, and be disgusting! The absence of smell didn't really bode well for the shot and I was left wondering what I could expect from the shot. I would suggest that if this is to be blended, blend it with a very aromatic bean that you might have to add to this aspect of enjoying espresso.
Considering the crema on this shot was not a very lenghty task. It was much lighter in colour than usual, almost yellow in parts and I had not expected this. There was cream over the shot, but it was not thick, and I felt that this was a likely effect from the storage issues referred to above. It lacked the usual rich deep colour I expect from Colombian espresso. I would expect that this would hamper mixing it with milk, and given that it is light to medium in terms of body, milk may simply deprive the espresso of any sort of interesting flavour on the palate.
The taste from this espresso came as somthing of a surprise as I was not expecting much by this stage. It was very clear that this was a light to medium bodied epsresso and lacked any sort of bitterness or sharpness on the palate. However, on the tongue the espresso was very flavoursome, with hints of caramel and chocolate on the palate. The taste is mainly confined to the back and sides of the tongue, but there is some taste registered on the tip of the tongue on sampling the shot. This is a very smooth and mellow coffee, and would be suitable for afternoon and evening drinking when looking something to round out the day, rather than prep you up for a night up and about. The aftertaste had a slight hint of sharpness to it, but was mostly a revisting of the actual taste sensations, with a slightly earth hint to it. This is very interesting and a very well put together espresso.
Anyone that wants a light to medium bodied espresso that packs plenty of interesting tastes into the bargain would do well to try this out. Cafe Hernandez has hit the mark with this espresso, although I still feel that it could be improved by blending in some additional bean types to improve the aroma and the cream (although as indicated this may be effected by the storage issues). If you are in Sydney and want a coffee, you could do much worse than Cafe Hernandez, and this interesting wee number would be worth a try, especially if you are looking to start blending at home yourself.