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2013-02-09
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Accro is quite an intriguing café for me with two award winning barista at the helm but mostly meh or neutral comments I got from coffee enthusiasts I talked to on coffee. While I want to try this shop for so long myself, its distance does not work well for me so I grabbed the chance when I was in the area. The experience was quite interesting.Once I stepped in, I was greeted with not only the full house I was getting in. Customers at the shop talked about coffee that they drank enthusiastica
Once I stepped in, I was greeted with not only the full house I was getting in. Customers at the shop talked about coffee that they drank enthusiastically much more than lots of coffee places right in the business district, describing nuances, aftertaste and etc. in the cup to friends. I'm impressed!
The blackboard presents special coffees with an emphasis on tasting note but severely scrimps of details on coffee available on that day which makes it quite hard for me to pick the coffee itself. Luckily, the barista kinda made the decision for me after talking to me on what kind of taste I like and don't.
Nevertheless, it would be better to provide more detail of the coffee ie which area/farm/type and roast level so it helps customers more and shows how meticulous Accro is in to good coffee. Also, English would be a nice addition to menu for me.
The first cup that I had was from Ninety Plus Estates and that’s all the detail I got for the cup but if I have to guess, the coffee is from Ethiopia. The cup is very decent even for this high quality level of 90+ coffee. I got a rather expected complex tasting notes, intertwined layers of enzymatic and acidity plus some sweetness in the cup. However, for the siphon brew at the competition level at Accro Coffee, the cup is way too smooth vs my expectation of a more analytical type and more clarity in the cup, the hallmark of good siphon I got at Knockbox in the past.
Still, the cup is good, no doubt, and I like it a bit more than KC coffee's siphon but not much more though as the cup wasn't opened up much with distinct notes. As an aside, I would be happy with this kind of cup years ago but now I prefer more distinct tasting notes/clean and crisp cup to just simply a smooth cup of coffee.
The second cup I had is Kenya AA Thika which was recommended by the barista. Kenya it is with clear lemony note in the cup. Again I had a smooth cup overall which seemed to be a signature of this barista vs a more analytical as I should expect from siphon brew. The cup is again an easy cup which should appeal to most coffee drinkers and this can be considered a good job in this sense. Again, nothing is bad in the cup though I expect much more distinct note from this brewing method with longer and clearer aftertaste.
Off the menu item: a dry processed Nicaragua: I was told my first choice El Salvador was roasted quite dark and might not suit me well so I was offered another Central which is this Nicaragua. The bean looks lightly roasted but the cup was far from an ideal Central that I typically like. Not the processing but the cup lacked acidity. The coffee had a strong smoky dark tone with prominent peanut tasting notes, the worst of both worlds for me. The peanut lasted so long and lingered in my mouth which made me feel very dirty. The good brewing turned out to be a punishment as it didn't hide all those tasting notes.
I had a chance to drip iced coffee which seemed to be a cold/iced drip coffee. I'm not really in to this kind of brew. I guess it is passable but that all I can say. Also, I had a second visit at night about a month later and the barista was different. Only the first cup was reasonable but the rest I had that night was not what I expected from café of this high caliber. I considered it an off day. Well, sometimes, things happen.One thing I couldn’t quite put my hand on is that I felt torn with its cups. Lots of tasting notes can be easily found in the cup and the coffee delivered should be able to light up the scorecard like a Christmas tree so I have no doubt why both barista were well recognized and awarded. However, I felt the cup missed something and it is not what I called delicious but more of an interesting take. All those various tasting notes just showed up and went separate ways they weren’t coherent enough to make the cup whole. It likes listening to music in the digital format like CD which shows lots of details but the analog format such as those from vinyl gives much more joy and make whole for the experience. One can attribute this to a ‘style’ that the shop delivered. If that’s the case, which I don’t quite agree though, I have to say this is not my coffee style then. This kinda answered my curiosity on comments from enthusiasts I talked to which is either meh or neutral.
Still this is a very interesting café to drop by if you happened to be in the area. I myself will visit the café again if I happened to be in the area and can recommend anybody to do so. The vibe of the café and the cup itself will show you how good this place is. Most coffee there are darker roasted to fit its customer’s preference; so for enthusiasts, ask the barista for the recommendation and the lighter roast that they may have on hand.
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