Caffe Kenon (銅鑼灣)

Just by chance - I walked past this newly opened Coffee Shop on their 1st opening day! Its situated on the corner of a not too busy strip but in reality, its very close to Times Square! Although it was sweatily hot, I was lured in by the nice shop interior. The shop's promise of a good Brazilian beans blended coffee, roasted and imported from Italy's Napoli was too hard to pass up.

ESPRESSO - Pulled from a shiny silver machine with a manual lever, the 'timing of the shot' is controlled manually rather than reliant on a button. This type of machine is considered a 'pretty sight' for many, though sometimes it quite 'gimmicky in nature' - it tries to emulate the looks of an older, hand-pulled machine which worked on completely different philosophies and pure labour, whereas the one here is mostly done by the machine aiming to satisfy the pre-calibrated settings. Kind of like computer programming on an Autopilot flight...
Which is better? Obviously the newer machines, because its much more accurate with calibrations possible through the various gauges and setting variables, etc. Its done by the machine automatically yes - but its still all manually hand tuned to eliminate the errors.
My Single Espresso (always better than a Double Espresso) was quite dense which is always a good sign - although I would say it was pulled slightly too slowly and hinted of being burnt. It was also slightly too oily. It was definitely an Italian espresso alright - as even I found this to be a tad bitter and dark for my personal liking. This is the traditional, old fashioned style Espresso, whereas most other parts of the world are more gears towards less roasty coffees where you can taste more of the bean's original characteristics!

CAPPUCINO - This was textured pretty well, like how Italians would do it without the too frothy meringue top.
I think the milk over-powered the coffee base slightly. I thought it was ok but not aromatic nor 3 dimensional enough. I think I read that the Brazilian based blend here are made from Arabica beans, but both of my drinks showed signs of a body that is only possible with the cheaper Robusta. I would imagine this made up at least 5-10% of the blend but not advertised, just like most Italian ones.

OVERALL - THIS WAS A REALLY LOVELY COFFEE BUT WITH A DIFFERENT STYLE!
Its very similar in nature to Via Quadronno's American/Italian blend and perhaps Vittoria Coffee's Australian/Italian blend (from Antique Patisserie).... FUEL's Espresso is also quite similar. If you want a strong shot of caffeine, come here now! The Espresso is an affordable $10!
They will also soon offer food items such as sandwiches, pastas and pizzas, plus they have a whole range of other interesting coffee based drinks, hot or cold. Until next time...