Juniper
With hundreds of cafes all over town, you’d think someone has to be very confident about their coffees if they were to open a new one in a neighbourhood where cafes are not in short supply. Mind you, these days there are cafes in every neighbourhood but in my opinion, really excellent cafes are scarce. I mean, those that I would return to without thinking twice.
Last week, I paid a visit to Caffe Crema in Plaza Mont Kiara and had a chat with owner, Elvin Siew who also co-owns Bariuma and Kodawari Menya. Six months ago, Elvin didn’t know anything about coffees but he loved drinking them and decided to embark on a journey to discover all he could about coffee before opening Caffe Crema which has been open since last December.
Elvin took up a course with a coffee professional in Melbourne and today, I would never have guessed he knew next to nothing about the technicalities of coffee just 6 months ago. I’d have thought he’s been making coffee for years. One of the first things you will notice about Caffe Crema other than the fact that they really focus on coffee because the dessert choices are limited, is that they don’t offer fancy coffees like flavoured coffees and frappes.
Caffe Crema offers their Signature Blend, the beans being from Bali, Costa Rica and El Salvador and Raven Blend, the beans of which come from Brazil and Guatemala, the latter being a darker roast. Caffe Crema also offers single origin beans such as Sidamo Guji from Ethiopia which has an acidic, fruity flavor.
I am reminded of “The Coffee Song” (occasionally subtitled “They’ve Got an Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil”) first recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1946. Well they have an awful lot of coffee in Ethiopia too, where the Coffea Arabica plant originates and birthplace of coffee.
My 1st cup of coffee at Caffe Crema was Cold Drip Guji personally prepared by Elvin. I love this coffee as it’s smooth, sweet and fruity. No sugar required please and for that matter, in any of the coffees served here. I just don’t understand those who dump 1 or 2 sachets of sugar into their coffees. Why drink coffee in the 1st place? Guji is my favourite blend. It has a slightly different taste when served at room temperature but still very, very good.
Next, Elvin served me lungo which is not to be confused with Americano and no, Caffe Crema doesn’t serve Americano. So what exactly is a lungo? Wikipedia says it’s Italian style coffee – short black (single or double dose or shot) with much more water (generally twice as much), resulting in a stretched coffee, a lungo. In the lungo, all the water is brewed, and the lungo is generally shorter than an Americano or a long black. The lungo in this cup is Caffe Crema’s Raven blend, this one is more bitter than Guji and does it have dimension or what. It’s like drinking fine wine. I don’t know about other people but I could taste 3 different tastes, one when I sipped it, another when it was inside my mouth and third when I was swallowing it. Wow! I have never tasted a blend with such character. This caramel tasting blend is one of the most memorable blends I have ever tasted, no wonder Caffe Crema offers this.
I can take espresso without flinching but I have to admit that after several cups of coffee, the espresso was a bit strong for me. Still, if you want a jolt in the morning, there is nothing like an espresso to wake you up completely.
Prices of coffees at Caffe Crema Plaza Mont Kiara are very reasonable given the quality of the coffees
I think that a lot of cafes charge exorbitant prices even if they do serve excellent coffees but given the almost incomparable quality of the coffee at Caffe Crema, prices are very reasonable and there are no extra taxes to the prices. What you see is what you pay. I have to check out the rest of their Specialty Coffees like Moka Pot, Pour Over, Siphon and Cold Brew.
The desserts here are from suppliers and they have chosen a very good supplier for their cakes as the Salted Caramel Cake was dense without being too sweet. I am not a fan of caramel but even I have to say this cake is out of this world delicious.
Caffe Crema is located at E-01-02, Block E, Plaza Mont Kiara. 2 Jalan Kiara KL. Visit their website for more information.
