Blikle desert shops - part 1

Desert comes first, then coffee

These fancy looking, welcoming and chocolaty smelling Blikle desert shops have been tempting me for a while. Usually lacking time I would just pass those with a thought that I must pop in one of those later. Love that wood in décor. Gives you a feel of quality and traditions going far into the old times. The rest also looks rich.
Really hard to ignore deserts in such a nice shop. Yet, I did this time, cuz I just wanted to try their coffee. And I know well that little cup of espresso and desert don't really go together. Desert requires a cappuccino or at least americano. Agree?

The place was empty with just me sitting and sipping espresso. I noticed a sweet modern machine these guys make espresso with. Can't tell you the brand, I tried not to be too intrusive or paparazzi to the barista/shop assistant lady. She was busy tiding the place, taking away the free cake samples (shoot, I was just a minute late for free stuff!).
Was coffee great? Rather ok, than something extraordinary. Crema wasn't that thick, and body was kinda too watery. However, it was good enough, generally speaking. I'm not sure on how much attention coffee gets in desert shops and Blikle in particular.
Cakes occupy the podium here. There is also wine being sold. My guess coffee is not number#1 drink. Yet, if you are craving for desert and would like to accompany it with a big coffee, you are very welcome. It is decent enough.

Relaks and relax more

A hidden jewel 

Minimalistic design, soviet looking apartment buildings, tiny park among those, trams and cars passing by. Life goes on. People rush to their workplaces. Happy ones with flexible schedule take their dogs for a walk during the day.

About a month ago I had some unplanned free time and spent it in a park on the other side of the street . If only I knew there was such a sweet place nearby! 'Relaks' on Puławska 48 is a bit hidden from the main street. more than that, a so to say food triangle of a hamburger point, Italian restaurant and a vegetarian cafe would be the first to see through your vehicle window.

Anyway, Relax was on my list of places to visit on my move to Warsaw. I found it in coffee blogs this past fall. One friend of mine mentioned it couple days ago and I realised that I kinda forgot about my list of coffee shops to visit. Time to go find a new place is always a challenge so I just waited and waited for the chance. And here I come with my fam and a good friend of ours.

Unless you walk in, nothing really captures your attention on the outside. Simple sign, no expensive advertisement, blinking lights or music playing to catch your attention. Walls are covered with posters from several decades back into history. I could spend a day just reading those and meditating on the events of the polish past, for it has much in common with other eastern Europe countries.

Barista Dema moved to Warsaw from Kyiv and could tell my accent right away. He shared his excitement of working in an atmosphere of professional attitude to coffee. It was so good to meet somebody from your native land! These guys buy best beans, brew them and decide on what they are gonna sell in Relaks. We chose 1) Costa Rica roasted in Denmark and brewed in Kalita drip, and 2) Guatemala roasted in Krakow and brewed by Fetco automatic drip. I enjoyed the first one more. It seemed to have a stronger acidity and brighter taste.

As one might spend a good deal of time at Relaks, they offer some snacks, deserts and non-alcohol drinks. As i set on a couch with a cup of coffee I saw people living their lives in this place. There are business talks happening, shares being bought and sold through laptops, articles written, magazines read and so on.

Chalk board with a menu and shelves with coffee and alternative brew equipment are pretty standard nowadays for places like this. Yet that one with trophies from various contests does add certain respect for the business for you see the owner knows his stuff really well. It is more than money making, it must be a passion.

I loved every minute of my stay even though a dog licked on the quiche I naively left on the table while chatting with barista. Heating was a little to strong that day and I was hot. However, Relaks is on my list of favourites now. It ads a positive note to first days of spring that is still grey and foggy here in Warsaw. I heard there was one more Relaks downtown...

P.S. love that cup in the picture!

AUCHAN supermarket coffee adventure - part 6

Evening coffee, malt coffee and whatever else you want!

Looks intriguing, doesn't it? And there is more to it, coffee for any time of the day. Such a bold approach requires testing for sure. Usually coffee shops are closed around 8 p.m. Will this coffee help me sleep or keep awake? Is it a decaf kind? Too many questions bombarding my mind right now!

The Wake Up one has coconut, Midday - pear and Afternoon - tiramisu taste. Do you have same associations with the time of the day? Anyway, the idea is really cool. What is left is tasting it sometime soon. 

Auchan offers Marila brand coffee with a happy farmer on it. The bag also reveals how much of Arabica and Robusta is mixed in it. 90/10 is not at all bad. Origin is not a secret too. All this is pointing to a good trend in attitude to coffee in supermarkets. There is more and more info on what we are actually buying and drinking. I guess some call it Third Wave in coffee shops business. It is no longer just coffee, there is so much more to it like country and even farm of origin, type (Arabica or Robusta to put it simple, more on difference between the two here), roast and so on. 

These bags are meant to give you a feel of buying a big bag of coffee from a farmer in Colombia. I've seen it in other shops too. One kilo is too big of a pack for me though. It would turn old before I drink it up. Big family could deal with it in a week.

Delta brand offers some pretty looking packs with pretty faces. And the bag has a shape of a thin body I guess. Anyway, it probably is to give you certain associations or emotions. Whether you would like to look like those women or be as slim as they are or whatever else comes to mind, Delta Coffee Sensations stand out on the shelf. 

What in the world? Malt coffee? Are you familiar with it? All I know is that it is a substitute and probably without caffeine. As a kid I tried chicory several times and that didn't really make me a coffee fan. Yet, then coffee was something quite expensive and rare. I guess it might work for people who just can't have any caffeine or choose not to. 

Ok, I must say Auchan has almost everything possible there. I want to mention these popular filters. They are meant for drip coffee machines and can also be used at home as a cheaper version of filters or ones to start with and experiment with your brewing technics. At least they worked for me when I had no idea about Hario, Chemex and other cool brands.

Auchan is huge and the choice of coffee it offers is also very wide be it instant, decaf, 100% arabica, 3in1, capsules, pods and what not. They only stuff lacking is light roasted specialty coffee. I'm pretty sure it is a question of time now. More and more cool coffee shops open up offering specialty coffee and supermarkets don't want to lag behind.

'Tea and Coffee shop' coffee boutiques - part 1

More tea than coffee boutique

While various crazy ideas keep coming to my mind, this particular one made me chew on it for a bit. How about visiting big malls and checking out what coffee options they have? I've got a series of posts on grocery stores, but this is different. We face a different level here. While supermarkets do have quite a choice of coffee brands, these small boutiques are specialised in selling only coffee and tea. I guess their goal is to offer premium coffee and sophisticated service for those who are looking for more or longing for some new taste, top level quality and so on.

MODO mall has a gazillion of boutiques with clothes. It is enormous! If you care about fashion, there is a place for you here. One can easily spend a whole day here shopping and still cover maybe only half.

As for me, my heart is sold to coffee, and of course this tiny cute coffee shop caught my attention. I couldn't ignore it, so I walked in. Lady at the desk was nice to ask me whether I wanted anything in particular. I asked for lighter roast (for those who don't own an espresso machine at home) and rather acidic than bitter. Here you could smell the coffee, which I surely did. Coffee samples are stored in special glass containers, yet I could hardly tell the aroma at all. So I went for the one that had a light but pleasant one. Columbia Supremo La Ceibe. How do you like these small pretty red packs? Remind you of tea ones, don't they? As you can see, only 50 grams to start with and see if it is worth coming back for more.

The prices vary from 10 zł (2.5$) to about 30zł (7.5$) per 100 gr of coffee. Definitely higher than supermarket options, even the Tchibo premium stuff, yet still cheaper than for e.g. Krakow's Coffee Proficiency or German Bonanza Roasters. 3 out of 4 on my coffee price scale where 4 is the highest and hits your wallet hard every time.

Nothing else to wait for, let's try it. So i did two turns. Both pour over, with temperature first 90C, and then second 85C. My expectations were not met, I must say. On grinding the coffee smelled nice, but when brewed - not that much. The roast was meant to be light, yet turned out still darker than acceptable for filter coffee or home coffee equipment.

If I had to add cream the first time, the second go was much better. After cooling down a little, I could even feel some pleasant sourness. I'm pretty sure Columbia has more there than this dark roast actually releases. I envy you guys who have espresso machines. Looks like you got more options with coffee out there. To sum it up, Tea and Coffee Shop coffee should be brewed on the lower temperature edge of 80-85C. Otherwise one ought to add milk, cream or sugar. In case you like coffee with milk, then welcome to this shop. Their coffee goes well with milk.

P.S. They got some really good yellow tea there. Maybe it is more of a tea than coffee boutique?