SO! COFFEE

COZY PLACE WITH A STARBUCKS STYLE

Espresso macchiato and cappuccino was our choice on entering SO!COFFEE for the first time. Guess what is the size of cappuccino above? Yep, big. Huge, frankly speaking. I didn't see it coming when agreed for a big one. Now I call it a ''bucket of coffee''. What was intended as a quick coffee stop turned out to be a bit longer to manage such a cup.

Any thoughts on seeing this? Reminds you of something? It feels like Starbucks inside to me. Soft small armchairs, lots of deserts to choose from, soda, juice, sandwiches and yes, coffee too. My espresso looked lonely without a cookie or a pie. Everything in SO!COFFEE is telling you to get a combo of coffee/tea plus desert.

Actually, espresso was decent enough. Couple other things impacted my first impression of the place though. Barista lady obviously not very enthusiastic or smiling, dirty glass with water, chipped cup (that bucket cappuccino one).

I think I know who might be a loyal customer here. People who have SO!COFFEE on their daily route or can stop by at lunch for a chat and coffee with something sweet. Customers in big malls taking a break from shopping. Friends meeting to catch up with the news in their lives. And probably fans of some good looking and tasting deserts.

To my mind, it is just another chain with similar set of drinks and foods. Good to have those around the city for they are cozy and just generally nice. No need to lose time driving/walking through jammed city traffic to get to some specific place. Yet, the coffee didn't really touch the strings of my '''sold to coffee' soul here. How about you? Did I miss anything I should have tried?

20th International Food Service Trade Fair

 Coffee Exhibition in Warsaw!

What a day for coffee fans! First time for me to see, smell, experience so much coffee in one place in Warsaw, Poland. Of course, with my luck it had to take place on a usual working day, not weekend or holiday or at least late hours. Anyway, I managed to get there, it's all that really matters. The first picture up here is a competition among amateur baristas. Good luck, guys. I won't stop here for long, cuz I have to explore the rest of the exhibition.

Wasting no time, I found myself taking in short seminars on various coffee topics like Brewing Methods, Coffee Tasting, Making a Perfect Espresso at Home... Some of it was very basic, some profound enough to make me listen very closely. Actually, I had to use all my hearing abilities to the max cuz in such a noisy room it was a serious challenge.

Crowd was very hungry to hear and learn from barista #1 in Poland AGNIESZKA ROJEWSKA. We got to see some cool tips on making espresso and Latte Art. I wish there was more time to take that wisdom in. Still, really cool to have even that short time of learning from professionals.

The coffee zone of the exhibition turned out to be a bit smaller than I expected. However I saw some big names like Nespresso or Hario and totally new for me like Marley (brand owned by Bob Marley's son) or CoffeeDesk.pl web store.

 Guys at Hario stand brew great coffee by a Scandinavian roaster using alternative methods. Of course, I paused there for several minutes. No way I would miss out on good coffee. They totally met my expectations. Actually I got some ideas on additional tools by Hario for my collection.

At Arcaffe I intended to have an espresso with some single origin coffee. This particular corner is designed more for coffee buyers and cafe owners rather than just individual coffee freaks. I asked for an espresso made of single origin coffee. Barista told me it would make sense to check out the Hario spot for that. I followed his advice and didn't regret it.

One of the highlights was the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee presentation. The sales guy gave a good speech but I was basically waiting on free and awesome coffee. Which I did get. OMG, this Jamaica is truly awesome! I guess Marley's son is not the only guy on the planet selling this particular coffee, but is really, really good. So smooth and balanced like good old wine. Simply perfect. Following that was a presentation of Brazil coffee association with some coffee tasting too. Another great coffee I must say! I love the sweetness it had, probably achieved by natural method used (drying coffee with the shell on it). Unfortunately it was not to be sold at the exhibition at all. I would certainly get some.

CoffeeDesk is an internet store with a wide choice of coffee, tea and various equipment. I just got my first pack of coffee through this shop. Wasn't rocket fast but within accepted timelines. 2-5 days as their page says. I chose Brazil coffee by Five Elephants, a German roaster. Had it three times now and still searching for the right temperature. 90-95 was ok, but nothing special. I believe it has more to it. Next time I'll go with 85 Celsius.

Coffee Exhibition is a must for Warsaw. Actually it has to be much larger and more developed. I might have missed some for it was the third and last day of it. I still loved every minute spent there. Coffee rules!

KAUFLAND supermarket coffee adventure - part 8

From 100% Robusta to ''breakfast'' and ''standard'' coffee

This time we are gonna look at Kaufland supermarket, a brother of Lidl chain owned by same Schwarz group. Probably less numerous than chains like Carrefour or Biedronka, yet definitely present in the city and media. I was reminded of it by my car radio and radio at work. Yet, somehow I didn't see any of those on my rout to work or down town. So I googled it on the map as the time came to see what kind of coffee they offer.

 Not bad, ha? This very night I was actually looking for coffee to brew on ROK hand espresso machine that was kindly landed to me for about a week by my espresso coach Krzysztof from Kawa-Warszawa.pl. My original goal was to find dark enough yet little sour beans. Let's see if I succeed.

Even though Kaufland is related to Lidl, they are totally different. Coffee wise as well. If Lidl on most days has a very short line of coffee available and some premium stuff on occasions, Kaufland meets you with quite a choice.

How about that? 100%...not Arabica but Robusta! I am surprised to see such honesty or is it a marketing trick? Robusta is rarely associated with tasty coffee, yet maybe in this case it is rather '100%' that stands out than the coffee plant type.

In case those numerous brands confuse you, there is simply "standard" coffee on the shelf. No need for extra info or details. Not my case, but somebody might appreciate such an approach.

Kaufland keeps surprising with items available. Cereal instant drink is something I never tried before. I'm guessing it is intended for coffee substitution. In the mood for something healthy and experiment? There is more!

How about malt coffee with zinc and vitamins from Anatol? I found one more items worth attention. It has both coffee and chicory (30%/58%). Claimed to be cellulose and magnesium source for you. It looks like instant coffee and substitutes have quite a share in the coffee market here in Poland.

As I was looking for espresso roast, my choice fell on Columbia by MK Cafe. It smelled gourgeous. When you press the pack a little, nice tempting flavour of roasted coffee is too strong to ignore.The price was not bad also. Around 15 zł (4$) a 250 gramm pack.

Overall, Kaufland has a decent coffee offer for common drinker. Also some fun and extravagant options of coffee substitutes. Not much to choose from for coffee freaks though.

P.S. After trying various grinds and temperatures, I still got too sour a coffee from ROK hand espresso machine with this MK Columbia. Now it is time to experiment with filter methods...

Monique Bakery and Wine

The coffee, the view, the atmosphere

Weekend, no hurry anywhere. Perfect time to slow down, relax and have a bite. After having lunch in the food court at Galeria Mokotów my little son was 'strongly persuading' me to find a place for desert. We passed Starbucks, I even paused for a moment thinking of getting a muffin or Belgium waffles. Yet, decided to explore the area and found a nice, busy, promising bakery+wine cafe.

Those colourful Macarons desert caught my attention as well as pies/buns with cherry filling. After couple minutes of figuring out which table to choose we ended up sitting on a couch in a cosy outside area protected with glass.

On spending several hours inside the mall not seeing any sun light, this felt like a breath of fresh air! I can see the sky, people, buildings, cars. High five goes to designers of this comfort. Tall glass windows are rather walls than actual windows. In couple weeks when it gets warmer, I bet the doors will be open and it should be even livelier with the fresh air and some light street noise.

 You are basically on top of the building where one of the parking lots is. Anyway, it feels great to see the sky, don't you think? Or one can simply park nearby and watch their expensive Porsche :).

Never knowing what kind of coffee you might get in a new place I went for a double espresso and milk 'on the side''. Crema looking pretty much like tiger skin, dense body, nutty/caramel notes... I am well pleased! Love, love love! The waiter told us they get coffee from a small roastery near Lublin city. Good to know the owner/manager cares about coffee even though it is a wine +bakery restaurant.

My cappuccino expert confirmed her drink to be decent, tasty with rich milk foam. Macarons had various tastes so some colours deserved more attention than others. Tastes would be very individual here. Overall, Monique is a success to me. Coffee was great, deserts too. Atmosphere was simply contagiously inviting. I could spend 2-3 hours straight just sipping coffee and watching people pass. There is more to try here, maybe other bakery products and wine as it is something they advertise.