On the search for the #perfectlatte

A few days ago something got stuck in my gray matter... something very important; maybe not that important for some people, but like every other thing in this world, some things are like candy some things are like dirt. So... Did I say stuck? Oh yes... so how about a great, perfect, silky, smooth froth milk over a velveteen cup of coffee? yeah right? Isn't that great? I would say yes... but the problem is... I haven't found one yet.

So I decided that since I moved to one of the biggest cities in the world, with one of the most coffee to person ratio and the best places to eat in the world, there have to be a place where the coffee is almost perfect, right? So here @ the south bay and San Francisco area, today, my quest starts: "In the search for the perfect latte".

A few years ago I went to the great city of Chicago, there, I stumble @ Intelligentsia just by simple serendipity (I always wanted to use this word). I was walking to the Sears tower, craving some coffee and I saw an empty almost deserted Starbucks and on the other corner a line of bodies coming out of a small coffee shop. Just right there, at that moment I knew I'll be making one of the best decisions of my life (a little bit melodramatic right? :-) ). What an amazing little coffee shop, cozy, the quality of the industrial machines, the smell of just roasted coffee, the display of love around it was just mesmerizing. I don't want to extend this little blog post, so going just to the facts. One of the best lattes I had in my life. The Barista crafted the art with love, carefully cleaning up the machine on each brew, hot water and a little brush will left the portafilter pristine just for you. Fresh ground coffee carefully leveled and pressed. Milk frothed to perfection, silky with the right temperature not to hot not to cold, just right. Served with a lovely coffee/milk art, just slowly and with perfection stoping just right at the verge of the cup. One sip and it was enough to say, one of the best if not the best... so far.

So, from now on I'll be comparing - don't know if is right or not - new lattes against this one that I had a while ago.

So let's start with Barefoot Coffee Works located at 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051. It was a pleasure to go to this place. Great attention, cozy, a lot of people inside and outside the place (is a great place to hang out, talk or do some work) which told me right out the bat that the coffee had to be good. 

There is a coffee bar and a espresso bar, the coffee bar is pretty interesting because the coffee is brewed by hand one cup at a time - per customer. The barista was being really careful on his job, very attentive to detail. Since I really don't like normal watery coffee I can't speak for it's quality, but I can tell you that there is a lot of effort in the making of it. On the other side is the espresso bar, right just when I got there I was greeted by the barista and asked very politely what I would like to drink. Asked for a nice 2% milk latte and the barista replied "Sorry, we don't have 2% milk,  just whole and non fat" My expression of disappointment trigger a solution from the maker and she offered to mix whole with non-fat (sorry I don't like it like that) I declined and asked for non-fat (not a big deal, but it would be nice to have different kinds if you will). A few minutes later I got a really nice crafted latte, great texture, silky milk and right temperature. The taste of the coffee was not great but it wasn't bad. I was a great coffee well crafted (coffee art was there ;-) ) buy still not the perfect one. If you are near by and want a nice latte go ahead, have one, maybe you'll love it!

The second place of the day, recommended by my friend Chet was Red Rock Coffee in downtown Mountain View @ 201 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041. Great, great place. Up to now my favorite coffee in the bay.

Just got inside and was packed of people at 4:45pm (they were closing at 5:00 pm) on a Sunday, so by this you can guess that the quality of the place is great. Very cozy as well, a lot of people with their wireless devices plugged into the matrix, a lot of them talking and playing board games as well. Got to the cashier and asked for my latte on a cup (real plate and cup) with 2% milk as well. Same answer, "no 2% milk, sorry, but the barista will mix it for you". I'm telling you I think I'm using the wrong milk or something, but this no 2% milk is driving me crazy!!! ;-) . So I said yes, what the heck and just right there, just right there I glance at the industrial espresso machine... It was the same used by Intelligentsia, so I said to myself, this has to be good!!!

Great barista, latte well done, silky milk, no bubbles, coffee art as well, temperature on the spot, but... and there is always a but... they gave me the coffee on a cardboard cup... this really threw me off, I asked for a real cup, because that is they way I enjoy my coffee!!! Oh, man, Oh, man... silently mad, but with hope I grabbed my coffee and sat on one of the tables... very calmed, I started to sip my coffee and enjoy the smell and the beauty of it. To my happiness, the taste of the coffee was amazing, a very different flavor compared to Barefoot. I was able to forget and enjoy my latte, sitting on a warm cozy establishment.

By the end of the day, and just forgetting the 2% milk. I can tell you that this two places are great to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, great customer service and lovely atmosphere. Is not the perfect latte, I haven't found it yet, but the cool thing about it is that I'm still in the search for the perfect one.

Good latte!!!