Eat & Drink
Lacklustre Lattes?
Alright Toronto, what is up with your lattes lately? There has been a plummet in quality in the last few I've had. I'm not even setting the bar terribly high. I'm just looking for it to be warm, and for the milk to be nicely steamed. Tiny bubbles.
But there's a style of latte emerging in Toronto that I am not loving. It's not even a latte. It's best described as a warm(ish) milky(ish) coffee. These "lattes" (oh yeah, I'm whipping out the scare quotes) were so thin, that serving them with a spoon was an insult. "I defy you to try and use this."
The consistency of the milk hadn't even changed. It's like the steamer was busted and they thought we wouldn't notice. Being presented with these watery insults to the good name of lattes at places all over the city and in rapid succession, has me worried.
One was on the Danforth, one on West Queen West, and one around Yonge & Eglinton. I won't slander specific places (yet), but the West Queen West offender was a place that used to make consistently excellent lattes. Sadness is.
My latte consumption is pretty modest. I have two, maybe three a week. So when it's a dud, it smarts.
What's going on? Tired cooks at clubs slash brunch spots? A shortage of espresso-machine repairmen?
Is this a fluke, or are your lattes looking a little less luscious too? Where do you recommend for a guaranteed perfect cup?
Discussion
39 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
Why not save your cash and get a machine for yourself?
Can you enlighten me as to what a true latte recipe is?
I think you've made you point already. No need to continue to refer to it in completely unrelated posts over and over again.
<a href="http://nishith.net/blog/content/binary/LatteCappuccinoEspresso_1450E/miscCoffee_thumb2.jpg";>http://nishith.net/blog/content/binary/LatteCappuccinoEspresso_1450E/miscCoffee_thumb2.jpg<;/a>
http://blogto.com/toronto/the_best_cafes_in_toronto_east_side/
http://blogto.com/toronto/the_best_cafes_in_toronto_west_side/
what's lacking is good lattes/coffee in restaurants!
One of the dud lattes came from a place on those lists. Which is what made me sad. Because they used to be my favourite latte spot.
@nick d --
Excellent diagram, thanks.
@Sara --
See nick d's diagram. :)
Why not save your cash and get a machine for yourself?"
You can get an espresso machine that will give you pretty decent quality for about $400 to $500. Any less than that and you'll be seriously pushing your luck in terms of quality of your coffee and reliability of the machine. Ones that are good at frothing milk are a different story. Even expensive machines sometimes don't cut it.
Even if you get a good frother, it takes a lot of practice to be good at it.
If you want to do it yourself and don't mind a somewhat non-traditional method, I'd recommend a Nespresso Aeroccino. It's a stand alone milk frother that doesn't use steam and is about as easy and reliable as it gets. Makes a better froth than $5,000+ machines for $100. You just don't have the same control over it like you would with a steam wand.
I think most of the problem arises when they make a pail full of frothed milk (and do it poorly) and use it for all their drinks for longer than they really should. Those who get it after its freshly made might get a decent latte, but those who get it after its been sitting for a while just get a dose of warm milk.
(No, I don't work for Nespresso)
http://tinyurl.com/6z36by
Don't start wussing out on us now BTO!
One lousy latte does not make a trend, and I'm not going to single out a place that has made consistently excellent lattes for years because of one bad experience.
Feel free to notice my use of the word "yet".
I think that is a wise choice...Dare I mention having a break in general from
the latte scene..
Okay, maybe that was hasty...
Otherwise blogTO would be filled with all sorts of one-off articles from people who got a bad burrito last week or about the bad wait service they got at another resto. This sounds like you having a hissy fit because of two bad lattes (which hardly sounds like something is wrong with ALL of Toronto's lattes), but not having the nerve to single them out for fear that they might not serve you another one next time you go in.
If you're going to disturb the shit, don't just leave it on the door step and run. Wait until the door opens, whip it in the guy's face, and then walk away confidently.
Maybe not the best lattes in Toronto, but cheap and easily accessible! :)
There's nothing wrong with cheap drip. It's an honest drink. The problem with these crap lattes are that they are not cheap and not honest. They're pretentious for the sake of markup.
I know that Manic and Common both know what it is and make a goodie.
IMO Manic Coffee at College/Bathurst makes consistently fantastic coffee but I'm partial to Ella's Uncle on Dundas W too...
That's right: perfect.
This is a conversational Monday post about a run of bad lattes; it's not a definitive latte expose. Doesn't seem reasonable to get all bunched up about something the post isn't trying to be.
@all: Thanks for the excellent suggestions. A Barista -- Cortados sound delicious. Ryan L -- you've got me curious about Nespresso Aeroccinos (who you don't work for). :)