Espresso Joints: Smitten

They just keep sprouting up everywhere...enthusiastic, espresso loving, these new generation of cafe owners are young, energetic, and committed to provide good espresso and nuture the espresso culture. Today's feature is yet another of these new upstarts...aptly named Smitten...this place is run by husband and wife team of Darren Chang and Hong Yuan.



The alchemist elf...running away with his potent brew...so it seems...the place is neat. With a huge roaster at the front of the store...Roasting day is Tuesdays, when they are closed.



The brewing machine is from Kees van der Westen's Mirage Idrocompresso...a 3 group machine...which is lever operated! Beautiful machine.



The owner Darren Chang...beaming...well almost...this young fellow was in the navy defending our shores before venturing into the cafe business...



Pulling my espresso...each pull is 60ml of water through the pistons...



a bit too much even for a triple espresso...so Darren watches the pull for blonding...and when it starts to blond, he pulls the cup, allowing the rest of the brew to drain.

The result..



The house blend. The mouthfeel is rather good...bold, viscous. On the palate, the taste is a bit mild, but with a nice finish. The acids were mellow, just detectable to lift the brasil based beans a touch.

The picolo latte is a bit large:



Lionel who had the latte declared that the milk was a bit too much, masking the taste of the espresso. Darren offered an explaination that the glass was a bit too large, resulting in having too much milk to fill it. He will be changing the glass soon...similar to the ones used by Papa Palheta...which I think is the best picolo latte I have tasted. Just enough milk to round the edges of the espresso, but not so much as to mask it.

Darren's latte art is quite good too...


Smitten
60 Robertson Quay
#01-11 The Quayside
darren@smittencafe.com.sg