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New espresso café in Montreal

A new cafe named Caffe Art Java - opened in Montreal yesterday. It is one of the only places in town paying any serious attention to espresso (as far as I know) and the first I'm aware of doing latte art on a regular basis.

I went to a nearby restaurant for dinner, and then went by the cafe afterwards. The owner (or one of them?), Spiro, was there, and I ended up chatting with him for quite a while.

Spiro, as it turned out, had gone to the 2005 SCAA show in Seattle, and he shared some stories about working with (Canadian Barista Champ) Sammy Piccolo on his signature drink for the WBC competition.

I first had a straight espresso that I found well-rounded and full of flavor. I'm the anti-Jim Schulman when it comes to palate and description, but I think I have a handle on "sour" and "bitter," and this espresso was neither. It was 1.5 oz max, and they're all triples, apparently. The beans are Gimme! Coffee's "Leftist" espresso blend, which, coincidentally, I had tried for the first time this past weekend at a Gimme! location in Trumansburg, NY.

The cafe seems to be doing a lot right so far. They just had Gimme!'s barista / trainer, Chris Deferio in town this weekend, training their staff. The place is very spiffy, their machine is a brand new 4-group Marzocco FB70, and their grinders are Mazzers (a Major and a SJ doing decaf, I believe).

Later I decided to have my preferred drink, a double shot (ok, triple) with about 3 oz. of milk. I asked the barista "could I have an espresso with about 3 ounces of milk please?" to which she replied "if it's espresso there's no milk in it." Sigh. We mutually decided I should have ordered a macchiato - a term I generally avoid since its definition varies so widely as to make it crap-shoot to mention... Anyway, the macchiato was very good, and even came with a little heart on it. Chris really has got them doing the pourable micro-foam excellently.

One odd thing was that after owner Spiro had mentioned Sammy Piccolo, the WBC, Chris Deferio, latte art training, 203F for Gimme!'s "Leftist", never using coffee more than ten days out the roaster etc., he mentioned that they were always aiming for the perfect "seven second shot." I did a polite inquiry as to WTF he meant, and I never did get any clarification. He really seemed to think the shots should pour in seven seconds. I said something like "hmmm. That's interesting, I've never heard of anyone recommending anything less than fiteen to twenty seconds a minimum. Oh well." and then I dropped it. Maybe I'll try to straighten that out on my next visit.

In any case, he's the one calling the shots, not pulling them, and so far (48 hours after opening, granted) I'd have to say he's done things wonderfully well. The coffee tastes great, and the place looks tres (very) Montreal-chic. It will be interesting to see how they handle things as time goes on, burrs wear, and thermostats get more hysterical.

I wish Spiro and his crew much success, and encourage any and all alties within striking distance of Montreal to come ogle their Marzocco and try their coffee.

- Owen
(who has now seen exactly *two* Marzoccos in Montreal, the other being chez Mrs. Egan's basement...)

oh yeah:

CAFFÈ ARTJAVA
837 Mount-Royal E.
514-527-9990
http://www.caffeartjava.com