Dilettante's now sells coffee
Dec. 1st, 2007 08:13 amDilettante's is one of those Seattle experiences that the locals rarely share with visitors from out of state. It's our little secret: the finest dessert shop in the city is hidden in a strip mall wedged between a pizza joint and a shop that sells Hindu knicknacks and smokes. The interior is dark, the furniture shabby, the wall decorations some kind of cheap goth arrangement, and yet their dessertiers make the best cheesecakes, the most delicate tirimasus, and the finest genaches this city has ever seen.
They have a recipie that calls for a shot of espresso, two shots of their genache gently melted, and a shot of peppermint schnapps, and four ounces of warm milk. They've recently begun branching out, trying other things, and so they've decided to bag and sell their own brand of coffee. I bought their Romanov's Blend, a silvery bag with a picture of the Tsar on it, their "Bold!" and "Smooth!" dark French roast according to the label.
Unfortunately, it's nothing to write about. Okay, here's the jist. I made coffee the way I always do: in a gold filter just like it was tea. I use a blade grinder from whole beans, and I steep it for a little over three minutes.
Opening the bag, my first impression was that the beans were dry. The oils that I've come to expect from high-quality coffees were just not there. The coffee had very little smell to it. The beans shattered too readily in the grinder, which tells me that they weren't bagged fast enough after roasting.
The taste is unremarkable. Oh, it's not bad, we're not talking 1970s levels of bitterness and staleness, but it's kinda weak, kinda flat. There's no extra to it, no care, no special aroma or extra tastes. You'd think that Dilettante's, a place that's absolutely devoted to getting good couverture, would put as much care into putting its name on a decent brand of coffee.
It's drinkable, but nothing more than that. Even Starbucks achieves a standout product with its double roasting and quick bagging (although the double roasting leaves a flavor that many people don't like). Dilettante's hasn't done that, and I'm disappointed.
They have a recipie that calls for a shot of espresso, two shots of their genache gently melted, and a shot of peppermint schnapps, and four ounces of warm milk. They've recently begun branching out, trying other things, and so they've decided to bag and sell their own brand of coffee. I bought their Romanov's Blend, a silvery bag with a picture of the Tsar on it, their "Bold!" and "Smooth!" dark French roast according to the label.
Unfortunately, it's nothing to write about. Okay, here's the jist. I made coffee the way I always do: in a gold filter just like it was tea. I use a blade grinder from whole beans, and I steep it for a little over three minutes.
Opening the bag, my first impression was that the beans were dry. The oils that I've come to expect from high-quality coffees were just not there. The coffee had very little smell to it. The beans shattered too readily in the grinder, which tells me that they weren't bagged fast enough after roasting.
The taste is unremarkable. Oh, it's not bad, we're not talking 1970s levels of bitterness and staleness, but it's kinda weak, kinda flat. There's no extra to it, no care, no special aroma or extra tastes. You'd think that Dilettante's, a place that's absolutely devoted to getting good couverture, would put as much care into putting its name on a decent brand of coffee.
It's drinkable, but nothing more than that. Even Starbucks achieves a standout product with its double roasting and quick bagging (although the double roasting leaves a flavor that many people don't like). Dilettante's hasn't done that, and I'm disappointed.
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