Va Bene Caffe, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas, USA

Two trips to the US in a month is a little startling. The first was work this one was all pleasure. A week long bachelor party in Las Vegas. Oh dear, what happened?

Whilst I was there and in between the sinning I tried to search out some great coffee. I have to admit my searches were pretty limited and those attempts I made were quite disappointing however I did find this one little gem right in my hotel.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel is relatively new on the strip. Modern, pretty luxurious and like all the big casinos it tries to provide you with every thing you need so you KEEP GAMBLING and don't need to leave, sleep etc. In my case this is a solid coffee bar.

Va Bene models itself as the name would suggestion on an Italian style coffee bar. They do a range of cakes, sandwiches and gelato on top of the standard hot and iced coffees. The sandwiches were very good, especially at 8 in the morning after no sleep and a quart of Makers Mark to soak up.

I knocked back an espresso here on our first night in town. It had lashings of thick crema, sharp clean bitterness and plenty of flavour. I was already out and about so I'm not reviewing it but it was good, strong and cost $4.50.

The staff were normally very cool and attentive till review time where they were a bit grouchy. Having said that they still delivered on some great coffee so I can't begrudge them too much.


This americano presented a plentiful aroma with some broad fruity notes. It was a dark looking coffee but not that oily and the crema was just a light flick across the surface. 

That fruity aroma followed through into the coffee taste and it was tightened further with some hints of cherry in the blend. After the initial fill that receded to a gentle pecan nuttiness. 


It was extremely, naturally sweet and along with the other tones mixing in the pallet would have nailed a pastry had I bought one as a side. 


It was smooth all the way through to the finish but a little weak overall. It was a shame they didn't serve a 6 ounce size which would have concentrated some of that flavour and given a bigger hit.

• Black Americano; take out
• $5.00 
• Weak to medium Strength
• Very sweet with fruity notes
• Light crema
• Size: Medium - 12 Oz.

Hands down the best coffee I had in all of Nevada. Great taste, smooth, sweet but could have been stronger.

Map
Va Bene
@Cosmopolitan_LV

Seattle Coffee Works, Seattle, USA - Part 2

Did I say how nice the people were at Seattle Coffee Works? Well they were super nice and after chatting them for a while and explaining a bit about the blog and my love of the old black stuff another coffee suddenly materialised.

It was the very last cup made from their Guatemalan beans. This was the end of it and they were generously giving it to us. 


Now I'm not actually a huge fan of Guatemalan coffee's and I often find them too tart for my liking but one can't turn down a free cup of joe. So here is a mini review of this coffee. 

The Guatemalan came as a black Americano and had a good layer of crema on it. The aroma hinted of acidity. It gave the front of the pallet plenty of bosh, hitting hard and drawing my tongue and lips tight over my upper teeth. 


There was clearly lemon and other citrus notes going on, perhaps a little cherry. But the acidity was well balanced and the great thing was that it pulled back from being too sour just at the right time. 


The tartness on the way down met in ascension the coffee's sweetness and was then joined by the lingering flavour of spring flowers. It was quite simply a lovely coffee and won me over to this type of bean. 

• Black Americano, drink in
• (free) $2.50?
• Medium
• Tart fruits and sweetness
• Fine crema
• Size: Small 6oz
• Beans:  Guatemalan 

A classic and great introductory Guatemalan bringing fruity sour notes, sweetness and petals.

Map
Twitter: @Drinkingman
Blog: http://blog.seattlecoffeeworks.com/
http://www.seattlecoffeeworks.com/
Contact : service@seattlecoffeeworks.com

Seattle Coffee Works, Seattle, USA - Part 1

I was lucky enough to go to Seattle for a work trip. Home of the great Satan of coffee "Starbucks" it is also a city of coffee lovers. Tapping my Seattle contacts for information I was told the one place I had to visit was the Seattle Coffee Works.

We got off the plane, rented our ridiculous SUV and drove straight to down town Seattle to find this place before it closed. We didn't have long but it was pretty clear I was going to cry if we didn't make it and so we did. In the end it was extremely easy to find on Pike Street thanks to a bloody enormous sign of a man drinking joe.

It is a large place broken into two main parts, the cafe area and the slow bar. It was too late to sample some of their chemistry set looking drip devices so instead we went for a normal round, me with my Americano.

The shop decor is bare brick walls with light wood furniture giving it an airy relaxed vibe. When we visited it was close to closing so there were not many people in but due to the layout one imagines that it still keeps the relaxed pace even when full.

One of the baristas who introduced herself to us as the "Guvnor" had a good old chat about their place and what they had on offer, we talked about the blog and coffee in general. They were all very friendly which was a great way to start our trip.

This photo is obviously not her but this is our barrista. He was ace but I forgot his name. Sorry.

Their espresso blend is quite a melting pot. Made up of mainly Brazilian, and some Indonesian (I think Sulawesi) and then with a touch of something from India and a little Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. 

When the coffee came it had a great sheen of oil and a good long lasting aroma but what was most striking was how black it was in colour.


The flavour was really broad and deep without being too strong. It was incredibly smooth and filled my mouth with a wonderful playful nuttiness with hints of sweetness. 


The deep flavour had a great chewy quality with low acidity and no bitterness and no fuzz on the finish. 

• Black Americano, drink in
• $2.50
• Medium
• Smooth and nutty
• Light crema
• Size: Small 6oz. 
• Beans: Seattle Coffee Works Espresso Blend

Superb coffee expertly made that is very drinkable yet with a full set of flavours, depth and complexity. 


Map
Twitter: @Drinkingman
http://www.seattlecoffeeworks.com/
Blog: http://blog.seattlecoffeeworks.com/
Contact : service@seattlecoffeeworks.com