Friday, June 5, 2009
Coffee Filter Major Tom Kai
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 3:11 PM
If you know me or used to read me over at The Dry Spot, you know I have no difficulty revealing my embarrassing foibles. Today's admission is that I can't make coffee worth a crap.
I know it's probably a total mental block combined with a lazy reliance upon my girlfriend's talents in the home barista department, but if she's out of town like she is now I am forced to venture out for my daily caffeine fix. Otherwise I'm just as likely to fix a cup of Joe so thick that the spoon stands up in it as I am a tepid demitasse of brackish water that looks like I've dipped a brown Crayola in it.
So venture out I did to my personal favorite refueling station, Crema on Hermitage Avenue. Owner Rachel Lehman won my ongoing devotion by offering free coffee to cyclo-commuters on "Bike to Work Day" last month. It so happened that day I was already jacked up on the free java that had been offered to the group as we gathered at the Schermerhorn for Mayor Dean's greeting, but I made it a point to drop in as I pedaled by to thank her for the generosity.
That's when I saw the sign for her new summer drinks and decided then and there, "Cafe Tom Kai, you will be mine. And soon."
I'm fairly crazy about Thai food. Spicy Tofu Pad Ke Mao pretty much dragged me through the meatless wasteland of Lent this year, and I have the empty Rolaids bottle to prove it. The idea of combining French Roast with Thai spice intrigued me.
Rachel admitted that it wasn't truly a Thai recipe. Rather, Cafe Tom Kai is a concoction from the imagination laboratory of the Crema staff that was named as part of a customer contest. The menu describes it as "a layered drink." When I inquired whether that effect would be spoiled by a to-go cup, I discovered that I was being too literal. The layers are instead the taste signatures that appealingly dance across your tongue. In this age of ubiquitous iced coffee crappucino fast food offerings, the Cafe Tom Kai is an original.
When it's good, Thai food is never easy, and vice-versa. A good dish should challenge your palate with sweet and sour and hot and spicy and savory. This coffee is just such an experience. Start with two well-pulled shots of espresso to ensure the buzz factor and add coconut milk. The slightly curdled sourness was not unpleasant but definitely foreign. The special cardamom simple syrup contributed a wintry spice aroma and a hint of ginger-like heat. This is in contrast to my other favorite cuppa Crema, the rich chocolate peppery Mayan Hot Cocoa which has me yearning to flip my calendar to football season.
But until then, we should embrace the coming of summer. A cool cup of creativity from Crema should do the trick nicely.
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