Sunday, December 11, 2005

Cafe Aragon

Location: 856 N. 13th St., San Jose

Reviewed: December 11, 2005

Espresso: Aragon is a wholesale customer of Barefoot Coffee Roasters and uses their Element 114 blend. At Aragon, my shot was pulled longer than I'm used to (a single reached nearly 2oz.). As a result of this, the crema was paler than it should have been, and the heavy body for which this blend is known was somewhat reduced. Nonetheless, the shot was not bitter. The barista did things right, preheating the cup, pouring directly into it, and grinding the shot individually. The single shot shouldn't have been served in a cappuccino-sized cup, however.

Atmosphere: Aragon is a very large shop, but other than a nice tile floor, it made little impression on me. Parking is difficult on the street, and it took me a little while to realize that there is a lot behind the shop.

Verdict: Worth a stop if you're in the North SJ area; alternately, if you like lungos, this could be your place.

1 comment:

espressophile said...

Major changes afoot here as of Nov. 6, 2006. The shop has diminished greatly in size (what used to be the other half has been walled off and now houses an insurance office). They also now are brewing with some superauto machine. It produced a suprisingly ok shot of proper volume and decent, medium-brown crema. A properly-sized cup was preheated. They're still using Barefoot beans.