Monday, January 22, 2007

eMocha Cafe

Location: 231 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose

Reviewed: January 22, 2007

Espresso: eMocha is a wholesale customer of Blue Bottle. All espressos are served as double ristretto, according to a sign on the counter. My shot was ~1.75oz., and so the claim is essentially true. The shot had lots of crema, which persisted throughout the cup. The crema was on the medium-pale side, although it was flecked with darker spots. The shot primarily had a smoky, bittersweet butterscotch flavour. It was however, very slightly on the sour side; it also seemed to lack a certain intensity that I've come to expect (although my experience with Blue Bottle coffees is admittedly somewhat limited). They've only been open for three months and freely admit to still being in the teething stage.

Atmosphere: eMocha is a very small shop, which effectively means it's pretty much a take-out only location. There are two tables inside and a couple more on the sidewalk.

Verdict: Not bad at all.

3 comments:

espressophile said...

I am informed by the staff that eMocha rotates through the various Blue Bottle espresso blends and that the barista on bar picks which one they want to pour. Selection is good: kudos!

Daniel said...

It's easy to miss this place as it lacks good signage. But their latte was excellent, the murals were very cool, and the music was right on the dot. If they would only put a couch (or cushioned benches) on each of the side walls, the place would be really rock'n.

Anonymous said...

eMocha is now known as Broken Door Espresso. Same staff, same supplier. They carry a fuller range of Blue Bottle beans, and experiment with them in the espresso machine. They (the guy) pull very good shots and make a mean gibraltar.
-Michael (mcuff)