[REVIEW] Caffé Crema Champions The Making Of Unparalleled Coffee With Passion

Tons of bustling cafes have been sprouting across the Klang Valley over the recent years à la Melbourne’s contemporary coffee culture, giving Malaysians the chance to experience coffee in a trendy way that simulates a social lubricant, especially amongst millennials and young working adults. With this, it often gets difficult to set apart an excellent cup of coffee from a cuppa that is average or below par.

There is no doubt that all sophisticated coffee drinkers have their own preferences as coffee is, after all, a very subjective and personal thing. Just like wine, coffee doesn’t only have body and bitterness. It can be fruity, nutty, chocolatey, earthy, and many other things. Coffee beans from every region are unique, and you just have to allow yourself to explore your palate.

For coffee connoisseurs who wish to adopt a take-no-prisoners approach to coffee, we’d suggest Caffé Crema, a boutique cafe that indulges all the fine points in the coffee-drinking experience unlike any other. Meeting the cafe’s founder, Elvin S, and learning about coffee was indeed an eye-opening experience. As the first establishment in Malaysia to use the Bialetti Moka pot to make its aromatic brew, Caffé Crema’s Elvin has a strong passion for coffee that shines through.

Elvin, who also brought us Japanese eateries like Bari-Uma and Kodawari Menya, believes in experimenting and trying out various coffees, characterising the different tastes and smells. He also trains his knowledgeable baristas from scratch and instills the same habit in them so that they discover their own love and expertise on top of just making coffee. Coffee art is important, but Elvin says that the number one mistake most baristas make is mastering coffee art before perfecting their basics of making the actual drink.

To identify whether a cafe serves good coffee, Elvin narrows it down to four main things: Premium coffee beans, a consistent grinder, a stable coffee machine, and skilled baristas. Even if the coffee beans are top notch, the slightest mistake, whether it be the way the coffee beans are processed, or the lack of skill from the barista, can screw up a good cuppa.

As a purveyor of the coffee drinking experience, Caffé Crema finds a balance to create a gourmet drink with a lingering finish. When asked about the the most popular coffee beans available, Elvin mentions that the Brazil Columbia blend, which has a nutty, chocolatey note, resonates very well with the Asian palate. According to the seasons and availability of the high grade coffee beans, the signature blend at Caffé Crema tends to change, but consists of similar tasting notes.

Upon visiting Caffé Crema, you’d also notice the absence of savoury brunches and that it only serves drinks as well as a handful of delectable homemade desserts. When asked about that, Elvin affirms us that he wanted his sole focus to be on his true priority, which is making excellent coffee and also, placing an equal spotlight on organic tea.

If you aren’t a coffee drinker, Caffé Crema also takes pride in offering customers a wholesome experience when you order tea. Not many cafes respect tea as much as they pay attention to coffee, and at Caffé Crema, the organic tea selection is served in a clear glass pot so that customers can watch the tea slowly secrete its flavours. The cafe also presents the tea with a timer to control the amount of time the tea is steeped, and also the temperature that could affect the flavours. After 6 minutes, the timer starts beeping and that is the recommended time to pour the tea into a cup to start savouring it.

On his favourite brews, Elvin points out the Piccolo and Flat White. Compared to a latte, the Piccolo has a stronger coffee taste and a different milk ratio. On the other hand, the Flat White has very tiny micro foam and also has a stronger coffee taste compared to a latte. He also loves black pour over coffee and earl grey tea, which, he says of the Caffé Crema version, has a strong bergamot flavouring. Mocha and hot chocolate is also popular, and consisting of dark chocolate as well as regular chocolate, you’ll get to taste the sweetness and pleasant bitterness of chocolate in every cup.

While enjoying my Signature Flat White and organic Green Mango Peach tea, we were served with the coffee and Nutella crepe cakes, which were delightful. Both the cakes were not overly sweet, not extremely creamy and was a light accompaniment to the delicious coffee and tea.

A final thing to note is that the baristas at Caffé Crema can also customise the drinks to the customers’ preferences. Some would like it more milky, and some others would prefer a more bitter or stronger cup of coffee. The baristas are trained to know exactly what the customers want in their cuppa, but would also suggest to them to try different things offered at the cafe.

With well stocked premium coffee beans, exquisite tea and a cosy, fuss-free setting, Caffé Crema is definitely the place to go to with some good company to enjoy some of life’s little pleasures and in this case, it’s indulging in unpretentious coffee, tea presented in its own unique way, and wonderful desserts. The affordable offerings at Caffé Crema range from RM7 to RM16.