Some coffee shops might try to wow customers with fancy, complicated drinks. But Anni Caporuscio offered up a classic cappuccino to showcase Small Town Coffee Co.’s quality.
It was simple, elegant. Practically perfect in every way.
Barista Gloria Gilmer poured the shots and Caporuscio, the Kapaa coffee shop’s co-owner as well as an award-winning barista, and created the latte art. The foamy rosette was a delightful topper for the smooth, full-bodied cappuccino.
“It tastes good, so it should be pretty as well,” Caporuscio said.
Pretty it was, and as easy on the tongue as it was on the eyes. There was absolutely no need for additional sweetening.
“A cappuccino ($3.75) should not be bitter or harsh,” Caporuscio said. “When you steam it properly, it brings out the natural sweetness of the milk.”
Certain corporate coffee conglomerates (that shall remain unnamed) covers up the bitterness of their beans by overloading the coffee drinks with syrups and powders, Caporuscio complained.
Small Town Coffee uses only fair trade, organic and artisanally roasted coffee, and the baristas are carefully trained in the science as well as art of coffee making. That creates a mild, naturally sweet drink “without all the diabetes,” Caporuscio said.
“But if you choose diabetes, we make our own syrups!” she quipped, pointing to the vanilla, chocolate and almond syrups.
Small Town Coffee isn’t machine-based coffee,” Caporuscio said.
The baristas learn to make adjustments when the weather changes, since humidity affects the milk and beans and how they interact. That’s in addition to paying attention to a slew of other factors, such as bean handling, grinding, tamping … the list goes on.
As Caporuscio declared: “We like to say we calibrate the people, not the equipment.”
