Have to belie the name of my blog and state that, for today, everything is good enough, and more than! This of course includes the daily coffee event. The daily coffee was had from Spice cafe in Oneroa – where else really? And today the barista gal got the latte, well, more than “very good”, it was damn near perfect! Was my judgement skewed because: a) the sun was shining; b) I’m not at work, but at home on Wonderful Waiheke; and c) the view, as I supped my takeaway latte, out over Oneroa Bay to the Moehau range of Coromandel, was sublime? Possibly.
But that latte was good and hot – Yay! – strong and full of flavour, and seemed to have a pretty good foamy crema. I lifted the lid of the cup for a peek, and you could have said there was a little too much foam, but only minimally, and I didn’t have to slurp through several centimeters of it to get a burst of hot coffee. So, it was a “very, very good” latte, and hats off to Spice yet again, and of course the Monday gal. Must get her name and give her an honourable mention. By the way, in my present state of contentment and pleasure, and in the interests of accuracy, I have to retract what I wrote about Spice’s latte glasses being a little small. Checked again today, and the size looks okay – one glass tumbler probably holds as much as the latte takeaway cup. Apologies, Spice.
As well, my Monday has been made pretty much perfect by a fat refund cheque from the IRD! I knew it was in the pipeline, but wasn’t going to believe it hadn’t been an awful mistake (and I’d end up owing them same) until I had a fat cheque in my hand. Well, I’ve had it in hand, and now it’s in bank. Thanks IRD for returning my money, and praise the Goddess!
Now, where was I in my “just not good enough lattes” rant? Oh yes, naming and shaming. Here we go. Bad latte experience recently at OhSo cafe in Crummer Road, Grey Lynn. Asked for a bowl, having noted that the glasses looked smallish. Made a point of saying I’d like it strong. Was served a suspiciously too-milky-looking bowl, but with reassuring coffee stain throughout the foam. There was a little too much foam, but I pressed on, and …… heart started sinking. You know, I really hate having to complain, ask for something to be put right. I’d so much rather everything be okay, the coffee good, me enjoying it, everyone happy. But damn it, this was my one coffee for the day, I’d paid extra to get the bowl size, and coffee don’t come cheap these days. So, I approached the counter, and said that it seemed very weak …… I didn’t get the long-suffering look, but neither did I get any warm reassurance that they’d do their best for me. (Get real, woman). And I got another bowl of latte, which was …… exactly the same as the first. Well, damn it, I drank it. Had no time that day to go hunting up another, and I’d spent my dollars. I thought there was probably enough caffeine in it to keep my withdrawals at bay. But, that was a “very bad” latte, and another cafe off my list. I have to say – “OhSo? Sorry, OhNo!”