Wednesday, February 20, 2013

CC: Crema Coffee Roaster



Subject: Crema Coffee Roaster
Location: Cary, NC
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]


One early AM, I found myself wandering amidst the area around Raleigh looking for a small coffee operation entitled Crema Coffee Roaster. They had made my list of places in the area to visit and one dreary morning, I found them situated in the Cornerstone Plaza in an elevated shop.

Walking through the door, the first thing I noticed were the many eyes of tribal masks staring at me from the wall. But after the initial feeling of being watched faded, I began to take in the pleasant ambiance of the tan walls, rich tile floors and the figurative warmth from the fireplace (I say figurative because I think fireplaces whether empty or full of fire give off a subconscious warmth). 

As for my coffee chosen, I settled on a drip of their Indonesian Sulawesi and an espresso of their Espresso Blend. The drip held notes of maple syrup, strawberry, black currant, whole wheat and mild caramel, proving overall deliciously smooth, sweet and tender. The espresso, pulled short with brown crema, embodied notes of chocolate, black pepper, salt, mango (mostly on the end) and a noticeable sourness throughout the cup, though despite the flavors named, together the espresso proved tasty for the most part.

While I wasn't in love with my espresso, I found the overall Crema experience quite fitting. Thus if you happen to be in the vicinity, stop over at Crema Coffee Roaster.

4 comments:

AdamB315 said...

interesting, I had the exact opposite experiance here a few months ago. I didnt get a pull off the espresso machine, but I did sample their Yirgacheffe off French Press and it was flat, dull, bland, and scorched, probably one of the worst cups Ive had from a cafe hyping themself as "specialty". To top it off the owner was extremely rude to both my wife and I, and started an arguement with us infront of her other patrons. Crema was a one and done for me, terrible experiance.

AdamB315 said...

http://www.yelp.com/biz/crema-coffee-roaster-and-espresso-bar-cary#hrid:B_ERWjIDAEILGXW7ZZ60HA/src:self

i bitched on Yelp about it when it was a little fresher in mind, if you're interested.

Bill said...

Adam,

Yeah, I definitely didn't have that experience. Tis the burden I often incur of only going once, as you sometimes catch people on an off day. I can say I've heard good from others but also a few bad, such as yours. I can only hope that they continue to refine.

Bill

AdamB315 said...

We'll see. I actually had several people that read what I wrote up on Yelp telling me they had the same experience.