On my most recent visit to New York City, one the most definitive realizations I came to about high quality espresso bars is that at any given time, a coffee shop is only as good as the barista on duty.
What I noticed as I visited various shops around the city was that I wasn't always having great espresso experiences. The consistency just wasn't there. Often I found that I could taste that the coffee was exceptional, the espresso roast was top-notch, but the barista did not always produce a prefect beverage.
For the record, my drink is a macchiato, and I've grown to expect and desire certain things in a good macchiato. The flavor profile comes first, and this was almost always to be expected in the NYC shops, but the most common detractor—and the secret to a good macchiato (or cappuccino, or cortado, or latte) I believe—is the mouth-feel. This is delivered from the preparation of the milk, and the hand of the barista.
Texture is so important in good espresso; it the difference between good and great. The qualities I look for are thickness, and smoothness. I can't tell you how many thin, watery macchiatos I've gotten. The crema should persist all the way to the last sip. And when the froth separates from the coffee, it's all over.
Surprisingly, I had only one heavenly macchiato experience that accomplished all this: Joe: Art of Coffee near Union Square. And to be fair, almost all the coffee I had was excellent, I just had rather high expectations.
I look foward to bringing my own barista hands to the city to see what brews.
