The Mallorca report 2011

Is it actually possible to find a good shot?

Moderators: GreenBean, Gouezeri, bruceb, CakeBoy

The Mallorca report 2011

Postby bruceb » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:08 pm

Once again, for the third year in a row, Karin and I joined our friends for a holiday on the island of Mallorca. I am delighted to report that the quality of coffee there is improving quickly and that it is well possible to get an enjoyable espresso in a number of towns both in the north and south. We always avoid the party beach regions of the south west so I can't say much about that area, but we did visit much of the rest of the island and enjoyed a few good cups here and there. We are not talking Seattle, Portland or London here and you will get a confused stare in most places if you ask for a flat white, but we're talking here about well-prepared espresso from relatively fresh beans and properly frothed milk in cappuccinos.

There is a chain called Cappuccino, btw. They have improved immensely and I had a very good double at their café in front of the yacht club in Colònia St. Jordi near the southern tip of the island.

My favourite hangout was the Santany hotel in the far south-eastern part of the isalnd. They serve freshly roasted coffee from a small roaster called Salar in Palma. They seem to only have one blend, but it is very well balanced and very clean and was wonderfully fresh with a distinct flavour of almonds. The hotel courtyard is marvelously relaxed, decorated with hundreds of fresh oranges, and the (mostly German) staff are very friendly and courteous.

In Palma near the Plaza Major there is a truly excellent little café on C. Bosseria called the Aroma Cafe. The coffee is a probably the best on the island and the biscuits, pastries and sweets they serve are to die for.

As an aside, I celebrated my 70th birthday on the finca belonging to Germany's most well-known rock star, Peter Maffay. It just so happened that my birthday coincided with the day Peter and Tanja Maffay open their doors to fans and Karin and I drove up to Pollenca in the far north of the island and spent the day there. The Maffays run an organisation to support disadvantaged and traumatised children and keep it running with much of their own money. He is a very soft-spoken and eloquent man and both he and his wife seem very kind and uncomplicated. I enjoyed seeing them. Unfortunately, it rained cats and dogs the whole day there and we were soaked through when we got back to our little Smart to drive back to our apartment in the south, but it seemed worth it. I'm not especially a fan of Peter's music (I am very suspicious of any music later than that of J.S. Bach including the so-called music of that young upstart named Mozart), but that's secondary, in any case.

There are two cafés near the central market place in Artà in the eastern most part of the island. They both serve very good coffee and I'm sorry I can't remember either of their names, but they are the only two cafés there so it won't be hard to find them. They also serve excellent iced coffee drinks (The temperature was 28°C when we were there).

We also had some good coffees in Manacor, Portocristo and Cala d'Or.

All-in-all I would say that the quality of coffee on Mallorca has improved many times over these last three years. I'm already looking forward to next year's experiences. :D
Three Francesconi (CMA) espresso machines - Rossi, San Marco, LaCimbali, Faema and 2 Mazzer Major grinders- CoffeeTech Maggionlino, Hottop, Alpenröst and HW Precision roasters.
I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
Image
User avatar
bruceb
 
Posts: 5361
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: Northern Hesse, Germany

Postby GreenBean » Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:29 pm

Sounds like a great way to celebrate your birthday Bruce, a belated Happy Birthday to you.

    Image

It is good to hear that the standard of coffee is improving in Mallorca. Thank you for taking the time to document your experiences.
Image

Izzo Alex Duetto | Gaggia XD 2 Group | Mazzer Super Jolly | La Cimbali Max | Solis 166 | Dalian 1 kg roaster | Hottop P | Hottop B | French Press (several) | Kettle modded, no really, added digital thermometer |
User avatar
GreenBean
 
Posts: 2215
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:15 pm
Location: Chester

Postby lukas » Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:53 am

Happy Birthday Bruce!
Lukas

This week I like my coffee luke-warm.
--
Newest kit: Ghibli R-15
User avatar
lukas
 
Posts: 2798
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:41 pm
Location: Germany

Postby Aadje » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:00 pm

Congrats, I wish you many years to come!
Bits 'n' pieces . . .

This week I am mainly saying hello to old friends
User avatar
Aadje
 
Posts: 3363
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:21 pm
Location: Dubai

Postby bruceb » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:34 pm

Thanks GreenBean, Lukas and Aadje! I guess growing old is still better than the alternative. Image
Three Francesconi (CMA) espresso machines - Rossi, San Marco, LaCimbali, Faema and 2 Mazzer Major grinders- CoffeeTech Maggionlino, Hottop, Alpenröst and HW Precision roasters.
I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
Image
User avatar
bruceb
 
Posts: 5361
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: Northern Hesse, Germany

Postby icke » Wed Oct 19, 2011 4:27 pm

Congrats!!!

Und es war Sommer - Brrrrr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aQFIIRl1R0 :shock:
Black KvdW Speedster / Arrarex Caravel / Elektra Nino / Vario / Huky 500 / and a bunch of less frequently used things...
LMWDP #386
User avatar
icke
 
Posts: 315
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:05 am
Location: Nice, France

Postby CakeBoy » Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:44 pm

A belated many happy returns Bruce, it sounds as though you had a great time :) It is interesting to hear that at least in parts of Spain the coffee is improving. I have now quite old memories of varied quality coffee often saved by the clearly large volume of throughput and therefore relative freshness. Just occasionally somewhere would really hit the sweet spot, though cafr con leche could ean anything from a cappuccino sized beverage to a fairly large glass with sterilised milk. Just about all were drinkable though even if they resembled no known coffee style :)
www.CakeBoy.co.uk
International muffin blagger

Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
Aerobie | eSantos | Zassenhaus | Bodum P/Over | Chemex | Hario Woodneck | Timer Filter
User avatar
CakeBoy
 
Posts: 10006
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:43 pm
Location: Oxfordshire, England

Postby Aadje » Fri Oct 28, 2011 6:39 am

You know, the first reason I heard from Peter Maffay is from the song Nessaja, because I was looking were Scooter had the sample from :oops:
Bits 'n' pieces . . .

This week I am mainly saying hello to old friends
User avatar
Aadje
 
Posts: 3363
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:21 pm
Location: Dubai


Return to Places to drink coffee

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 28 guests