Cafe con Leche?

[madscientist01.livejournal.com]

I saw a similar post on chowhound, but I thought I'd ask locally: Does anyone know a good place to get cafe con leche around these parts? I haven't had any since I've been back from Spain, and I really miss it! American coffee just won't do, and Starbucks isn't the same either.

Thanks!

Comments

[cityofbeige.livejournal.com]

When I had cafe con leche in Spain, it seemed like it was espresso with warmed milk/cream... basically not that much different than a latte. The problem with Starbucks is they tend to overcook their beans to the point of burning them, thus making them bitter. On top of that, they tend to dump a lot of sugar/syrup in quite a few of their drinks to overcome the bitterness.

"Mom & pop" type coffee houses have less of a chance of not overcooking the beans, but quality will vary from place to place. Unfortunately, I'm not as much of a coffee fiend as I used to be, and being that I moved here two years ago, I haven't looked around much for a decent coffee house.

[madscientist01.livejournal.com]

Thanks for articulating that...I have found it hard to qualify the difference between what I find in starbucks vs. cafe con leche. It seems that when you get a latte (for example) at starbucks, the coffee is very bitter tasting and not as strong as I remember cafe con leche, even when I get the non-advertised "short" size. Maybe I just need to find a place that makes better espresso!

[moria923.livejournal.com]

I take it you're saying they overcook the beans in the *roasting* process? Thanks for the analysis!