How is cappuccino prepared?

Today I was asked a question I haven't heard for a long long time. And hoped I would never hear it again, but... I did. The question was: How would you like your cappuccino - with espresso or not? I was shocked and remembered the times when the market (including all cafes and bars) was flooded with those instant cappuccino drinks with different flavour - nuts, vanilla, etc.

They lacked any taste, but had great ad tools promoting them all around the city and even on the same table where they've been served to the innocent clients.

And then, during that dark period, I had to ask every time if the cappuccino is prepared with espresso and milk or poured out of a plastic package... it has become a habit for few years, and now that I've forgotten about it (as obviously enough clients have shown some taste for life and quality by boycotting those artificial things), now I was asked the same question in a neighbouhood patisserie which otherwiseI like for my Sunday brunch coffee with or without friends. Hope it will not happen soon again, or I will be seriously worried about the future of coffee lovers in Sofia.
For soothing their souls' pain, I publish here pictures of cappuccino and coffee with milk prepared in a nice way - according to my standards, of course ;-)

Le Pettit Cafe - a tiny French place in Sofia

This morning, still sleepy on my way to the office, I was dragged to a secret silent place in the heart of Sofia - on Patriarch Evtimii Blvd, near Dunkin' Popa.
Called artistically 'Le Pettit Cafe', this cafe is so tiny, elegant and so perfectly designed and maintained that I couldn't go with my usual grumbling about service, chairs, mug size, milk, etc. and kept my mouth shut. The girl behind the counter was very friendly, she even closed the door and stopped the freezing morning air from spoiling our little 'siesta' with a cup of coffee with milk and croissants.
Let me tell you about the coffee - see, I'm back to the purpose of that blog from time to time ;-)
The coffee was of some Arabica type that smooths the tongue and is strong but mild at the same time. The only thing I didn't like was the small cup ... I dislike small cups and espresso served the so called 'Italian way' - literally 2 sips able to awake a bull. The croissant was great! even better than those sold at OMV, which I adore.
As my little new discovery doesn't have any website or other promotion tool online, I will try to attract you to its products - puffy fresh cakes, biscuits in jars and organic tea. And great atmosphere - furniture in 'French province'-type style, in white and dark wood colours, and music - also French, and the white cupboard here.

Cosy is the word! I'll go again to sit at one of the three tables in the room ;-)

P.S. Oh, and no smoking there - welcome non-smokers and mothers with young children!

'Behind every successful woman there is a substantial amount of coffee' :-)

This very true and funny quote (by somebody I don't remember) is written on the wall of CoffeeHeaven on Shishman Str. Would have taken a photo of it, but was afraid that in such a small space it would look very suspicious to the staff. Anyway, I liked it!
It is a shame the coffee store itself or even the chain does not have a website with pictures showing their cafes and design solution. Found only this website.

But while searhcing for it, I found this very exhausting article on coffee shops in BG - targeted at first time visitors, I guess But it was curious for me as well to check how our country looks in the eyes of the foreigner. I like the first phrase - Bulgaria is a nation of coffee drinkers :-)

Choices sometimes lead to wine

I know I started the blog with the intention to write about coffee experiences, but see - human nature is so weak... With the temperatures going down I started thinking more and more about warmth and things that could bring it to me. And here we go - the classic: a glass of red wine :-)
After careful research in a magazine and three stores, I found two very interesting bottles.

Here is the first one - Sangiovese& Merlot by Telish, accompanied by my dinner the other day. The bottle survived for only two evenings - delicious wine! For those of you who know about wine as much as I do, which means: 'almost nothing' - Sangiovese is the basis for the famous Chianti wines, comes from Tuscany. To Bulgaria? Interesting :-)
The other is this one.
The first Bulgarian bio wine, as the label of Terra Tangra says. It has won a gold medal at some world exhibition for bio food products, but obviously my taste for wine does not concur with that of the judges there... I prefer the Sangiovese one!

Next time - more on coffee! Promise ;-)

O'cafe - design and relax

After the yoga class on Saturday morning I always feel sleepy, so I need a warm cup of nice coffee to refresh and continue the day in good spirit. Usually it is the OMV nearby the yoga club which ensures me the refreshment. I like the coffee type they use at OMV, don't know which brand it is but it's good to me.

Still, today I decided to go and check the new cafe near our flat. It has been promoted at a magazine recently and that is how I heard about it. Called O'cafe it is located in the neighbourhood next to ours - a site which has been a plain field only 3-4 years ago. Now - a true result of the building boom in Bulgaria in the last years- it is an overbuilt quarter, with new apartment buildings and newly made streets, some still under construction. And somebody has dared to 'socialise' this place. And done it in the nice way!
A cozy place in white, with attention to detail and service, the place offers dishes, coffee and cocktails -shortly said, everything to satisfy the needs of the population of this newly built part of the Vitosha neighbourhood. Surprisingl, not crowded at all. To be honest, there were very few people inside. Don't know the reason, prices are not low at all, but not much higher than in any other elegant place in the city. My cappuccino was 2,90lv but served in a biiiiiig mug with a unique design plate and spoon, with a mini chocolate bar and a warm smile. Check here how the spoon is meant to be hung on the edge of the mug - at the O'cafe :-)
P.S. The outdoor part (which is partly visible on the second picture) is nice and has children facilities. But - normal for Sofia - it overlooks a street under construction so the view towards the inside of the cafe is much better that the view to the street.

A cold, cold autumn day

Left the office early today - thank God for the thing called part-time job! - and hurried to the street to have a fast lunch somewhere along Graf Ignatiev Street and then thought I could use the afternoon for finishing some small errands.
I had to bring my new ear-ring to a gallery and ask the designer to make a second one for me so that I could restore the pair of great ear-rings that I received for my birthday from a friend. But....plans are only plans if you don't put yourself into action.
After I had my 'banichka' lunch and had my stomach partly satisfied, I finally felt what the weather was, namely - COLD. and ran towards the underground and took the train there and sat in the warm wagon, thinking 'how the hell will I get home' - an action which requires 25 min of walking. When I finally got home, I immediately prepared the coffee machine, switched it on, and in only 3 min I had my perfect coffee with milk (Jacobs - red package) in my favourite cup and then, surprise! - I felt so sleepythat I'm even afraid to tell you... the story ends here with me having a nap on the couch in this autumn afternoon, rain falling outside.

P.S. While trying to find the link the coffee image, I found even a better thing - a web portal on coffee in Bulgaria, great:-)

Coffee among Americans while waiting for a Chinese music show

On Friday, all of a sudden we decided - together with sis - to go to this dance and music performance of a Chinese ensamble called My Dream. It was going to be performed in the NDK so I had an hour to spend... decided to go, and sit, and relax and - most important, lose one hour at the Starbucks coffee opposite the National Palace of Culture ( more of a disdainfully sounding title, than a phrase really reflecting the current status of this building).
So , with the expectation of losing an hour in a peaceful observation of the environment and people drinking coffee at 5 pm (and not working? what type of people are these?) I stepped into the tiny saloon. One of the two in the city centre of Sofia, it occupies a small spot at a corner between two busy streets. People inside were few - a bunch of blond teenage girls looking as if they were just coming from a fashion magazine photo session, a young man who caught my attention immediately and a business couple - a man and a woman who were American. It showed by her incredible level of voice - such a small and elegant woman, talking so loudly that I could hardly hear my thoughts.
I've heard that Americans use this level of speech normally, but this is only the second American who I have the chance to observe personally so I can't generalize... though I was really tempted to do so while I was being forced to listen to her.
Anyway, what struck me there is that in Starbucks - this temple of 'prepare-your-own-unique-drink' culture this American woman was trying to explain for some 3-4 min that she wants a normal espresso in a tall cup. The girl behind the bar couldn't understand why would somebody ask for a drink that is different from the standardized ones and she needed to ask few questions in order to understand what exactly is required of her to prepare. Is it so difficult?
The good thing was that I had something to think about while having my absolutely standard short capuccino.

Coffee...

Coffee is more than a drink. That is my belief that made me create this blog (in addition to the curiousity about how the hell is a blog maintained). It is a reflection of our personality. My personality is a lot of coffee with more milk - consisting of many black and many white features ;-)

I will share here how I try to get my coffee prepared in the best possible way (which, of course, is the way I want it prepared). Sometimes I will describe what was my experience in the coffee shops and restaurants in the town I live in, namely Sofia, Bulgaria. In other days I will tell you about my journeys and the ways I got my coffee prepared in these far, remote, exotic, rural or close and boring places. If not successful in this, I assume I will give up in few years...or less:-)