Artigiano

Perhaps I am not the only one, but some Sunday mornings I just need a bit of perking up. And while I love the cappuccino's Jeff makes on our Saeco automatic, it is always enjoyable to try something new. A couple dreary Sundays ago, we went to check out Calgary's newly opened Caffè Artigiano on 332 - 6th Avenue SW. I had heard that the coffee is good, but more importantly to me, that the espresso is good too. This was great news, and I had to go check it out. Caffè Artigiano has been imported to Calgary from Vancouver, and comes backed with a very strong and loyal following.

Artigiano wants to be the best. For a coffee shop, the service was - well service! Hooray! More importantly, Artigiano aims to provide its customers with top-notch stuff. They search the world over for the best beans including beans from the "Cup of Excellence" program. They also have one of the most coveted coffee machines, the Clover. It brews each cup of coffee individually, but is also commercial-grade. It would be really interesting to do a coffee-tasting at Artigiano, and compare the flavours of different coffee's on the Clover.

All of their cappuccino's are served with with a bit of artistic whimsy. Latte art is featured on their cappuccino's, and this one is a simple heart. It feels kind of like a nice little surprise, why not make the world a beautiful place one cappuccino at a time?

The espresso was very flavourful, and very rich! While it wasn't the best espresso I have ever had, it was probably the second best. I liked the flavour, and thank goodness it wasn't bitter. I think the crema was not quite as good as I have had. It is a step in the right direction, and I'll try it again soon.

More latte art. Caffè Artigiano has been the home to several Barista Champions, nationally and internationally. These cappuccino's look pretty, but were also nice and strong; you didn't need a lot of milk to cover up the taste of inferior coffee.

The quality of this breakfast sandwich Jeff had was an unexpected treat! It had a lot of flavour from basil and capicollo. Jeff liked that the cheese also had flavour. The funny thing was that this sandwich encapsulates all the items Jeff puts in his weekend omelets.