Coffee Classico!

Sitting up to my morning caffe latte at the Hotel Classico where I have been staying in Bremen, Germany. This morning I am in rapture having been to Maria Farantouri's concert at St Stephani Church. It was a stupendous event and well worth crossing the seas to be there. She sang a host of Theodorakis classics and other moving ballads. She was in fine form and received standing ovations from a packed house. She is a true Greek Diva. I even got to meet her after the show. Sublime!

Coincidentally the Hotel Classico where I am staying in Bremen is owned by a Greek man who has decorated the rooms and restaurant, where I am having my morning latte, in Greek themes. My room is the Saloniki room and is adorned with photos from the owner's beloved homeland. The restaurant has an up-market Greek kitsch feel with Greek columns and large gold framed mirrors and classical Greek wall murals. So I am having a very Greek-German cross-cultural experience!

And the latte...well that sort of fits in as well. As you can see from the image, it is certainly as tall as a Greek pillar and its multi-layers are also reminiscent of the stone segments of the pillars of the ancient Greek temples. I've learned that if you give this creation a stir, you can then taste the espresso which is reasonably palatable and certainly beats the macchiato latte.

So my stay here in Bremen has had the perfect blend. Greek music, Greek Divas and the Greek Pillar Latte at the Hotel Classico!

Macchiato Latte? Bremen Germany

Just got off a very fast train from Frankfurt to Bremen. Having spent 4 hours being jet propelled across Germany I was well and truly ready for a latte by the time my feet hit solid ground. Inside the large Bremen central station arrival hall I saw a vision - a familiar red and black Segafredo sign. Now having had this brand of espresso back home and found it quite palatable I thought I may have found it...I had learnt from a helpful waitress in Frankfurt that what I needed to ask for was a macchiato latte to get what I would normally call a caffe latte, so with confidence and my wheely case in tow I strode up to the counter and placed my order. Then I waited and watched...Down came the tall parfait glass,not a good start, this was then filled to the brim with hot milk. But wait I thought, "Where's the room for the espresso?" Then it came, a tiny metal jug from which was poured a few tiny drops of espresso which did little but add a tiny stain to the milk. So there it was - the macchiato latte...my search for a decent caffe latte continues. As you can see from the image the drops of coffee finally settled in the bottom of the glass, leaving a 4cm layer of white scorched foam on top.
When the coast was clear I made a dash and came upon this jolly group of town musicians who had journeyed to Bremen in search of a better life. My spirits instantly lifted and I decided not to be beaten by the macchiato latte.

Caffeppuccino, Frankfurt

Well I didn't know myself until a week ago that I would be reporting on my next caffe latte experiences from Frankfurt, Germany. I was drawn to fly to Germany on a spontaneous whim to accept an invitation to a concert by the stupendous Greek diva Maria Farantouri. The concert is in Bremen on Oct 1st. It marks the 85th birthday of Mikis Theodorakis, the famous Greek composer whose works Maria will perform, as well as the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Germany - so quite an event and I will be there! Attending a concert in a foreign land is, more importantly, an opportunity for me to explore the local caffe latte scene. Having just stumbled off the plane today after a long haul flight from Australia, I checked into my hotel in a rather dubious but convenient location near Frankfurt's main train station. I then went on what I thought could be an overly ambitious search for an espresso coffee to help me through my jet lag. But to my joy and surprise, I turned the first corner and there it was - Caffeppuccino - an authentic Italian espresso bar. It had that true espresso bar feel of no comfort to discourage malingerers - high stools and benches. This latte came served in a tall glass, with a decorative coffee bean motif and a tall spoon. It was therefore a weaker style latte but made from a satisfying rich espresso. Unfortunately the whole taste was spoiled by the milk which had that strange long-life feel to it. All was forgiven, however. I got my espresso hit and a great panini to go with it and all just around the corner from my hotel...