Balconi Coffee Company

If you've read my previous posts on coffee, you'll know I'm a bit addicted to caffeine. Again, it's not that I need it to function, but I do get caffeine deficiency headaches, and the sad truth is that these often spark a migraine. So, unfortunately, I have to continue feeding my addiction to try and prevent myself from collapsing into a curled up ball of misery.

That being said, this addiction has afforded me the chance to venture out and look for fun, new coffee shops everywhere we go. After doing some research into coffee shops to check out in LA, our first visit to a specialty shop was at Balconi Coffee Company. I had read two things about Balconi before we decided to go. One was to try their specialty Almond Essence Latte, and the other was to try one of their Siphon Brewed coffees. Also people love the foam art that is added.

Balconi Coffee Company

I opted for the Almond Essence Latte because, well, when else am I ever going to get one of these? The reason this is such a special drink is because Balconi baristas grind up fresh almond powder on a daily basis to be added into the cup prior to the espresso being poured over. 

Foam art bear!

Aside from the really cute little bear that came drawn into my latte, this drink was something I had never tasted before. The almond powder added a flavor similar to a Chinese dessert called 杏仁豆腐 (xing ren do fu). In essence it's an almond flavored gelatin that is often served with fruit cocktail and the syrup that fruit cocktail is canned in. It was one of my favorite things to eat while growing up, and it's a very comforting flavor.

Siphon Filtering

I was really intrigued by the siphon filtered coffee as it's something I had never seen/heard of before. As much as I love coffee, I'm still rather clueless when it comes to the different preparation techniques. I'll save you the boring description on how it's done, and instead I will send you here. I think if I ever find a good place here in NYC that offers siphon filtered coffee then I'll have to grab one.