Earlier this week I took my wife on a staycation to Abu Dhabi and discovered that one of the coffee shops I have always wanted to visit was only 9 minutes’ drive away. So, after a massive breakfast and chilling for a bit, we decided to pop over to Coffee Architecture. To my dismay when we arrived, we saw a note on the door apologizing for not being there and they would be back at 5pm – it was 2 pm on a very hot and humid afternoon. I almost cried in frustration, and I could see my wife with a look like “okay its closed and its very hot, let’s go back to the hotel”. Never one to be defeated in search of good coffee, I noticed that when I was searching on google maps I saw another specialty coffee shop was nearby.
So, off my wife and I went and thankfully it was literally about 2 minutes’ walk on Turquoise Beach. Pronto! Café Artea.
As we entered and were greeted by smiling barista and a concrete looking block with cakes on top, I was struck by not one but SIX Anfim espresso grinders to my right. Almost in front of you behind various concrete blocks was their La Marzocco Strada espresso machine.
I walked around, took some pictures as the café was empty and quizzed the main barista as to why they had six grinders. He explained that they had six types of coffees (they get their coffee from archers) to offer for espresso and milk-based drinks. They have a Mahl Konig EK43 for filter as well as various black coated V60s for their pour over options.
I opted for a cortado (which was not on their menu) BUT when it’s really hot, I prefer a stronger cup of coffee with less milk. What struck me on first sip was the temperature of the milk – I’m guessing it was around 55-60C. I asked the barista and he confirmed this. It’s very rare to get this temperature in your espresso-based milk drink as some times the milk is too hot (I’ve sent back coffee a few times because if this). I recall reading a James Hoffmann post many years back (before his YouTube fame) where he suggested that 55-60C is the ideal temperature for milk and I believe this is the competition range too.
Pleasant to drink and well prepared by barista Ali.
So, if you happen to be on Saadiyat Island, Mamsha District and want a good specialty coffee place to go (other than Coffee Architecture), check Café Artea too.
