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2016-12-28
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Pacamara just opened for two weeks by the time I got there. So, it’s early days and please give them a chance. I’m looking forward to much better coffee once it settles in ie six months later in February 2017 vs. the day I visited the cafe. Pacamara is a specialty coffee arm of Peaberry Group. Peaberry Group has been in the traditional coffee business in roasting and retailing under Zana’s bean for quite some time before it branched out into a specialty coffee under Pacamara brand 3 to 4 year
Pacamara is a specialty coffee arm of Peaberry Group. Peaberry Group has been in the traditional coffee business in roasting and retailing under Zana’s bean for quite some time before it branched out into a specialty coffee under Pacamara brand 3 to 4 years ago, I believe.
I met the owner in person on his coffee trip with other Thai café operators in Hong Kong a while back and am impressed after talking to him with his insatiable appetite for knowledge in coffee that was shone through as well as good words from cafés and roasters that I frequent in HK on Pacamara’s roasted coffee.
Once I heard that Pacamara opens its Lab operation and it coincides with my visit to Bangkok, I got to be there even though the shop will only be in its second week of operation. On the day I visit, quite a few construction workers are still there to tidy up the place so you know it’s an early day here at this café.
Inside, there is a big counter in the form of island in the middle of the shop with all coffee gears. Nevertheless, there is no counter seating. To me, this is a loss for customers.
Such a good array of coffee gears like this with barista working just behind the bar is an experience for customers to be able to sit down and watch the barista in addition to valuable conversation that could help educate customers on the spot. This is a lab after all and we should expect this thing, IMHO.
One nice thing about this café is that I see another Astoria espresso machine after haven’t seen this brand of espresso machine for quite some time. This one looks special to me with colorful pattern and drawing on the machine. FYI, Peaberry has been marketing Astoria espresso machine in Thailand for quite some time.
Let start with cappuccino first. The capp feels very tight and almost sour as if they use double shot or updose coffee a lot with not too much milk in there.
Cappuccino of Pacamara's House Blend
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This is a lab after all so you would expect to see cool new toys here. And I finally met “Mr. Splurty” in person, now known as Marco SP9, for the first time here since I read about it on coffee news websites.
Mr. Splurty in action! The clear water reservoir pulled all the water that will be used for the brew into the chamber which, to me, seems to help maintain the temperature.
This water is then released to the brew funnel of choice according to barista’s desire. In essence, Mr. Splurty allows barista to pick funnel style, be it flat bottom Kalita, big hole funnel of Hario V60 or Melitta style small hole funnel. Pretty neat!
Of note is the way Mr. Splurty sprays the water. The water outlet is fixed so there is no oscillation movement like manual brewing, just the water dropping straight down to the funnel.
For the cup, I get some sort of citrus tone which is quite common for Sidamo but is uninteresting to me as I had too much of Ethiopia coffee which seems to be in the house of every third wave café these days.
I can easily sense the smoothness which eerily reminds me of coffee I had from both Clover Brewing System and Alpha Dominche Steampunk. But the similarity stops there as coffee from other single cup brewing system delivers much more clarity than this cup of coffee from Mr. Splurty. The cup has a hint of bitterness at the back when it is hot. Once it is cooled down, the bitterness subsides, replacing by some papery taste in the cup.
Ethiopia Sidamo Befas from "Mr. Splurty" Marco SP9
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Espresso of a Costa Rica COE
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Following the visit, I am even more impressed with the owner’s vision to run this lab, particularly on all the gears used that help expose Thai coffee professional to the advancement in the world coffee industry. Bear in mind, this is an early day of its operation; only two weeks from its soft opening. Typically, I would let the café run its course for quite some time, say 6 months, to smooth out all the kinks in its operation. However, I don’t have that luxury so I need to visit the café as is.
Still, I remain confident the owner of Pacamara will bring its lab to the next level soon. I hope I will be able to visit Pacamara again to see how it really performs after it runs its course from February 2017 onward i.e. when the café has been operation for six months.
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