Posted Wed Mar 6, 2002, 3:28pm Subject: Does Cafe du Monde's cafe au lait vary in consistency?
Really enjoyed your article, Donald, particularly as I just recently visit NO for the first time (was there for a four day weekend just after Mardi Gras). We enjoyed some great food, music and relaxation. We also visited Cafe du Monde and I was unexpectedly disappointed by the cafe au lait. It was much weaker and less intense in flavor than I had expected. My reference point is cafe con leche done in the Cuban style. Is it possible that Cafe du Monde is inconsistent from one day to the next or were my expectations unreasonable. By the way... I had one of the worst cappucino's I've ever had at a coffee house down near the brewery building that's just up the block from the French Market. Although it was terribly bitter and acrid, it was served in a tall clear glass and the layers of espresso, milk and foam were separated - looked really cool (but didn't taste great). Fortunatley, the next morning I happened onto a CC (City Coffee?) location just up the block from the Hilton hotel. Had an outstanding cappucino there - one of the best I've ever had outside of the ones I'm now making at home (after months of learning how to use my equipment).
dsharp88 Senior Member Joined: 22 Dec 2001 Posts: 73 Location: Metairie, LA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: LaCimbali Junior D/1 Grinder: Mini Mazzer, Solis Maestro Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Chemex, 1-cup Melitta Roaster: Alpenrost, FreshRoast+,...
Posted Thu Mar 7, 2002, 9:33am Subject: usually consistent
I haven't had a bad cafe au lait experience there, but there's no telling if a new person was brewing the batch or they had some other error along the way. CC's is a local coffee house chain owned by Community Coffee, one of the most popular local brands of coffee (and coffee and chicory, of course). One thing I didn't put in the article is that the original Cafe du Monde I wrote about wasn't using the thick mugs I love so much when I visited last week (being washed?). The photo of the beignets and coffee in the thick mug accompanying the story were taken at another Cafe du Monde closer to my home in the suburbs. So I suppose there can be some inconsistency although I have never noticed it in the quality of the cafe au lait. There is other similar cafe au lait to be had all over New Orleans, of course, but I just mentioned Cafe du Monde in the article because that is the original and, by far, the best known.
regularjo Senior Member Joined: 31 Aug 2007 Posts: 1 Location: cleveland, ohio Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Aug 31, 2007, 4:35am Subject: Re: Cafe du Monde, New Orleans by Guest Author
I got some Cafe du Monde coffee to take home. I made it at home like I would usually make coffee - 2 scoops in Krups drip machine. It tasted like cigarettes and did not taste like it did in New Orleans at all. What am I doing wrong?
Posted Fri Aug 31, 2007, 8:36am Subject: Re: Cafe du Monde, New Orleans by Guest Author
regularjo Said:
I got some Cafe du Monde coffee to take home. I made it at home like I would usually make coffee - 2 scoops in Krups drip machine. It tasted like cigarettes and did not taste like it did in New Orleans at all. What am I doing wrong?
metaphoric Senior Member Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 14 Location: USA Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Mon Sep 24, 2007, 12:12pm Subject: Re: Cafe du Monde, New Orleans by Guest Author
New Orleanians used to brag about CDM, but I don't hear that much anymore except from recent expats who are waxing nostalgic. It's really become a Dunkin' Donuts for tourists. CDM's overly sugared beignets were never really French or Creole, and as to the coffee, well, there's only one reason for chicory root in coffee, and that's a lack of sufficient coffee beans. You drown it in milk 'cause it tastes so bad.
Zin1953 Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 333 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1-La Val-Olympia... Grinder: Cimbali Max Hybrid-QM... Vac Pot: no, Press Pot Drip: No Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Mon Oct 8, 2007, 7:13am Subject: Re: Cafe du Monde, New Orleans by Guest Author
As with most things, I suppose it depends upon what you're used to . . .
I find the café au lait at CdM to be VERY consistent, and a welcome experience during my annual visits to New Orleans. Then again, so, too, are the cappuccinos I get at CC's. As for the beignets -- the ones at Café Beignet are also quite good, but the best ones are supposed to be at a place just off the I-10 whose name I can'trecall justnow. Never been there, but I've heard nothing but good things. (As soon as I remember the name, I'll add it to this post.)
As for the coffee that is sold by CdM, they offer a variety of different ones. I've been able to make some pretty good café au lait with their coffee, but I do it in a prespot, not an automatic drip . . . .
That said, I'm off to New Orleans again on October 19th, so . . .
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 