Caffè Nero

I had taken a walk around Altrincham market and I wondered just how it is that the fishmonger can get away with charging the same price for fish as Marks & Spencer. Then I went into the covered part where the food places are located and I didn’t really fancy paying £2.60 for a regular latte, so I did some more pottering around the town. I was really enjoying the warm sunshine. It’s been a month or so since I was last in town and I noticed that the excavation work on the Main Street was still ongoing and thought to myself that it’s taking over a year, what are they actually doing? As I mused, a waft of coffee smell hit my nose from the close by Café Nero so there was nothing else for it. They do a darn good espresso con panna here so I had a double at £1.90. The espresso was really sophisticated, it was dark in colour with a nice layer of crema on top (a few mls thick, and completely covering the espresso). The crema comes from the release of carbon dioxide when the espresso is extracted under pressure. The taste here was rich, but not overly so; high levels of richness are characteristic of ristretto shots and it was also bitter, as it should be but not too bitter; high levels of bitterness are characteristic of espresso long shots. If you get a coffee tasting watery, this is usually a characteristic of under-​extraction so bring it back. The service was quick and ace friendly. I took my coffee and decided to sit outside in the sun. This was a mistake on my part as I am not a smoker. Over about ten minutes three of those customers who were enjoying the smoke — free atmosphere inside the café, popped outside to spoil my atmosphere by smoking and after a quick fag each went back inside. As if this wasn’t enough each, without so much as a by your leave, used the ashtray on the table where I was sitting, right under my nose, as if I wasn’t there.