ven if espresso means fast in Italian, the perfect brew of concentrated caffeine should never be rushed. The precise and traditional ways of achieving the perfect espresso is an art, conquered by the multi-national brands such as Starbucks, but still remaining in many independent cafés across the planet. Launched three years ago by one of the top selling brands of home espresso machines by the same name, Krups Kup of Excellence (Starbucks’ competition) is all about celebrating the resisting wave of the autonomous coffee shop.

Recently a competition was held in Montreal where seven judges, chosen from the culinary world and gastronomic writers (i.e. devoted MBO writers such as your truly), followed a strict itinerary in a not so severe Lincoln navigator limousine. The only purpose that day; tasting espresso after espresso, to finally have the honor of crowning the best independent coffee shop in the city. Five finalists were chosen through online voting based on the all-time favorites of Montrealers. Allow me to introduce the very popular Vasco da Gama (Peel Street franchise);Toi & Moi Café (A Laurier street incontournable); Café Olympico (Mile-End Mecca of coffee); Café International (Little Italy Emporium of coffee and very good food); and last but not least, the very trendy plateau Art Java Café.

A perfect espresso is difficult to achieve, largely due to the four step process to reach perfection; the machine needs to be of high-quality, the coffee bean mix needs to be tasty, the grounding of the beans must to be appropriate and ideal for the machine, and finally, the barista (the master of the machine) has to know what they are doing. Internationally, annual competitions occur to announce who is at the top of their coffee art game and discover the most talented (and devoted) barista. Sadly (for coffee lovers), espresso often disappoints in many mainstream metropolitan dining institutions.

For the semi-coffee-specialist among you who would like to know how to recognize a good cup of espresso and impress that boss during a compensation-improvement (read: raise) lunch talk, here are a few tips. Number one: look for is the crema, that soft layer of creamy mousse that every espresso should have. The thickness of the crema varies depending on the kind of coffee the barista use. Small crema doesn’t mean bad coffee, but no crema definitely means poor espresso (and bad, bad barista!). By passing a spoon through, the crema will also let you know if this espresso is worth your dollars. The crema should recover fast after the intrusion and leave almost no trace of the spoon. After that, it’s all about flavour. I wish you an espresso exempt of bitterness, burnt or watery taste. Coffee is just like wine; the flavors should be round in your mouth, leaving a pleasant after taste that doesn’t overpower your first savor.

Filling out the judging sheet, the best espresso was a tie between Toi & Moi Café and Olympico. However, upon the tally of the votes, I am pleased to let you know the winner of this year Krups Cup of Excellence, Toi & Moi Café, who also won the first year of the contest in 2005. The best news about this winner is that it was the only coffee shop proudly harboring the equitable-fare trade sticker in the front door, and that all in itself, deserves a respectable round of applause and a line-up out the door.-M.O.