Opulence Coffee

Here we are, another post about coffee...  Why you might ask?  It is because I had the best coffee of my life in Ottawa.  Yah really.  It is at a non-descript place called Opulence Coffee in the Byward Market area.  It only serves coffee and there are no seats.  This place is no nonsense, much like its owner operator.  JP roasts all his beans in-house and is meticulous.  The result is excellent coffee with no-frills.  We ended up visiting the place twice while we were in Ottawa.

Costanza got the Americano both times and it was rich and flavourful with a nice smoothness.  This was served piping hot, as it should be, but that also meant that the bitterness was toned down.  I did notice that at the tail end of the flavour profile, there was a touch of sourness that gave it a bit of something something, without being too strong.

Elaine went for the Latte, which of course, ensured that it was more milky and more muted flavours.  Yes, the coffee notes were still there with the aroma and roasted nuttiness.  However with the high heat steamed milk added natural sweetness and creaminess.  For me, I'm not a regular coffee drinker, so this would be right up my alley since it is less strong.

As such, I went for the Mocha which also lessens the impact of the coffee due to the addition of chocolate.  However, the one here did not taste like a sweet hot chocolate coffee.  Rather, the coffee flavours were at the forefront with a nutty bitterness that was accented by dark chocolate notes.  Hence, it wasn't overly sweet, but at the same time, it wasn't too strong either.

Viv had the Americano the first day, but opted for the Cappuccino 

this time around.  Naturally, this trended towards a Latte but not quite.  This had more coffee flavour and was less sweet.  She opted for some cinnamon on top and that added more complexity and sweetness.  So you know what?  I am not a regular coffee drinker, but if I can get coffee like this more often, I might be a convert.

The Good:

- Straight-up excellent coffee

- Owner/Operator cares about what he does and it shows

The Bad:

- Not a place to linger too long, but again, no-nonsense right?