Steep & Brew
544 State Street
For an intro about how and why I am trying the cappuccinos of Madison, go here
I am partial to certain coffee shops in Madison, sometimes without a whole lot of justification. Steep & Brew is one of those places; if I’m on State St. and want a cappuccino then I’ll be headed there. It might be because it was the first coffee shop I went to when I initially visited Madison. A friend who I was with ordered an espresso and didn’t quite know what this tiny cup he got was all about; I think he expected something like a latte. We were very young.
But actually since I’ve been here so much I know that Steep & Brew does serve a good cappuccino and has a great college town study atmosphere. It is the perfect place to go and get some work done, with plenty of tables so that there is almost always a place to sit. My best cappuccino experiences here have been during the weekday mornings but I went for this review on a weekday afternoon; so, keep that in mind.
I ordered a small cappuccino; their smalls are actual 6oz cappuccinos, so I didn’t have
to adjust my order. I got a nice looking drink in a proper cappuccino cup. The foam was smooth though there were some course bubbles. The first sip was of a classic cappuccino nature; the balance of the coffee to milk was almost perfect. The coffee was not as complex as some others, but otherwise a very pleasant espresso. It did however have a bit of a bitter bite that detracted slightly from the overall flavor; I notice that the cappuccinos in the morning don’t have this problem, so take that for what it’s worth. Overall the cappuccino was very good; the numbers are below(out of 5):
Presentation: 4
Smoothness: 4
Strength: 5
Complexity: 3
Foam: 4
Correctness: 5
Mean: 4.17/5
SD: .75
Taryn had a Chai latte and noted that this was ok, though perhaps a little weak. So, to wrap it up, Steep and Brew has a very good cappuccino though it doesn’t match Mother Fool’s or Bradury’s.