La Cabra Bakery

Met up with a friend here on a Sunday morning. I did enjoy the coffee lab experience and wished I could've stayed a little longer and/or even see them make the Brazilian roast I ordered. The pastries were delicate. While I did opt for a cardamom bun, I did try the carrot and cheese pastry my friend ordered. The savory and flaky was a really nice touch.

The hype is well-deserved. Any specialty coffee enthusiast needs to visit this place. With the sleek and modern interior design, the various brewing methods available and the outfits of the staff, it feels like a coffee laboratory. There's clearly a respect for the art here. Don't be discouraged by the line. It moves quickly enough since they have a lot of staff. You may possibly have trouble finding a space to sit though. I will say I got a cardamom bun and don't exactly understand the hype. The doughy texture and very mildly sweet flavour were something akin to brioche. I kind of hoped the cardamom flavour would take centre stage but it was extremely subtle; although, I suppose the blandness of it ensured that the flavour of the coffee was not overpowered. If you're a fan of cardamom desserts, you must go to Little Flower Cafe in Astoria and try the firni donut. I bought a bag of coffee beans for home which I'm excited to try since La Cabra is an iconic roaster, but I must say I'm not a huge fan of the coffee sold in the US being roasted in Denmark, even if that's where La Cabra started. It's not very environmentally-conscious to fly coffee from its origin all the way to Denmark just to be roasted, and then to fly it all the way to the US. Now with 2 locations in NYC and a lot of hype, I think they could have a roastery here.

People say you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy la cabra pastries, and those have the power to momentarily obliterate any existential angst, which is close enough for me. Biting into my croissant, I could only marvel at the perfection of the pastry: how could someone create something so exquisite from a handful of humble ingredients? Eating that croissant was a reminder that anything is possible. Eating that croissant was a reminder that life can be beautiful.