Blacklisted.. Get your bittersweet dose of caffeine..

"Why did you name it Blacklisted?" That's the first question that I uttered out. It's an unusual name indeed.

1675, the year King Charles II banned coffee houses

That's the reason why.. In the year of 1675, apparently drinking coffee is banned due to some political threat issues. They thought the caffeine in the coffee itself served as a mild opium. Aside from the fact that drinking coffee used to be 'blacklisted', the trend and habit continues to this very day.

Personally, I know very little of coffee. I drink them occasionally (in fact, I enjoy them a LOT) but I never pay any attention to the different qualities that they can pursue. Being invited to Blacklisted last week, was such a HUGE honor cause I feel so enlightened.

The invitation itself came out of the blue. It was almost midnight and I was just laying on my bed, ready to sleep. Suddenly, I received a message in twitter from Ellyna from Culinary Bonanza asking met to join her for tomorrow. I said yes in an instant.. ;p We were also with  Ines from Oh My Good Food. 

The Menu..

Saxon Wright, the Head Judge for World Barista Championship and coffee expert, is the one who's behind all the formula for the gourmet coffee in Blacklisted. He's such a humble guy and willing to share his views in coffee. He really cares about the tiny little details that will bring out the best of whatever every customer is going to have in their cups.

For starters, I have the privileged to drink a cup of cappuccino made by Mr. Saxon Wright himself..

This is Mr. Saxon Wright. He set the coffee machine and in charge of training the whole staff in every little detailed process.. From roasting, to grinding, to serving it to the customers in a cup of yummy coffee

Making sure there's no air.. Press press press it down

Voila.. My cappuccino is ready to be served.. Full concentration though

"Even a two degrees difference can bring out a different taste in your cup of coffee" said the coffee expert.
The RULES of having a good cup of coffee :
1. From the quality of the bean itself. From the time of harvesting, roasting, grinding, and brewing really determine the final quality and taste of your coffee.. Fortunately, Blacklisted offer you all types of coffee beans from locals to imported ones..

2. The man behind the machine. Every man can bring out different taste of coffee. If they don't understand how to brew coffee the right way, no matter how high the quality of the bean is, they'll just put it to a waste. I, myself, no matter how hard I try to copy the way my Mum makes coffee for my Dad, it will just never taste the same. Which I think, it kinda make coffee brewing perceived as an art cause different people will have their own unique way in creating their one cup of coffee.. Well, that's just how I see it..

Too bad Mr. Saxon was only staying for a while..

I was quite embarrassed actually cause I know so little of coffee, yet Saxon was being very kind, explaining to us in every detailed way possible to make us understand that it's not just about the brewing. They have these jars that can show you the final product of each process, from the green beans to the second cracked beans. 

He also gave us the honor of making Filtered Coffee. He said he drank this every morning and it's the cleanest coffee you can get. It's quite hard to press it down, cause on the bottom, there's a filter paper which will detain all of the unwanted residue. I only pressed it down for a while before I gave it back to him.. 

It almost looked like tea, right? It tasted very acidic, different from any other types of coffee I have ever drunk in my life. Saxon has predicted that we won't be able to appreciate the taste at our first try because the same thing happened to him. But right now, this is what he's having every day.. So, that made me a Newbie ;p

The roasting machine. Again, he's in charge of it. He's also training all of the staffs.. Blacklisted roast their own coffee bean everyday and keep it at least for 4 days(that's how long it takes to get the best coffee after the roasting process) before they grind and brew it. 

We heard this popping sound. It's the first crack! If you were there, oh my God, the smell was amazing!

Final outcome.. Saxon told us to have a bite. It's crunchy and you can smell a strong fragrant of coffee in the back of your mouth. I even consider of having it as a snack.. 

Second of all.. The pastries.. Oh yummy pastries.. :)

The pastries and cakes are made by a Lenotre-trained pastry chef with over 20 years of experience, Mr. Ong.. He's a Singaporean, too bad I didn't take any pictures of him. He's the sweetest humblest, the most comical stranger I've ever met. To be frank, he doesn't even look like a pastry chef and I could easily mistook him as another customer. He also sat down with us and have a little chat behind each sweetness..

Croissant Au Almond (17k). C'mon what could go wrong with a good cup of your dose of caffeine and a bite or two of good pastry. This picture right here, really made me appreciate how blessed I am. It's effortless to enjoy the two combination.. 

They have tiramisu, chocolate banana layer cake, red velvet, opera cake, etc

Fresh baked pastries everyday!

THE FOOD...

Spaghetti Javanese (48k). Yes, the pasta is green. They use green chilli sauce and shredded of chicken and shrimps. If you are a chilli fan, this is the right pasta for you. In every strand of pasta, I can definitely smell the hint of chilli..

Fettuccine Carbonara (48k) Yummy! It's creamy and at the top is beef bacon. The bacon isn't burned, I simply use the wrong filter while editing this photo (Sorry). The bacon was definitely crispy and cooked to perfection..

Oxtail Fried Rice (59k) They're really generous with the oxtail. I don't usually eat fried rice in cafes. But this one is exceptional. 

Grilled Salmon with rica rica sauce (60k). This menu is from the breakfast list. The bottom part is mashed potato. I super love this dish cause the fish was NOT FISHY AT ALL! And for 60k, I think it's worth it. The top layer of the fish was quite crispy just how I like it..

Banana Chocolate Frappe (35k), Mango Mojito (28k), Homemade Lemonade (20k). I love sour drinks.. I prefer soury drinks with my meals. Mango mojito and the lemonade are the winners indeed.. 

The DESSERTS.. 
The cakes are about 35k but they also serve different types of desserts, like honey crumble affogato (35k), panna cotta (35k), etc, but the ones on the menu aren't available for takeaways.

The banana chocolate layer cake. YES OH MY GOD THIS IS SO YUMMY I COULD NOT SHOULD NOT WILL NOT STOP EATING IT! I asked Mr. Ong about this cake. He said the sliced and also mashed some of the banana to be put in the whole mixture. And the melted chocolate on the top of the cake is mind blowing. GAH.. I am drooling.. again.. 

The Tiramisu.. I can definitely smell that hint of rum... Creamy indeed

The opera cake.. Different layers bring out different texture.. 

I had such a wonderful time in Blacklisted. The people are warm and friendly. They really care about the food quality and the final product of both on the food and the drinks.. The combination of the meals, the coffee, the dessert is splendid. I will definitely recommend this place to all of you guys. If only the place is bigger or located somewhere more intimate, it'll definitely be my new favorite place to hide myself in everyday. LOL.. But seriously, give this place a try..

Have a cup of coffee of your choice and a slice of cake or other pastry. I hope you fall in love with it just like how I fell in love with it already.. :)

BLACKLISTED
Puri Indah Mall, Ground Floor unit 71
Jl. Puri Agung, Puri Indah, Jakarta
Phone : 021-5823332
Facebook : blacklistedcoffee
Twitter : BLACKLISTED_ID
Website : www.blacklistedcoffe.com