Café Santé Veritas - Synesso in Montreal
In a city saturated with stale drip coffee and many mediocre attempts at espresso, I’m very grateful to have come across Sam (owner/operator/barista) of Café Veritas in the Old Port. From what I can tell, Veritas is one of a handful of café’s pioneering specialty coffee (or third wave coffee quality as they call it here) in Montreal. You know the deal – great equipment, fantastic coffee, passionate baristas … the stuff that really counts.
When I first walked into Veritas (Latin for “Truth”) and saw the polished, three-group Cyncra, I’ll admit I had high expectations. With that, I ordered my first of many espressos. Sam’s machine is set up at the end of the counter, giving customer’s sitting at the bar a nice view and sense of involvement in the whole process. It all felt very transparent and easy. Sam was friendly and keen to talk coffee, while he meticulously prepared my espresso. Moments later, I was served a fantastic looking shot and I couldn’t help but smile – I knew I had come to the right place. It was a full double espresso with a dark reddish brown stable crema and no sign’s of over-extraction. Trying to explain what that first shot tasted like would be next to impossible. It was down the hatch so fast – I think I even surprised myself. Sam joined me for my second shot (or I guess you could say fourth, as they were doubles) and I managed to get my wits together and come up with a description, of sorts.
My initial swirl and smell left me with a warm, nutty and sweet aroma. The espresso itself was beautifully balanced, with lots of body and a mild acidity that gave it just enough “zing”, ending with a syrupy sweet finish that just kept on giving. I’m pretty sure I was more than two blocks away when I pinpointed the orange and bittersweet chocolate aftertaste. (my taste buds may have only just kicked in – who knows?)
Since discovering Veritas, I’ve been back most days. Sam has even been kind enough to let me behind the bar so I could get my hands on his Synesso. He sources his coffee from ‘49th Parallel Coffee’ which, as you may already know, is based in Vancouver. They keep him supplied with weekly, road-freighted deliveries and whilst I can’t say exactly how they control the temperatures in-transit, I would imagine it to be a somewhat easier feat than if attempted in Australia. His blend (Ethiopian, El Salvador and Brazil) arrive in 1lb, vacuum sealed, one way valve, date stamped bags and typically get served between 5 and 9 days off the roast. Although “Epic Espresso” is his house blend, I couldn’t help but notice some single origins sitting on the back counter, including Kenyan, Organic Brazil and Indian “Primate Reserve” (yeah, I’ll get to that one later). It seems his roaster often gives him the opportunity to test new origins but it’s also a chance for Sam to (on occasion) profile some unique coffees for his regulars.
The Indian ‘Primate Reserve’ is not unlike the Indonesian Civet Cat coffee, only this “monkey” that eats and digest’s only the “ripest” beans comes at a far cheaper cost. I think it was somewhere around $22.00 a lb, roasted. I haven’t had a chance to taste it so far but am only mildly curious after our disappointing Civet Cat taste-test in Bali last year.
Amazingly enough, Veritas has the only Synesso in Quebec at the moment. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of support from the west-coast distributors and it’s likely a factor in why there aren’t many at this point. In chatting with Sam, however, it seems his Mechanical Engineering background (specialising in control systems) has come in very handy. He is no stranger to PID’s and, luckily, is confidently able to maintain his own equipment.
Although my preference is espresso, I took the opportunity to taste some other popular drinks on the menu, including Latte’s and Capp’s. The North American Latte is pretty much equivalent to what we would call a Flat White. Veritas serves them in 12 ounce (typical medium take away size) ceramic mugs with a thin layer of foam on top. All drinks are individually steamed in clean, 600ml jugs, fresh milk is used and a silky, perfectly textured result is achieved every time. Sam is modest, but his Latte Art is great and each and every cup comes adorned with a beautiful Rosetta. I think I should also mention that the base for each drink is a double shot, using a triple basket and naked portafilter. Therefore, with such a large cup size, the coffee still manages to edge through the milk nicely. Sam has also chosen to serve Cappuccino’s traditionally in 8 ounce cups (typical small take away size), with no chocolate powder and a thin layer of foam, which makes for a nice change and classic look.
Although he insists that he is still learning and that food is his real passion, looking at his setup and tasting the results, I think he has done a fantastic job – trusting his taste buds and doing his research. Besides the Synesso, he is the proud owner of two Anfim grinders (a smaller one for decaf), uses naked portafilters, a Reg Barber US curve tamper and triple baskets. Extractions are between 201-202 degrees Fahrenheit for approx 23-25 seconds. He is under-dosing a little (compared to our standards), however in a triple basket he is still managing to pack in anywhere between 20-24 grams. He does tweak the grind setting, but from shot-to-shot, he seems to prefer up-dosing or under-dosing to adjust the speed of the extraction.
They still have “drip” coffee available or at least their version of it. They use a large deli grinder to freshly grind the coffee into plungers as an alternative to the typical North American drip coffee that’s so popular. Their Bunn brewing machine has become nothing more than an expensive hot water dispenser.
Although I am no food critic, I think there menu deserves a mention, as it is all very healthy, reasonable priced and, most of all, taste’s great. The service and ambiance has been fantastic and while talking coffee, Sam has happily pointed me in the direction on some other café’s I should check out.
It just goes to show that you don’t need to know everything about coffee to make an excellent cup. Simple things like using great equipment, following a system, not cutting corner’s, keeping things clean, grinding fresh, selecting a good roaster, being passionate and, most of all, tasting the end product, have worked wonders for Sam.
Being in Montreal makes me realize just how spoiled we are in Perth. Like any city, you need to know where to go, however, the number of top notch places in Perth far outnumber those available in Montreal. It’s only just beginning here and I have a feeling it will catch on quickly. For now, Veritas is my go-to place, but I will try my best to venture to the other side of town and see what else is brewing!
Cheers,
Jen
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