Noah Phillips
Barriques, with its half-dozen locations, constitutes a local mini-chain. Each cafe has a slightly different look and emphasis. I went to the West Washington Avenue location, which has an artsy, light-industrial feel to it.
Though Barriques started as a wine shop and began serving coffee as a side business (fun fact: “barrique” means “wine barrel”), it’s perhaps better known as a coffeehouse now. The company roasts all its own beans, which come from a variety of sources. Barriques shies away from single-source espresso, because flavors are then apt to change throughout the year. However, “the Forge,” its espresso brand, is Brazilian-bean based. Orders of straight shots of espresso are rare; mixed milk and espresso drinks are far more common.
The Mexican Mocha features espresso beans (roasted on Park Street) and cocoa powder from the Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, based in Milwaukee. It’s a full, rich experience, like a thick, hot chocolate milkshake, intense from foam to dregs. The flavor of the Brazilian espresso beans, advertised as full, creamy, savory and intense, did not quite survive additions of the rich chocolate, cayenne and vanilla. But “intense” does sum up the drink as a whole.
