About our Espresso…

Oak Street Coffee Shop has been open since June 2005.  If you’ve been here (and thank you to the hundreds who have), you may know that we spent 11 months from conception to coffee making.  We are learning so much:

For example, great espresso is dependent on several factors:

Filtered Water (we have seven filters) which remove not only the sediment and odor that affect taste, but minerals which can accumulate inside the narrow passages.

A Conditioned Machine, which involves cleaning something or other about once an hour. We do a full cleaning at closing time, and then carefully goop it up again the next morning, ensuring just enough fresh coffee oils to produce the crema you love.

Great, Fresh Coffee- ours is roasted for us twice a week by the Broadway Café in Kansas City.

A Consistent Grinder, so the machine can use the coffee properly.  Espresso is made by quickly infusing water with finely ground coffee (lots of surface area).

Careful Tamping which makes the water travel evenly through the grounds.

Milks, Flavors and Containers that enhance, yet don’t dominate, the finished product.

A Skilled Barista, who “pulls shots” for an exact time and volume, with affection for both coffee and customer.