There are god knows how many coffee shops in New York City. Why go to La Cabra?
Well, there’s the coffee, for one thing – it’s excellent. Then there are the very creative pastries and baked goods, including bread, created exclusively for La Cabra by head baker Jared Sexton and Rachel Lowery, the pastry chef.
Brought to the U.S. by founder Esben Piper, the trio of shops in Soho, the East Village and Brooklyn are shooting for quality from the ground up.
“Putting the raw materials first is the key,” explains Ian Walla, the general manager. “Where your ingredients come from makes a massive difference.”
The beans arrive from all over, with more than 250 different suppliers in Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ethiopia and Rwanda, to name a few.
“There are always five different brews available on any given day,” Walla notes. “And there are five different packaged coffee beans available as well.”
Careful attention is also paid to filtering the water used. If you have an hour or two to spare, you can have Walla explain the ins and outs of that process to you (we went for the short answer).
They previously imported the roasted beans from their roastery overseas, but the new location in Brooklyn now handles that process.
The baking takes place entirely in the East Village location, with Lowery and Sexton frequently coming up with new ideas. Not all of those creations get sent to the other locations, so it’s worth checking in from time to time to see what’s new.
The pair creates about 12 new treats yearly with one goal in mind.
“We are obsessed with trying to reach for perfection,” says Lowery, “while always acknowledging that it may not be possible. But our attention to detail is unusually high.”
Sexton adds, “We want to produce something that we are 100% happy with, and keep the quality consistent.”
Some of these items include their sweet bun with pear and ginger cookie, and a choux made with oat crumble and cream cheese mousse (we can personally recommend that one). Their attitude towards one ubiquitous ingredient is very welcome, as Sexton mentions, “We don’t want sugar to be the highlight of the pastry.”
The biggest seller is the cardamom bun, which is a staple at all the locations. They note that they are very lucky to have a clientele that trusts them and has no trouble trying the latest experiment.
Every detail is carefully considered, down to the plates and glassware, which are a collaboration with Heven Glass in the city. Piper also creates playlists, which comprise some very ambitious ambient music. Those playlists, which Walla calls the backbone of the La Cabra experience, get updated every week.
The sound system is quality, too, with speakers created by Silence Please, a local high-end speaker company.
Piper has mentioned in a previous interview, “It’s been a dream, and it still is. I wake up nearly every morning feeling profoundly fortunate about it.”
Walla says, “I think La Cabra is really special” and hits on one of the keys to its success. “There are some real coffee nerds out there — and we are those nerds.”
The La Cabra website is lacabra.com and they have two Instagram pages, @lacabracoffee and @lacabrabakery. FYI, all the social media pics are shot on film.
