Puku Puku Cafe
House Cold Brew
Iced Mocha
Plantain Muffin
Apple Alfajor
72% Peruvian Cocoa Pastry
Tres Leches with Cocoa Shavings and White Chocolate Cream
When Puku Puku Café opened its postage-stamp-size space in Miraflores it seems hard to believe ownership had any clue how successful they would become, several years of roasting Beans from small farms eventually begetting an enormous roastery and bakeshop at Av. Pardo y Aliaga 695 that now serves as home base to the whole operation.
Considered by many to be Lima’s premier place for Coffee, three single-origin roasts forming the backbone of business while locally sourced small batches come and go with the season, guests entering Puku Puku Café San Isidro will quickly be taken by the open floorplan and artistic flourishes including trees, maps and bright colors while true ‘Coffee geeks’ will no doubt be fascinated by a ‘lab’ in back that offers several brewing mechanisms as well as cupping sessions.
Not keen on sampling Espresso shots with temperatures above 80ᵒF and humidity hovering around 100% outside, particularly as Puku Puku’s medium roast Cold Brew had already proven memorable in Miraflores, it was with another glass flask in hand plus an Iced Mocha for someone else that seats were taken on a small bench with four Pastries, a sip of Mocha unfortunately a bit less finely mixed than others but otherwise well flavored with plenty of Dark Chocolate.
Finally learning Maracuya means Passionfruit and thus avoiding two items built around its cloying flavor, the selection of baked goods at this Puku Puku more than triple what is offered at the original outpost, it was after washing hands in the bathroom’s tub and drying via Iron Man that a Plantain Muffin was found densely packed with Fruit and buttery Streusel, the follow-up Alfajor not like any other in town as it mixed Apple Butter with Caramel to form what can best be described as Dutch Apple Pie made spreadable.
Moving next to Chocolate, the Cake from visit number one a standout, those looking for laminated Pastries would be better off walking down the block to El Pan de la Chola as the Pain au Chocolate there is simply better while fans of Tres Leches will find themselves perfectly content right where they are immediately upon scooping the first of several moist bites topped in White Chocolate Cream from a Jar.
www.pukupuku.pe