Café Caliente

I was pretty excited when I heard about Café Caliente opening in the Four Seasons. I figured any new coffee bar was a welcome addition to Brickell. Upon entering the building I realized that the coffee is upstairs in the hotel’s main lobby. So I took the elevator up with dreams of caffeine and sugar flying swirling around my head. Instead, my hopes were dashed when I realized this is barely a coffee counter.
There is a pot of American drip coffee, free before 8am. And the rest is a small selection of coffees. This particular day it seems they had an employee from another department working, she was polite and friendly but definitely not a barista. She didn’t know her coffee and it showed.
I asked for a dulce de leche latte and a chocolate croissant. The croissant was pretty good but the dulce de leche latte was disappointing. I only hope that’s because of the coffee maker. On the bright side the coffee is Illy and the pastry selection although limited is good. The low point they didn’t even have coffee holders. Burn your hands lately?
As I left the hotel I ran into someone coming in with a cup of coffee and I think they had the right idea. If you’re in the hotel and just need an early morning fix then this might hit the spot but definitely if you’re not already in the building then don’t go up expecting much more than a coffee counter.
Note to Four Seasons: It would help if you had a coffee fan and barista working this bar.