Black Coffee

John P said:
You can go thousands of places and get a horrible espresso and a passable coffee. You can go to maybe a hundred places and get very good coffee and passable espresso. Or you can go to a handful of places and have something truly exceptional.

I've yet to find one of those "handful of places" in southern New England. If I want exceptional coffee I have to make it myself.
 
JohnB said:
I've yet to find one of those "handful of places" in southern New England. If I want exceptional coffee I have to make it myself.

JohnB, where in Connecticut are you? If you're looking for an exceptional coffee shop, you could ask ElPugDiablo, a coffee shop owner and member of this forum. He could definitely recommend something near you.

If you're ever further north, check out Mocha Joe's in Brattleboro, VT (thanks EPD!). :D
 
davidsbiscotti said:
JohnB, where in Connecticut are you? If you're looking for an exceptional coffee shop, you could ask ElPugDiablo, a coffee shop owner and member of this forum. He could definitely recommend something near you.

If you're ever further north, check out Mocha Joe's in Brattleboro, VT (thanks EPD!). :D


I live in northeastern Ct. where most of the brewed coffee sold comes from DD or independent coffee/donut shops. I only buy the iced coffee at DD around here but when I travel I try to check out any Cafes I come across. I hit 2 shops on a recent visit to Boston, both disappointing. Providence is the closest city & there is one cafe/roaster there that I saw on line I will try the next time I'm in town.

I have my own Espresso equipment & I buy quality beans/blends from high end roasters around the country so I don't need a local cafe. Its just very disappointing to walk into a place when you are on the road that has a very nice Espresso machine & end up with a double that would go down the sink if I were home. Why spend thousands of $$ on a nice multigroup machine & use preground coffee in foil packs?(recent experience)
 
JohnB said:
davidsbiscotti said:
JohnB, where in Connecticut are you? If you're looking for an exceptional coffee shop, you could ask ElPugDiablo, a coffee shop owner and member of this forum. He could definitely recommend something near you.

If you're ever further north, check out Mocha Joe's in Brattleboro, VT (thanks EPD!). :D


I live in northeastern Ct. where most of the brewed coffee sold comes from DD or independent coffee/donut shops. I only buy the iced coffee at DD around here but when I travel I try to check out any Cafes I come across. I hit 2 shops on a recent visit to Boston, both disappointing. Providence is the closest city & there is one cafe/roaster there that I saw on line I will try the next time I'm in town.

I have my own Espresso equipment & I buy quality beans/blends from high end roasters around the country so I don't need a local cafe. Its just very disappointing to walk into a place when you are on the road that has a very nice Espresso machine & end up with a double that would go down the sink if I were home. Why spend thousands of $$ on a nice multigroup machine & use preground coffee in foil packs?(recent experience)
If you are in Boston area, check out Simon's in Cambridge, Crema in Harvard Square, Atomic Cafe in North Shore and Taste in Newton. You can also e-mail Jamie at barismo.com, he knows the Boston market pretty well. You should also get on Terroir's mailing list and attend George Howell's open house. You will get to try his Northern Italian as pulled by his padawan, and definitely try any of his drip Kenyans and Yirgs. Coffee doesn't get any better than his Kenyans and his Yirgs.

Northeast CT will put you in the Windham County? Don't know much in that area. In New Haven, there is me and Willoughby's. Willoughby's has great drips. If you are lucky, they will be brewing one of their COEs or even Esmeralda. For espresso, I am afraid there is yours truly in Hartford and in New Haven that is about it. I can pull a passable shot. When the planets are aligned and when lighten struck you will get a god shot.
 
ElPugDiablo said:
If you are in Boston area, check out Simon's in Cambridge, Crema in Harvard Square, Atomic Cafe in North Shore and Taste in Newton. You can also e-mail Jamie at barismo.com, he knows the Boston market pretty well. You should also get on Terroir's mailing list and attend George Howell's open house. You will get to try his Northern Italian as pulled by his padawan, and definitely try any of his drip Kenyans and Yirgs. Coffee doesn't get any better than his Kenyans and his Yirgs.

Thanks for the Boston info, my son lives up in Revere so I'm up there every once in a while. I have bought from Terrior so I should be on their mailing list but I'll sign up to make sure. When does George do the open house? I just finished some of their Datera Calabria espresso as well as a bag of the Datera N.I. Style. The Calabria was my favorite of the two.

In the past I've also bought from Willoughbys, Barrington, PT's Coffee in Kansas City, Peets & I just got in a couple lbs of Black Cat from Intelligentsia. When that runs out I'm going to try some of Counter Culture's Espresso blends. I am a fan of the Kenyan coffees in a press pot or Aeropress but haven't had a Yirgachafee that really did it for me. I just preordered a bag of Esmeralda from PT's which should ship in late July. I got a lb from them last year & it was exceptional!
 
About every month or so they will have an open house in their facility. If you are on their mailing list you will get an e-mail announcement, and you just need to RSVP it. For Terroir's Kenyans, I would try them in drip brewer such as Technivorm or a vacpot. I am not a big fan of french pressed Kenya.

Sounded like you like a darker espresso. You may want to give Paradise Roasters Espresso Nuevo and Coffee Klatch' Belle Espresso a try.
 
Enigma

Dear John,

First, you must be an alien! How else could you have found and posted such a perfect likeness of me?

I read your post, and believe you missed my point. I am not judging your business model or your standards or practice. I am only speaking from the perspective of a newcomer to the world of coffee who might be blown out of their interest by those who can tolerate nothing but their own high level of appreciation.

I understand what you are saying about the lack of good coffee available. I have the same problem. You are wise and smart in building your business so that you can capture your niche. And I totally understand the strength of loyalty you build with your customers in your approach.

I believe those who possess great knowledge in their field have a responsibility to bring others up. Especially when the field is so public and universally practiced as coffee consumption.

You are a purveyor of fine coffee. You are also a purveyor of knowledge and coffee culture. The responsibility says you should be empathetic toward those who are up and coming. Teach them. Nurture them. This is how we build the collective appreciation for fine coffee. Ultimately we can increase the quality of coffees offered everywhere this way.

D. Donuts and their ilk flourish only because they have a populace willing to drink their coffee. It can change, one drinker at a time.

Sounds like a movement to me....

Mako
 
ElPugDiablo said:
About every month or so they will have an open house in their facility. If you are on their mailing list you will get an e-mail announcement, and you just need to RSVP it. For Terroir's Kenyans, I would try them in drip brewer such as Technivorm or a vacpot. I am not a big fan of french pressed Kenya.

Sounded like you like a darker espresso. You may want to give Paradise Roasters Espresso Nuevo and Coffee Klatch' Belle Espresso a try.

I'm not a fan of drip coffee but I do have a Melitta BCM-4c (worlds best free drip brewer) that I keep around if someone wants some. I prefer the flavors I get with the Press, Areopress or Espresso over drip but the Vacpot might be interesting.

As far as Espresso goes I do prefer the blends over the single origin Espressos I've tried. I wouldn't consider the current Black Cat or La Bella Vita to be dark roasts but they do have a heartier flavor then the Terrior Espressos. Speaking of dark roasts I saw an Espresso blend at Whole Foods recently that was black as night & soaking wet with oil. Made me cringe just to look at it.
 
MakoShark,

I think we agree more than we disagree.

As a 'quality purveyor' you must set the standard and any change is towards a continual refining and raising the bar. In order to foster the kind of expertise consumers look for, you need to be unwavering in your standards. The customer who seeks you out expects to be guided, and sometimes even yanked in a direction, and when they arrive at where you've taken them, they are pleasantly surprised.

As I mentioned before, I have made several thousand cups of press, and hundreds of the siphon coffee now... all fresh brewed by the cup, and all black. People don't spend $4.75-$6.50 for five ounces of coffee to add cream and sugar to it. And although we strive to serve an exceptional product, you'd be surprised how casual we are.

Really. 8) :D
 
We agree...

John,

Believe me, I have no objection what ever to your philosophy on fine coffee, and the standards you set. I agree, we agree.

My point was merely to point out that tone is important. My sense was that iampatches13 is a young up-and-comer, who shows some interest in quality. My sense was that he (or she) seems outspoken and is developing a strong opinion about his preference. This person is heading down the path ... to you. I want the catch to be a welcome one.

So in reading a lot into his remarks and yours, I commented. Forgive me for challenging your stands on coffee. You are respectable without doubt. I only wish to grow our numbers.

Mako
 
MakoShark,

point taken.

If one seeks to walk the path of the Coffee-Jedi, they may have to do so without the protection of their light-on-the-cream saber. :D

When someone is close, I'd rather yank them into the pool than wait for them to dip their toes first.

One thing is for certain; good coffee brings out good coffee discussions.

:!:
 
Coffee-Jedi

Hi John,

With talk like that,
If one seeks to walk the path of the Coffee-Jedi, they may have to do so without the protection of their light-on-the-cream saber.
you've got to enter into the Alien Abduction Serial!

No doubt, your light-on-the-cream saber is effective against Centaurian Human/Clones. And existing as you do in Salt Lake City, you are certainly challenged at all hours about your coffee inclinations. You are a battle honed warrior, living in the midst of Mormons who consider you a sinner. You must join our resistance movement!

You'll have to jump over to "Alien Abduction - A javahead serial ..." in the "Coffee Industry Forum". I think it may be just the vehicle to state your message on coffee, in an intriguing way. You would add much to the story line.

And your "take no prisoners" attitude is just what those aliens need to send them running. So jump on in, the coffee's fine.

Mako
 
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