Wednesday, April 20, 2011

CC: Georgio's Coffee

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What's does "CC" mean?
Location visited: Huntington, NY
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating:
5+ [
see key]


While I know traveling through Long Island is never easy, I still can't figure out how such a large land mass has so few attractions. Sure you have the beaches and west Long Island contributes to New York City, but otherwise I have tried to find tourism fodder and every time, I seem to come up empty.

Much like my search for things to see, my hopes of finding good coffee east of Brooklyn is usually nil. For all of the amazing things happening in NYC and the surrounding areas, Long Island has not really developed many quality coffee destinations. But as my fortune would have it, while I was driving through the island on business, a quick internet search for a coffee gamble turned up Georgio's Coffee, an operation that was featured in Roast Magazine's July/August edition.

Needless to say, I stopped by on my way home to find the place in a small strip mall right on the corner. The exterior's no frills mirrors the inside: a shop that has little as far as seating or ambiance but dedicates much more focus to the coffee and 1on1 customer interaction.

Upon my arrival, Georgio and his wife welcomed me and instantly began talking coffee with me. After they went through the many coffees to try, I settled on a Kenyan (a coffee that was no longer available via whole bean due to demand) brewed via siphon (aka vac pot) and an espresso of their 4 bean blend. The Kenyan proved as delicious as it was popular, holding notes of bright citrus, sage, caramel apple (complete with a tinge of apple skin on the end), grapenut, a little grass and a fine dusting of tobacco at the very end. The espresso, pulled short with thick crema, smacked of lemon, rock candy, a tickle of bitter cocoa, an intense darkness and bits of cinnamon and cranberry all served in a paper cup. Given the recommendation for a macchiato or for sugar in my espresso, it would seem their espresso was not designed to stand alone and the philosophy seemed to fit more of an Italian's model of preparing espresso (all in all, a decent espresso). I did not note tea.

Thus I wouldn't really recommend Georgio's if you're looking for a place to study or a place to chill. But if you are on Long Island and looking for a great cup of coffee, stop by Georgio's and experience some of the finest customer service in the state of New York as a bonus.

9 comments:

Jeremy said...

It's funny how most tourist spots seem to have few attractions other than the water.

I would say that Georgio's is a great reason to visit Long Island but then again I'm a coffee snob and go where I can find the best coffee.

Anonymous said...

drive further east. out in montauk there is a coffee oasis that serves the best shots of gimme outside of the actual gimme stores....worth the drive. and they might take a run at your best customer service in new york list.

ed c said...

The place in Montauk is called Coffee Tauk. And i second the comment about its quality. Being a major coffee geek I think the place easily ranks up there with the Intelligentsia and Bluebottle, but without the attitude. They make an affagato (sp?) with shot of leftist over laboratorio gelato. Can you get any better?

ed c said...

Forgot to mention, I believe, but may be wrong, that its a seasonal place, so check before you go.

Bill said...

thanks for the tips! I will definitely look into Coffee Tauk!

Sweet Lily said...

That's inspiring!
Can't wait to take a coffee break!!

Coffee Web Design said...

Seems pretty close to where I'll be going next week, will have to check them out. Love the coffee shop review concept for a blog! Best of luck with it, looks like it is going places.

Brian said...

Hey Bill,

I was looking through your list and wondered if you have tried Hawaiian Kona Coffe from martinezfinecoffees.com . A friend recommended them and I was thinking about ordering a bag. Any input?

Bill said...

Brian,

Haven't heard of it. Sorry.

Best of luck!

Bill