Go Green Expo

I'm not sure how much coffee-related stuff there will be at each location, but the conference sounds like it would be a good opportunity to peruse the latest in sustainable/eco-friendly efforts.

Check it out here.

CC: La Mill Coffee

*Update for May 27, 2013*

Subject: La Mill Coffee
Location: Baltimore, MD
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Baltimore's inner harbor is a great destination that, for a long time, only seemed to be lacking a great coffee joint. Thankfully, the harbor is now home to the first east coast location to La Mill Coffee, a Los Angeles blockbuster receiving all too many accolades for great coffee and great service. Keeping with their illustrious reputation, LA Mill managed to find a home in the Four Seasons right in downtown.

Swinging by one lovely morning, I found the familiar La Mill sign not far from the hotel entrance. Walking in, I found a gorgeous open shared interior with the hotel tavern that was chock full of various seating, large windows and beautiful design. For my coffee, I ordered a pourover of a Guatemala and an espresso of their Bliss Espresso blend. The Guatemala pourover smacked of sugar cookie, sassafras, wheat, malt and nutmeg, proving sweet with a nice malty finish. The espresso, pulled short with a brown crema, tasted of herbs de Provence, cocoa, salt, milk, lemon rind, grapefruit and a little pepper.

As I had hoped and longed for, this expansion of a westerly gem retained all of its luster. If you're downtown or around the harbor, stop by the Four Seasons for a great cup of coffee at La Mill.

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*original post from February, 2009*
Subject: La Mill Coffee
Locations visited: Los Angeles, CA 
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

There is nothing like a nice warm respite in the warmer parts of the country in the dead of winter. But there is also nothing worse then getting there and finding it cold and rainy. Alas, my fate was somewhere between those two maxims in a recent trip to LA; warmish weather with spells of torrential rain. Fortunately I had some wonderful coffee prospects to keep my spirits soaring.

One particular gem I've had my eye on for some time was a ritzy establishment called La Mill Coffee. It had developed a reputation for taking the coffee experience to new heights, with table service, exquisitely-skilled baristas and higher end products.

Needless to say, I wasted no time in getting there. I arrived on a sunny morning, seeking parking on the crowded streets of Silver Lake. To my surprise, La Mill had it's own parking lot despite being on a crowded thoroughfare. Walking up to the front, the cafe stands out from the rest of the street with it's glaring red store front and beautiful windows. Inside the red continues into a well-decorated interior full of beautiful art, chandeliers and a large array of upscale dining areas.

The coffee is their own, consisting of four coffees that day. I decided to try their Nicaraguan, brewed on their Clover. I usually am not visually affected when I first sip coffee, but this one made my eyes roll into the back of my head and caused me to take a deep breath. This coffee tasted like a smooth light roast and had distinct flavors of toasted nut and chocolate. The espresso was pulled really short and demonstrated similar amazing-ness; smacks of honey, super velvety texture and light acidity. The teas were free leaf and La Mill also offers what looks like a decadent full menu.

On the whole, I left La Mill walking on air. I would say that this place needs to be a detour if you're visiting the area and a common hangout if you live nearby.

CC: Boulder Coffee Company

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What's does "CC" mean?

Subject: Boulder Coffee Company
Location visited: Rochester, NY
(Alexander St location)
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]


While I am tremendously aware that good interior design is hard to come by, I still find it a bit depressing to find so few good examples of it in coffeehouses. Sure, other things factor in (location, economy, etc) but with so many resources out there for the design-challenged (like IKEA and blogs like Apartment Therapy to start), it just seems so wrong to sit in a boring white wall cafe adorned with Walmart art and coffee puns.

But recently I stumbled upon a swanky coffee pad in Rochester called Boulder Coffee Company. The place sits in the downtown area of Rochester in a rather large brick building. The inside opens up into a beautiful facility with high ceilings, candle-lit tables,vintage furniture, a ceramic-tiled stage for performers and a beautiful collection of eclectic art. And judging by the website and nice stage, it seems that a lot of local talent go through their doors.

They roast their own coffee and seem to have a fair amount of offerings. I had the Boulder Blend, a fair coffee with hints of honey but with strong shades of char, not to mention a little stale; can't say I was thrilled with it. The espresso actually proved slightly unique in a good way; the shots were pulled long and the closest thing I can pin the taste to is like chocolate milk with a nice acidity and only a hint of char. Besides the coffee and tea (the tea I forgot to note), they also serve wine, beer and a full food menu.

While I can skim little from the actual intended coffee practices from the website, I feel that Boulder seems on the right path. I definitely would like to give Boulder another try the next time I'm in town. If you're nearby and looking for decent coffee and a beautiful place to sit, give one of Boulder's locations a try.

Specialty Coffee in Atlanta!

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Ever wanted to network with some of the best in the coffee and tea industry? If you're in the area of Atlanta (or you wish to be) on April 16 - 19, you definitely should stop by The Specialty Coffee Event SCAA 2009 (i.e. the SCAA's 21st Exposition)

Events will include the World Barista Competition (there's still some regional competitions going on if you'd like to get into some local amazing-ness) and some other amazing workshops.

Product Review: FortePromo's Cafe Set

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Company: FortePromo.com
Product: Coffee House Cafe Set
Rating: 3+ (translates to "good")


Coffee and tea are only good if they can be enjoyed correctly. What good is coffee if you cannot brew it, espresso if you have not the proper machine or grinder, or tea... well, if you have not a cup full of close-to-boiling water (let's face it; it doesn't take much to enjoy tea).

Consequently, quite often we beverage geeks really pay a lot of attention to equipment. So when FortePromo.com sent me their cafe set to try out, I was interested to test out the quality.

Though I've personally not had much experience with FortePromo.com, it seems the company has a great deal of background in personalizing products for promotional purposes (which is also easily deduced in that you need to buy 24 sets for the low price of $25) and also produces what seems to be pretty decent products.

The cafe set arrived in a nice black box. The set includes a 1 cup french press (around 18 oz) and two small mugs fashioned in likeness to the french press (i.e. glass in a wire frame). As I've noted in my explorations, the lid and plunger really define the set and thus, I noted that the lid is a basic two-layer plastic (there's a separable white plastic dome under the lid) and the plunger is a plastic and mesh composite.

After a couple runs, I felt that I really got the full experience of the set. To start with the less complex, I found the cups to be quaint and of decent quality. The only detraction was that the coffee residue (the fine grinds that always sneak in) looks a whole lot worse in a clear cup.

The french press proved overall decent. The glass pot seems to hold up under the wear-and-tear of use, the frame proved durable, and the plunger did a good job of holding back the grinds. My only dislikes were that the plunger's only rest position was in full plunge (i.e. the plunger was not wide enough to stop at various degrees of altitude), which made keeping the lid on between the initial mixing and 4 minutes later a bit difficult.

In the end, I found the set to be decent (especially for the price!) with but a few drawbacks. I would get this set for someone who's just getting into coffee, someone looking for a press for travel, someone who has a good coffee marketing idea, or someone who has dire need for a lot of reserves.

If you're in the market for a regiment of french presses, give FortePromo.com a try.