Saturday, July 25, 2009

CC: Rao's Coffee


What's does "CC" mean?

Subject:
Rao's Coffee
Location visited: Amherst, MA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]



For a good part of my life, I've only really looked at the coast of Massachusets as a place worth visiting, such as Boston and Martha's Vineyard. Then recently, I've had the distinct pleasure of traveling through the other 90% of the state for various reasons and have found many groovy locales.

Though an obvious pick, Amherst still towers as one of my favorite spots mid-state (though a colleague of my contends Northampton as superior). Aside from nearby U Mass, the town boasts a pretty cool spread with decent parking and seemingly plenty to do.

One such happening destination proved to be the decade-old coffeehouse, Rao's Coffee. The place sits a little off the center streets which gives it a nice secluded ambiance with more than plenty of outside seating amidst a beautiful courtyard and patio. Once you walk inside, the place grabs a lot of natural light from its windows as well as their huge globe lights and has two rooms with more than enough seating.

Rao's roasts their coffee at a seperate location in nearby Hadley and had a good variety available at their cafe. That fine morning of my visist, I had the Tanzanian Peaberry, roasted a little dark for drip, which had a flare of char that added a little spice as well as nice grape presence (not endemic of the roast). The espresso was pulled in two medium shots, had decent crema, a little lime up front, a nice chocolate milk flavor and a tinge of pretzel on the caboose. The tea I noted but right now, I cannot read what I wrote.


Given the cool location and the fair coffee, I would say that Rao's adds a nice facet to the town. If nearby, give Rao's a try.


1 comment:

Candace said...

As an unwavering coffee enthusiast, just wanted to let you know I'm lovin' this blog! I'm a NC native who fell in love with the Boston coffee scene a year ago and I'm achin' to go back to MA with all of these beautiful cafe reviews. :) So, thank ya kindly!

Added you to my coffee blogroll! Dig it. http://coffeecan.wordpress.com/