Showing posts with label coffee bar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coffee bar. Show all posts

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Boonton Coffee


Subject: Boonton Coffee
Location: Boonton, NJ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

There are lots of towns in New Jersey and New York I don't get to a whole lot purely because my trajectory rarely leads me northeast these days. But sometimes, the busy thoroughfares of northeast NJ must be traversed, and on my most recent such romp I found myself in a charming town at the threshold of Boonton Coffee.

Monday, February 26, 2024

Infusion Coffee and Tea Crafters



Subject: Infusion Coffee and Tea Crafters
Location: Tempe, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Trying to get to an off-site coffee shop between business conference sessions is often like a leg of the Amazing Race. Half the time, the targeted cafe is just far enough away that you only have enough time to grab the coffee and get back before you are poignantly missed. 

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

XO Coffee Shop



Subject: XO Coffee Shop
Location: Kissimmee, FL
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

There exist many combinations of services I have seen with a coffee shop, but a tattoo parlor would be a first for me. 

Saturday, January 20, 2024

Pressed Coffee & Books


Subject: Pressed Coffee & Books
Location: Pottsville, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

People say a lot of things are the perfect ying to the yang of coffee, but for many of the world that grew up before Amazon destroyed bookstores, books have a special place in the evolution of coffee culture. There's something about flipping through a fresh brook while sipping on a hot cup of coffee that just makes one pine for simpler times. 

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Sagebrush Coffee


Subject: Sagebrush Coffee Shop and Roastery
Location: Chandler, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

It certainly is no indication of good coffee, but there's something about giant coffee shops. There are precious few in the northeast but once the region of super high rents begins to fade in the rear view mirror, the landscape starts to blossom with shops the size of houses. One recent visit to Arizona turned up a fine specimen, a gorgeous, large footprinted cafe slinging out good coffee called Sagebrush.

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Lit / Monocacy


Subject: Monocacy Coffee Co / Lit Coffee
Location: Bethlehem, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I have fabulous memories of Bethlehem, PA. I recall visiting a distant cousin and going to a Christmas market as a child, stopping by for numerous respites while passing through and recently, a long-overdue tour of the silent steel mill. Sadly not many of these visits had a great coffee stop but that fortunately changed on my most recent visit.

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Yellow Brick Coffee


Subject: Yellow Brick Coffee
Location: Tucson, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

While wandering through Tucson on my last trip, I found myself in a business park looking for great coffee. While this location is no longer present (see the new storefront pictured from their website above), I found myself at the (old) roastery location for Yellow Brick Coffee.

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Foxtail Coffee


Subject: Foxtail Coffee
Location visited: Hunter's Creek in Orlando, FL
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

About 10 or so years ago, it always shocked me how much the Orlando area lacked great coffee. I then chalked it up to high real estate prices or people not wanting hot beverages, but despite whatever the hurdles, good coffee is far more plentiful now amidst the area strip malls. One particular contributor to the coffee scene is the many locations of one particular coffee enterprise called Foxtail Coffee. 

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

First Village Coffee



Subject: First Village Coffee
Location: Ossining, NY
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Everyone has heard of Sleepy Hollow, but not many people traverse the once-sleepy-now-insanely-populated hamlet just over the Tappan Zee bridge (and before you correct me, that will always be the bridge name). Dotted with plenty of cute towns, one particular area stood out to me not for its affinity for pumpkin skulls, but instead for its quality coffee.

Friday, September 29, 2023

18 Grams Coffee Lab


Subject: 18 Grams Coffee Lab
Location: Culpeper, VA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

How I still wish I liked bicycling! I like the idea of the exercise, I like the idea of being dependent more on my own muscles for locomotion and I love coffee. Sadly the disconnect for me comes into elements of time and terrain, so for now I will just patronize the bike outfits that offer cafes.

Monday, September 25, 2023

Pair Cupworks


Subject: Pair Cupworks
Location visited: Mesa, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Cafes that open for but a few hours have either mastered supply and demand, or they hold defiantly to old convention. And since few shops that have lines wrap around the block for a truncated AM rush, I would postulate that most cafes are letting prime real estate sit unused the majority of the day. 

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Grit Coffee


Subject: Grit Coffee
Location visited: Elliewood, Charlottesville, VA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

A great coffeehouse next to a college campus is something that is surprisingly lacking around most universities. Personally, I have attended or worked at several colleges that for one reason or another, had no good shop within walking distance of campus. Sure, it's not the end of the world, but the joy of drinking excellent coffee while you wander a nice campus cannot be easily matched.

Monday, August 28, 2023

Fog & Flame


Subject: Fog & Flame Craft Coffee
Location: Bloomsberg, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I find that Pennsylvania still has gems unearthed even after criss-crossing the eastern half for the last twenty-something years. One particular new-to-me place was a town called Bloomsburg. Having seen it frequently in pamphlets as the backdrop to the local university, I was finally able to become acquainted with the town and a local coffee shop. 

Sunday, July 30, 2023

GrindTime Coffee



Subject: GrindTime Coffee
Location: Gilbert, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Traveling for business often means random breaks perfect for coffee shop hunting. Equipped with a car during a recent conference in Phoenix, I had an hour to kill between sessions and I headed over to a new-to-me shop called GrindTime Coffee.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

The Walk In


Subject: The Walk In
Location: Livingston Manor, NY
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Good coffee rarely exists alongside good food. I know I say it a lot, but it's worth repeating since there is no excuse I'm willing to hear. Most eateries that dish quality meals still, even in this age of great coffee options, serve sad java to their patrons. Conversely, many coffee shops that serve excellent drinks (can) rarely serve a solid full menu. It is the great coffee-food conundrum. 

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Mudhouse Coffee Roasters


Subject: Mudhouse Coffee Roasters
Location: Charlottesville, VA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

It's not often that one experiences a coffee shop at a trade show, but such was the case with Coffee Fest some years ago. Trying a different form of competition, they tried a Best Coffeehouse competition and it was at such a NYC competition I ran into Mudhouse. Not having been to their native Charlottesville, I was blown away by their coffee and skill and vowed to one day make it to their Virginia shop.

Friday, June 30, 2023

Kream Coffee


Subject: Kream Coffee 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

Combining a coffee shop with another business (or visa versa) has always been a great idea, but what happens from inception to conception can make or break the notion. 

Monday, June 26, 2023

Blackwatch Cafe


Subject: Blackwatch Cafe
Location: Scranton, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Many coffee shops exist in a minimalist, white-walled retail space with some minor charm, but sometimes a unique gem works its way into the mix. Such was a winter visit to Scranton to a stand-alone stone shop at a public park where I found what looked more at home in the Scottish highlands than northeast Pennsylvania. 

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Xanadu Coffee Company


Subject: Xanadu Coffee Co.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

While I have been to Phoenix a few times, I feel that I have only seen small chunks of the area. To that end, each visit I try to scope out new spots to frequent, especially those of the coffee persuasion.