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

Thursday, October 20, 2022

K Brew


Subject: K Brew
Location visited: Ebenezer Rd, Knoxville, TN
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I have been to Tennessee a dozen times in my younger days, but in that count, for some reason I never stopped in Knoxville. This mostly resulted from a ridiculous time table and compatriots that did not enjoy multiple stops, but fortunately those days sit largely in the past. Thus on my most recent trek from east to west through the Volunteer State, I made a point to hit Knoxville.

Tuesday, March 08, 2022

Jefferson Street Coffee / Smokin' Aces


Subject: Jefferson Street Coffee / Smokin' Aces
Location: Lexington, KY
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

It's almost always a solid recommendation when a barista at one coffee establishment gives accolades to another local shop. Naturally I have to usually ask for said recommendation (because what cafe always sends their customers to other cafes?) but when a barista of one good shop usually can think of another shop instantly, it's usually a good sign.

Sunday, September 12, 2021

Sibling Coffee Roasters


Subject: Sibling Coffee Roasters
Location: Charles Town, WV
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

Reading about Harpers Ferry in history books always had me curious about checking out the area, but since it was a bit far for a day trip, I never made it out. Then this past year, my son got his free national park pass in 4th grade and suddenly free park admission motivated my family and I to head over.

Monday, October 19, 2020

Cogito Coffee




Subject: Cogito Coffee
Location visited: Philadelphia, PA 
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

State lines are funny things. Depending on the two states, sometimes a coffee shop has half a dozen locations within feet of a border yet not a single shop on the other side. Sure there's a lot of bureaucratic red tape to blame, but when push comes to shove, no one likes paying to cross a bridge for a cup of coffee.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Overwinter Coffee



Subject: Overwinter Coffee
Location: Buffalo, NY
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Buffalo failed to make a solid impression when I first visited back in 2007. Maybe it was because I expected a better Anchor Bar experience, or the fact that I visited in winter may have had a role to play, but the real disappointment really lay rooted in the lackluster coffee adventures that turned up few good cups of coffee.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Gracenote Coffee


Subject: Gracenote Coffee
Location: Boston, MA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

While large, spacious coffeehouses occupy a hallowed place in my heart, I do also greatly enjoy the more cozy cafes of the urban landscape. Carved into city corners and architectural oddities, such a shop doesn't necessarily need to command a certain square footage to be excellent, but more so, it pulls in customers due only to coffee excellence and miscellaneous splendor.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Ironclad Coffee Roasters



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

As much as I love new structures hot off the architectural presses, there is nothing more rapturous than a repurposed antiquated structure into a beautiful coffee shop. I don't know about the average joe, but joy quickly fills my heart at seeing the old bones of a 17th century haberdashery turned into a high-end cafe or a Victorian London toilet made into a hip coffee joint.

Monday, April 01, 2019

Peixoto Coffee Roasters



Subject: Peixoto Coffee Roasters
Location: Chandler, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

With a strong push towards improving the profit due to the coffee farmer, there has been a number of approaches concocted to better accomplish sustainable living wages for the very folks making coffee a reality. Practices like 'Direct Trade' and 'Relationship Coffees' have (partly) given rise to roasters and importers making stronger ties with farmers and the regions from where they import, thus not only establishing better prices, but a better model for return business.

Yet of all the existing practices, family trade transcends it all.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Quantum Bean Coffee



Subject: Quantum Bean Coffee
Location: Morgantown, WV
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

One of my favorite types of coffeehouses are ones blooming deep in residential neighborhoods. There's something oddly appropriate about quality shops nestled in the thick of family dwellings; in my opinion, it puts the coffee in community.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Presta Coffee Roasters




Subject: Presta Coffee Roasters
Location Visited: 1st Ave, Tucson, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

One thing that often drops my jaw when I traverse the west is the number of aesthetically gorgeous coffee shops. Whether it's a reclaimed wood shop in Oregon or a coffee bar exquisitely situated inside a shipping container in San Francisco, it astounds me how relatively boring the east coast is by comparison.

Friday, January 11, 2019

PT's Coffee




Subject: PT's Coffee Roasting Co
Location Reviewed: Topeka, KS
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I remember when I first got into quality coffee around 2006 that there were a few names well-known across the nation. One of those roasters of renown was PT's Coffee out of Kansas, a roaster I first sipped (and later reviewed) all the way back in 2008. Through the past decade, PT's has continuously impressed me with their excellent coffees yet a visit to Kansas to try them out on their home turf continuously eluded me.

Monday, June 25, 2018

Dog and Hat Coffee



Subject: Dog and Hat Coffee
Coffee Mugged and Rating [see key]:
- Horsham Coffee Roasters, Rwanda Bwishaza, 5+
- Cafe Mokxa, Boliva Genaro Mamani, 6+

There is nothing like coffee arriving at your door, especially when the coffee made a trans-Atlantic voyage. Recently I had the opportunity to try out Dog and Hat Coffee, a coffee subscription operation catering mainly to folks in the UK and Europe. Not only do they deliver fresh, whole bean coffee from a variety of excellent European roasters each month to their members, but they also offer occasional goodies and special deals from time to time.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Three Ships Coffee



Subject: Three Ships Coffee
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

When my sister first moved to Virginia Beach some years ago, I remember having an excruciating time finding a good place to grab coffee between Williamsburg and the ocean. But then around 2015, I came across a young company called Three Ships and ever since, it seems the availability of good coffee in Virginia Beach has been slowly blossoming.

Friday, June 01, 2018

NJ's Great 8 Coffee Roasters


What makes a good coffee shop? Many coffee establishments thrive on selling gigantic coffee milkshakes and sugar-bombed lattes, but if you really analyze it, when the syrups are pushed aside and the whipped cream is blown away, you need good coffee to make such concoctions work. Thus for a local cafe to make great coffee beverages, they need good beans, and to utilize good beans means a shop must either source from a quality coffee roaster or take up the herculean mantle themselves.

Friday, May 25, 2018

American Bulldog Coffee Roasters




Subject: American Bulldog Coffee Roasters
Location visited: Ridgewood, NJ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Long ago, I found the lovely NJ town of Ridgewood and it seems to only have grown in beauty since. Outfitted with a pleasant downtown, a slightly bucolic train station and good local coffee, I have visited the area more often in these past years than some towns 20 miles from my house. To put it simply, if I had to move to north, Ridgewood would be on my shortlist.

Friday, May 18, 2018

Amity Coffee Roasters




Subject: Amity Coffee Roasters
Location: Greenwood, DE
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]

In my travels, rural northeast towns are some of the hardest spots in which to locate good coffee. I do love driving, but there remains only so much distance I can convince my passengers to detour for a decent cup of coffee. Thankfully, the regional prospects are getting better and fewer trips exists where a good, local shop is completely out of reach.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Evermore Coffee Roasters




Subject: Evermore Coffee Roasters
Location: Burlington, NJ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

The city of Burlington sits a few River Line train stops below Trenton and arguably holds some of the finest architectural charm in the area. It's a town that has a beautiful view of the Delaware River, and even though Burlington has had a share of tough goings through the years with a declining business district, there are signs that the area could be on an uptick.

Friday, March 02, 2018

Mugged: The Barn



Subject: The Barn
Coffees Mugged (coffees were not rated on the normal scale due to small amount mugged) [see key]:
- Nano Challa, Gera, Ethiopia
- Amaca - Los Anayes, Cauca Colombia
- La Isla, Naranjo, Costa Rica
- La Montana, Narino, Colombia
- Fazenda Um, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Nguguini AB, Kirinyaga, Kenya
- El Diamante, Intibuca, Honduras

Lots of coffee roasters extend across the continent of Europe, but only a handful have a strong reputation internationally. One of these roasters is The Barn Coffee Roasters in Berlin, a German roaster that has been growing in reputation since their inception in 2010. Sadly I have not set foot in Europe during the past 8 years, so my interactions with their coffee have been fleeting and subject to luck in finding them here in North America.

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Backyard Beans




Subject: Backyard Beans Coffee Company
Location visited: Lansdale, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

While I hold firmly to the opinion that turnpikes ruin road trips, I have come to embrace their necessity. Sure, tolls effectively suck the fun and loose change out of life, making a carefree drive into a financial balancing act, but having driven much of the United States I have come to terms that toll roads are a fair compromise until flying cars become a reality.  

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Mugged: Ferris Coffee

Subject: Ferris Coffee and Nut
Coffees Mugged and Rating [see key]:
- Costa Rica Sumava 5+
- Guatemala San Sebastian 6+
- Ethiopia Misty Valley 6+

Most coffee roasters older than disco do not produce coffee worth coffee drinking. Whether one attributes it to a fear of change or the stubborn fortitude of old habits, most coffee purveyors that predate Alfred Peet still usually purvey subpar coffee. Thus in light of the disappointing odds for old coffee roasting operations, it's pretty amazing that Ferris Coffee and Nut, having been around for nearly a century, delivers some pretty amazing coffee.