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What's does "CC" mean? Location: Philadelphia, PA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]
My cousin moved to South Philly a couple months ago and while I envy not her daily hunt for street parking or the inconvenience of grocery shopping, I do covet the fact that she lives within walking distance of several great coffeehouses.
One coffeehouse newcomer is as new as my cousin's lease, a corner cafe called Shot Tower Coffee. The coffeehouse has made a local splash as Philly's newest Stumptown Coffee slinging operation bent on quality. I made my way over one Saturday to the corner of 6th and Christian to find them in a brick building with olive trim around large windows. Inside, the space is spiffy, with nice decor, seating along the windows and a massive table to the right of the door.
I ordered an espresso of Stumptown's Colombia Los Gauchos and a drip of their Burundi Kinyovu. The espresso, pulled short with marbled crema, sang of spicy cherry, chocolate cake, salt, ginger snap and jasmine (delicious!). The drip held notes of straw, caramel, butter, spinach, apple, sassafras and a subtle earthiness amidst a nice body (also delicious). The tea is Rishi.
Thus, while I will probably not be moving into South Philadelphia any time soon, I have a few good reasons to visit my cousin, with Shot Tower standing at the top of the list. If you're in the city, give Shot Tower a try.
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What's does "CC" mean? Location: Washington, DC
[visited former location]
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]
It amazes me with the quickness things change but in a world moving millions of miles a millisecond (ok...maybe a little slower) I guess I should not hold my mouth agape at sudden turns and surprises. One example is Pound Coffee in DC. There was word of a second location on Pennsylvania Avenue back in October but since I was in DC prior to its opening, I made a fun-filled trip to their NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) location. Soon after, it turns out that they opened their second location only to then unexpectedly close down the first. Apparently it was not planned and fortunately the second location came just in time.
Thus, in sharing of my Pound experience, I shan't waste time on the details of cafe ambiance (but you can scope out pics here) but since the coffee seems to have remained constant, I shall share my coffee experience at their former geography.
Pound serves up coffee from Kickapoo Coffee and that fine afternoon I ordered an espresso (I believe it was their Ethiopian Sidama) and a drip of their Guatemalan. The espresso, pulled short with a blond crema, dictated bits of vanilla, hazelnut, tonic, mint and lime amidst a subtle milkiness (overall very nice). The drip held bright notes of lettuce, some pound cake, honey, baklava and an underlying nuttiness; a smooth coffee with mild but delicious flavors. The tea was Mighty Leaf.
While I'm looking forward to trying the Hill location, I'm sure that they're doing an even better job then in their former glory. Whether they move again or not, seek out Pound and give them a go.
The short answer is usually. But no one puts stock in the short answer.
Ask any coffee enthusiast if the type of water matters in their coffee and everyone of them will (read: should) say yes. The three types of water available to the average household are usually filtered, tap and bottled water. To quickly rule out one option, I would agree with the growing number of people that bottled water is indeed a waste of money and resources, especially since numerous bottled waters are practically the same as tap water in terms of health and taste benefits.
That leaves the duel between tap and filtered water, with the two issues being health effects and taste. Depending on where you are, your tap water can contain harmful agents that you might not want in your body. But at the same time, there are some regions of the country with exceptional tap water. So, it really comes down to your specific geographical source and hygenic philosophy as to whether filtering offers any real benefits for your health.
And then there was taste. Since coffee is mostly water, clearly the water you use to brew your coffee will make a severe impact on the taste of your coffee. Thus, while I know some cities boast amazing tap water, we're all not so lucky. Thus, I took up an offer from Pur to test out a Pur Water Pitcher to see if it made a difference in the taste of my coffee versus coffee brewed with my tap water.
While I do not have the specific information on the health qualities of my local water system, I would say that it ranks fairly high in taste comparatively to other taps I've tapped. As for my methods of testing, I compared my tap water versus the filtered water in both glasses of water and in cups of coffee.
Drinking the water straight up, my tap water produced an alkali-esque quality in the aftertaste compared to the Pur water which had a much brighter and sweeter flavor to it. This held true through multiple trials and even when my wife produced me a blind taste test, I was able to differentiate the tap and the filtered.
As for my coffee, the results were similar. The coffee brewed via the filtered water was a little sweeter and acidic in taste while the tap water produced coffee slightly more basic with a metallic aftertaste.
Thus, I can vouch that the Pur Water Pitcher did make a noticeable difference in the taste of my water and coffee. If you're looking to get better tasting water from your tap, a water filter could do it for you though there's no guarantees. And if you like being uber careful about possible threats in your water, then filtration will definitely help you sleep better (whether it really does the job, only time will tell).
So if you have less-then-stellar tap water and/or you want to take a step in the direction of water safety, then try out a Pur Water Pitcher.note: pitcher was provided free of charge and the above review is objective feedback.
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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.
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What's does "CC" mean? Location visited: Philadelphia, PA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]
South Street Philadelphia, while overrated in some ways and unbeknown in others, holds a lot of great memories for me. I remember late nights walking the streets of Philadelphia, getting a slice of pizza and hanging out in a late night cafe talking theology with good friends.
Alas, it's been many a year since I've been able to stay out past midnight but fortunately, South St is picking up some great establishments that are wondrous at any time of the day. One is a German place called Brauhaus Schmitz (amazing roll mops, wursts and pork) which I highly recommend on a nice day for lunch or dinner. The other place of recent existence is a coffeehouse called Bodhi Coffee.
Technically, Bodhi exists closer to Pine St on South 2nd but it's clearly connected to the South St foot traffic. The shop is a narrow venue with but a few spots to plop down (in and outside) but since they use the space wisely, its more cozy than cramped. Bodhi kicks out Stumptown Coffee, serving coffee via pourover and standard drip as well as espresso in a no nonsense fashion. I ordered a cup of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Adado and an espresso of Hairbender. The Adado offered notes of bright blueberry, wheat, little blackberry tart and cocoa amidst a light but potent brew. The espresso, pulled short with a marbled crema, delivered ginger, dark cocoa, sea salt, bell pepper, black pepper and a nice sweetness. The tea is House of Tea.
I have to say that Bodhi fills a niche that has long been vacant in the vicinity and to top it off, they do it quite well. Whether South Street is a regular hang out or an occasional stop, swing by Bodhi for some delicious coffee.
What's does "CC" mean?
