CC: La Colombe

What's a Coffee Commentary?

Subject: La Colombe Torrefaction
Location visited: Philadelphia, PA (19th St and about Walnut)
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key] 

  *Updated 1/10/09* 

Quite a few people in Philadelphia love and rave about La Colombe, that it saved Philly from bad coffee. Granted I've only been a conscious coffee imbider these past 6 years, so I can't vouch for the improvement. What I can vouch for is that La Colombe always tastes the same, whether it's a good coffeehouse, a bad coffeehouse, or the very frequented La Colombe shop on South 19 St in Rittenhouse Square. Consistency is a good thing, but the thing is that I have never had a cup of La Colombe (coffee and espresso) that I stepped back and said "Wow, that's really good!", kinda more like "yep, that's La Colombe."  

They espouse their claim to "excellence" is blending coffees, the art of mixing together different coffees to result in a better coffee. But these days, I think blending is overdone; it's a misleading sign of sophistication. Some amazing coffees should not be blended and hence offered as single-origin (unblended). La Colombe offers only 5 blends (1 is decaf) and while they might know how to blend, the results never knocked my socks off. 

But my experience at the main store really impacted my feelings on the company. The baristas were hardly friendly, actually more bordering on rude. The espresso machine looked a little run down (though still trucking). And the decor was kinda bare; nice and spacious, but definitely crowded and noisy. The tea was very basic (can't remember the name) and I didn't try the chai. 

But in the end, I really have to side with those that think that La Colombe is way over-hyped. For the pride they espouse on their website, I would expect better. 

Updated 1/10/09 

Was walking around late one evening and decided to stop in to see if the espresso scene had improved (from my samplings at other spots, the coffee itself had not). My shots were pulled long, had only a bit of crema, and while it demonstrated a pleasant sweetness and tinge of cocoa, it also smacked of char on the back end. In the end, decent but still no where even close to an excellent espresso.

Land of Desolation

I have often pondered as to why this region of NJ has almost ZERO coffee establishments of repute. My parents live in Cinnaminson, and growing up I was not once exposed to a truly legitimate coffee establishment; just WaWa and Dunkin Donuts (though DD ain't bad). As a result, I've come to the conclusion that this area of NJ that is roughly the land divided between Rt 42 and I-195 is the "land of desolation." More specifically, it gets really bad between Rt 70 and a little above I-195 (you get the idea). And as far as South Jersey goes, this is the crowded part; how did the uncrowded, less busy part of South Jersey totally trump the northern half? It boggles the mind!

Maybe good coffee establishments can't survive here. Maybe there's a conspiracy. Whatever it is, it makes me really sad for people who live in this empty land. And I'm sure there are other such places of desolation, but I only truly know of this one.

CC: Coffee Works

What's a Coffee Commentary?


Subject: Coffee Works
Location visited: Voorhees, NJ
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]


A sad fact about southern NJ is that between Collingswood and Trenton, few decent coffee & tea establishments exist. In fact, in my hometown area of Cinnaminson, I can't think of a single place around me that I would flock to get a good cup of coffee. I call this area the "land of desolation."

Now Voorhees isn't tremendously close to my house nor is it north of Collingswood (it's more east) but it's home to one of the few decent coffee establishments remotely near the "land of desolation". Coffee Works is situated in the Ritz 16 plaza, a very strategic spot I'm sure they sing about when they close up shop.

They roast their own coffee (always a plus) and usually do a good job, though sometimes the coffee goes south. A friend of mine commented that a couple times he went in, the big glass bins of coffee were looking a little stale and oily, and I can remember a couple times trying the coffee and it tasting a little decrepit. Also, roasting your own beans comes with the burden of roasting them to the right darkness, and it was here that I first had under-roasted coffee. But I think it's safe to say theses were probably isolated incidents (but always keep an eye out...)

The espresso is pretty good (a blend of their own as well) and they seem to employ well-trained baristas, which I think is what keeps people coming back (along with the fact that it encroaches on the "land of desolation"). The tea was an odd name that I can't remember, but it looked good (?) and the chai I did not see.

So if you're in the area or in the "land of desolation" towards the south, you should stop by.

*Update 5/30/2007
I would like to alter my earlier comment from "well-trained baristas" to "decently-trained baristas." I either have had the unfortunate luck of stopping in when new baristas are working or they just have bad days when I'm there, for decently-pulled espresso seems more a rarity then a usual occurence...

CC: Emjay's Cafe

What's a Coffee Commentary?

Subject: Emjay's Cafe
Location visited: Mullica Hill, NJ
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]


*Update 9/27/07
It appears Emjay's is closed.

I usually don't blog twice in a day but today's an exception. About a week ago, I was prompted to visit a local coffeehouse that I had somewhat overlooked in my travels. Since Mullica Hill is home to my favorite coffeehouse as well to one of my least favorite coffeehouses (which still ranks above corporate charcoal), I figured the town couldn't possibly hold another viable coffee operation. Annnnd I was wrong.

A "subterranean" coffeehouse (because it's in a huge basement space), Emjay's is by far one of the nicest, most bohemian set-ups I have ever seen. The coffeehouse use to be several independent shops but now is one cohesive interesting space.

I forgot the name of the coffee roaster, but I do remember that the roaster is out of Yonkers and focuses on single origin coffees (i.e. doesn't focus on blends). Both the coffee and espresso were quite tasty, the espresso not too bitter and the coffee (a medium Costa Rican) was very full-bodied.

The tea is out of Oregon, a company called Stash. I only had an Earl Grey Iced (tasted pretty good) and the other tea also looks promising. The chai I didn't catch, but it's probably powdered (no one seems to do it old school anymore).

Overall, I find it amazing that a town like Mullica Hill would have two good coffee joints. While I still prefer Crescent Moon, Emjay comes in a very close second.


*Update 9/27/07
As could be predicted, Mullica Hill cannot support three coffee establishments. Emjay's had a brief change to Cafe Aroun before it was closed down. RIP.

CC: Mugshots CoffeeHouse and JuiceBar

What's a Coffee Commentary?

Subject: Mugshots CoffeeHouse and JuiceBar
Location visited: Philadelphia, PA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]


*Updated 8/6/09

Probably the easiest part of finding this place is that it's right across the street from Eastern State Penitentiary (hence the name "Mugshots"). But the play off the prison's name is the only thing the two have in common.

I had first spotted Mugshots this past Fall when coming out of a tour of ESP. The look is well-done, with outside seating bordering the ramp that goes inside. Inside the place is superbly decorated, with a good deal of seating options.

The signature (or so it seems) of this place is that everything is organic/fair trade/environmentally friendly, which can be a great aspect of the business if it's not at the expense of quality (cause if it stinks, why bother?). The menu, as the title suggests, has a juice bar as well as other food and drinks.

The coffee is Equal Exchange out of Massachusetts, a socially-conscious roaster that makes not a bad cup of coffee (I didn't think it amazing though). The espresso was from the same place, but the drink that I got was a little bleh, whether it was the espresso machine or the coffee itself I couldn't tell.

The tea was Choice organic teas, a socially-conscious tea distributor based out of Seattle. I didn't get to try it, though I do plan to soon, but it looked promising. The chai was Oregon Chai, which is good if you like your chai sweet and thick (of course prep of the milk has a lot to do with it as well).

Overall, of Philly coffeehouses, Mugshots is a good place to grab some java, especially if you're going to visit the neighboring penitentiary.


*Update 8/6/09
Wanting to revisit a lot of my older haunts, I made it back to this Philly spot the other day to give this review a bit of an update.

I didn't bother with the drip again as it's still Equal Exchange (and my opinion of their coffee has greatly degenerated over the years) but they DO offer a coffee featured from the Independent Coffee Cooperative (this month was Crescent Moon's Las Milagras) which looks promising.

I did get an espresso, also Equal Exchange, which came out surprisingly fair. While it had the expected punch of charred bean, it also had notes of dark chocolate, nutmeg and tobacco. Not the best shots ever but pretty good for what I expected.

On other notes, the seating seems to have expanded and the place seems to still be going strong.