Six Flags Nonsense

This topic has absolutely nothing to do with coffee, but I would just like to comment quickly on the (lack of) brains behind Six Flags Great Adventure. Having arrived at the park on Tuesday 10 AMish, we (me + girlfriend + gf's sister and fiancé) checked to see if Kingda Ka was open (which they spouted that it was) and had high hopes for good rides and lines abbreviated (it was a Tuesday).

But we encountered just the opposite. By 2 pm, we found Kingda Ka closed the whole day, waited in Superman only for it to break down before we boarded, and had basically ridden one ride (El Toro before it broke down) and had waited 2 hours to get on it. And to top it off, all but 4 coasters were offline.

Is it realistic to expect a theme park to advertise clearly which rides don't work before you waste your money on a day at a half-working theme park? Or that said rides shall be working 51 % of the time? Six Flags needs to shape up.

Good thing they gave us exit passes to appease our rage.

CC: Java Moon Cafe

What's a Coffee Commentary?
Subject: Java Moon Cafe (no website)
Location visited: Jackson, NJ
Free WiFi ? : maybe?Rating: 2+ [see key]


UPDATE 12/17/17: Java Moon has closed down. 

This place I can say I've driven past on my way to Six Flags Great Adventure since I was a little kid (it's right between Six Flags and the outlets). When I was little, it had no appeal because it didn't look like it served anything fried or sugar-laden. When I began to drink coffee, I thought it just a place that served coffee but not a real coffeehouse (their sign advertizes meals so the mistake is easily made).

Anyways, this past winter while housesitting down the road, I decided to give it a try. Turns out they had a full coffee bar. I had dinner, which wasn't bad (a little expensive though) and had some coffee to go. The coffee/tea menu wasn't very extensive but they had the basics.

The coffee was Corim, a corporate subsidiary of a big food conglomerate. The espresso was the same. Both were good when I tried them, but after looking at the website, it doesn't sit as well (when you have 10x more flavored coffees then regular single-origins or blends, there's something askew). The tea was free-leaf, though I can't vouch for quality. The chai was powdered.

Another area with little decent coffee, Java Moon is a nice place to have around. But overall, it ranked as a child amidst giants; still room for growth.

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...