What's a Coffee Commentary?
Subject: InFusion Coffee and Tea Gallery
Location visited: Philadelphia, PA
(Bella Vista location off Carpenter St)
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 3+ [see key]
City life has always appealed to me, though I cannot say entirely why. The parking problems, the smells, and the proximity of your neighbors are all things that have never allured me but they seem to be minimized by being so close to everything, the eclectic culture, and the idea of being able to wake up and take a stroll to my favorite haunts.
InFusion Coffee and Tea Gallery seems to have that "favorite haunt" feel, having heard lots about them via various Philly food sources (nothing from my coffee resources) and further confirmed by their homey (and heavily residential) surroundings.
I arrived with the wife on a day in the city, purposefully out of the way of our usual stops to get my morning coffee from InFusion. The place is in a mostly residential area with a nice store front and it's overtly colorful logo prominently displayed on its gray walls across from a very well-kept city park. The inside of course reflected a much warmer, friendlier tone (though very compact) that you can observe better via this video they sent me last week.
As far as their coffee offerings, they offer Torreo and Equal Exchange. I have had Equal Exchange before in several places and it tends to be a heavy-roasted coffee with some rough screams of bitterness. No real experience with Torreo.
The coffee they served me was a dark roast which wasn't so bad, but nothing great either. The espresso was decent, with a nice acidity yet nothing to write home about (unless home reads my blog, and then I guess it is?). The tea is free leaf.
In the end, I don't think I'd be satisfied if I lived by InFusion, as I feel it would be satisfying as a local haunt but not as a place I'd drink my coffee (often). Yet another coffeehouse of mediocrity in Philly...
While I rarely agree with "Best of" articles put out by local papers and periodicals, I usually refer to them to see who was "honored" this time around. But I think I fell in love with CityPaper's truly clever rendition that came out Wednesday, with such categories as "Greatest Advancements in the Field of Mussels" and "Worst Haunt for Nonsmokers." The ones that applied to the coffee and tea arena I've listed below.
Best New Stay-At-Home Dad Destination: InFusion Coffee & Tea Gallery
Greatest Place to Grab a (Yerba) Mate: Premium Steap
Best Suburban Sandwich Stop: Elcy's Coffee House
Most Charming Soy Chai Latte: Walnut Bridge Coffee House
Tastiest Iced Coffee: Beauty Shop Cafe
While I'm always a fan of clever writing, I'm even more of a fan of accurate reviews (!!!!). Though I've only been to one of the places above (InFusion) and attempted to go to another (Premium Steap (can never get there when they're open)), the things they're "best of" are believable unlike the oh so typical "Best Coffeehouse EVER" designation that after a good while loses it's meaning when you give it to such a random assortment of places that have little in common with their best-ness.
Take a gander at the article for yourself!
What's a Coffee Commentary?
Subject: Sweetwater Coffee
Location visited: Dillon, MT
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 3+ [see key]
Small towns have a certain charm to them, but growing up in the crowded East, I don't think I ever really got to truly see a small town until I went west, where in some places in New Mexico and Nevada there stands only one main road through all of town and you can take the tour in about 10 minutes.
Of all the west, Montana is the state that I have by far visited the most small towns, some of them more like a NJ rest stop then a town while others do hold a bit of charm. On one particular road trip through the lovely state of Montana south to Idaho, a colleague and I stopped in one such described-charming place that's home to some mutual good friends, a town called Dillon.
Arriving in town early in the mid-morning, Dillon qualified as a good coffee stop, especially because my one friend raves about one specific establishment called Sweetwater Coffee. And as any good friend would, I made a bee line for the venue in the heart of Dillon (it's near city hall, I recall).
To say the the least, the outside failed to blow me away, with a very industrial, bleh-looking building with but a small (by comparison to the backdrop) circular sign. The inside fortunately was a whole lot warmer and enticing, with very bohemian, mis-matched furniture as well as some interesting local art. The place seemed to be a local hangout for people of all ages (even though not many people seemed to be around at 10 AM this particular Thursday).
They serve only espresso (only americanos for the usual drip/press coffee drinkers) with their espresso blend being Montana Coffee Trader's French Roast. The doubleshot I had was a bit sharp with an ok acidity, but nothing amazing. The barista, who was very amiable, seemed to know what she was doing but as I was a bit scatterbrained that morning, I failed to note her skills. Also, didn't note the tea but I did observe that they do offer hot lemonade (new one to me), and though it was tempting, I didn't want to leave on a sour note (haha, get it?).
Overall, Dillon proved favorable and Sweetwater satisfactory. I would say my friend gave a fair recommendation as Sweetwater may not be the best coffeehouse EVER, but for a small town it's a nice operation. For those in Dillon or passing through: if you try the hot lemonade, let me know how you like it.
What's a Coffee Commentary?
Subject: Le Petit Outre
Location visited: Missoula, MT
Free WiFi ? : no
Rating: 5+ [see key]
*Update 7.6.11
I am a hard sucker for mountains, and one of the prettier drives I've driven was a drive from Bozeman to Kalispell. I traveled with three companions (two from over the ocean) and at a non-snowy period where everything is green (go between May and July for best results), there's few places that can compare.
And of course, no road trip would be complete without a good coffee stop somewhere in the middle, which going the long scenic route, Missoula falls smack in the middle. Ironically, the place that got the most legitimate hype in my research was actually a bakery, Le Petit Outre (I tried an online translator to guess the name's meaning and it came out to roughly "the other little one").
The location is right near the old downtown of the city, on the corner of a side street with perpendicular parking. The exterior to my recollection was nothing fancy, a standard barn-esque structure with a really beautiful sign. The interior was a huge bakery warehouse of sorts with a large rack of bakery delights as well as a small coffee counter behind the register. Basically, the place was much more of a grab and go then a sit and study.
They serve Espresso Vivace out of Seattle and much like Vivace, strictly stick to espresso. They seem to be huge fans of David Schomer (the barista sang me his praises and recommended to me his book) and judging from the shots pulled and the quality taste, they know a good deal about pulling shots. No filtered coffee here (to my recollection), so grab an americano. Don't remember if they had tea or not.
On a less common side note, since they're known more as a bakery, I did grab an almond croissant which was out of this world, so I would also propose grabbing a baked item to complement your drink.
Thus, if you ever find yourself in Missoula in need of a French pastry and an espresso, give Le Petit Outre a go, especially if you're there in the winter; you'll need something to warm you up.
*Update 7.6.11
Alas, I have not been back but in looking over my posts I realized that a 4+ did not aptly describe my experience and that Le Petit Outre demonstrated a 5+ for sure (I think it had to do with a past, now-debunked opinion that a place that doesn't serve non-espresso was inferior to a place that served both (2007 was a long time ago for me in coffee knowledge)). I hear that the place is still going strong (and ironically enough, now seems to serve non-espresso coffee).
What's a Coffee Commentary?
Subject: Cafe Kubal
Location visited: Syracuse, NY
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]
Update 8/7/08
After just having a talk with a good friend of mine about the sad state of affairs with the Philadelphia coffee/espresso scene (the fact that 90% of the shops are operating off poor skills and inaccurate knowledge), it really made me appreciate the good places that really know what they're doing.
But whenever I travel to new places, I rarely get my hopes up for the prospect of hidden gems. Almost always, the coffee geeks of the world mine and expose them quickly so that if you haven't heard of them shouted from the rooftops, there's not much hope.
So on my first trip to Syracuse, I had only heard a yell from a porch (figuratively) about a local joint called Cafe Kubal that by all means of their web page looked legit, but how appearances can deceive. But what good are tips if you let them sit...
I arrived one sunny morning to find the shop in a strip mall in an extremely small space. The outside is all storefront windows with some outside seating (surely only useable 4 maybe 5 months out of the year) and a nice neon sign. The interior is a very efficiently and effectively used space with a couple seats by the windows.
Kubal roasts all of their own coffee in a truly old school roaster dating back to the early 20th century. As I've been back to Kubal several times now, I've had mixed experience with their coffee. In-house, it's superb with a real nice acidity and a good flavor. But I also bought a bag for home use only to find it rather oily and very gross. From what I observe, they roast dark and so my guess on the oil is that it's hard to control with the old roaster. But old roaster or no old roaster, exterior oil = angry mob down the digestive highway.
The espresso is truly where they won my admiration. The baristas really know what they're doing and the espresso comes out beautiful with good crema and a full, fruit-esque flavor. Wonderful!
The tea is mostly free leaf and it looks good, though I haven't tried it.
So as far as gems, I'd say Kubal is currently a fine sapphire in need of some shaping (mostly the dark coffee). I hear there are plans in the works to have a second shop in the downtown area of Syracuse, which if true will be a nice accent for the revival of downtown Syracuse. Final words: give it go, try the drinks there, but be wary of taking your beans to go.
Update 8/7/08Cafe Kubal has definitely improved in several areas since I last scrawled this. First, I've had a couple coffees that were splendid such as their Indian Sitarra, a 100% robusta that has a lot of unique flavors to it. They have also extended and really spruced up their front patio area as well as upgraded their website. Also, I have learned that the while the roaster is a beautifully restored antique, the roast level still can be easily controlled by a knowledgeable roaster.
New final word: give it all a go.
What's a Coffee Commentary?
