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What's does "CC" mean?
Subject: Ridgewood Coffee Company
Location visited: Ridgewood, NJ
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]
The land of NJ that lies to the northeast is a land fairly different than the rest of the state. The number of roads and highways obviously is much greater and the proximity to New York City makes the place a congested nightmare during the waking hours of most days.
With such a large amount of traffic, you would think there at least a few good coffee places, especially with New York City's ever-improving coffee scene. But alas, few good places have sprung up in northeast NJ.
Yet every now and then, a prospect pops up, the most recent being a place called the Ridgewood Coffee Company in the lovely town of Ridgewood. Rumor had it the place was doing great things with great coffee, so the first time I needed to go through the area via automobile, I made sure to make a stop.
I arrived in Ridgewood one brisk weekday morning, finding the coffeehouse sitting pretty on a corner along a main stretch of town. The outside had a collection of plastic porch chairs (some had blown away) and the building itself had but one large window. Inside, the seating forks on either side of the coffee counter in what was a fairly dark room with most of the light coming in from the window.
The coffee comes from three coffee greats: Ecco, Novo and Intelligentsia. With such an arsenal, the fact that Ridgewood can show them off on a Clover makes good sense. I had the Novo's Colombian via Clover which came out lovely with the sweet taste of pear and dough; an overall mellow and wonderful coffee. The espresso, which was pulled so-so (the barista was definitely half asleep), expressed a tart lime-ish tang in front followed by notes of cane sugar and (sadly) a strong amount of char on the back end. The tea is Stash and Tazo.
Sadly, the whole coffee experience was soured by the two baristas working that day. Not only did they both give me their coldest shoulders when I first came in (they were still slowly setting up) but despite a completely empty shop, I had to initiate every inch of my order (including payment!). Even after I sat down 5 ft away from the counter, they were loudly grumbling about how they needed more money as well as other woes in their life. Normally, I give a slip in customer service the benefit of the doubt, but this topped the charts as the worst I've ever suffered. Hopefully I just experienced a negative anomaly (so it seems, as others seem to have had good experiences).
Thus in the end, I drove away from Ridgewood let down with the overall experience but pleased that a coffeehouse with potential of blooming has taken root in the northeast of NJ. While I'm not up in that neck of the woods a lot, I do hope to make another stop in soon, with hopefully better results.
If you're nearby, give Ridgewood Coffee Company a try; I pray your encounter plays out better then mine.
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What's does "CC" mean?
Subject: Kean Coffee
Location visited: Newport Beach,CA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]
While I am all about using coffeehouses as a rendezvous for friends, waiting at a crowded one with little promise for a table can be a bit trying.
Twas my luck when meeting up with friends at Kean Coffee in Newport Beach. The traffic proved nil for my wife and I as per our course, but our friends had worse fortunes and they ended up sitting on the 405 for some time. So to kill some time while the wife and I waited, we decided to get our coffee and wait inside.
Kean Coffee sits in a small shopping center with a few outside tables along its long windows. Inside, Kean has a moderately-sized cafe with nice wood furniture and tribal chandeliers. The apparent popularity of the place showed with the impossibility of getting an inside table but fortunately, there were a few seats outside.
Kean roasts their own coffee on a drum roaster in the back corner of their store (they were putting a couple batches through while we were there). I sampled their Ethiopian Sidamo, and to my delight it produced a very floral and bright cup, with noticeable berries throughout. The espresso came out decent, with strong tones of citrus and caramel but a fair amount of char on the back end. I didn't note the tea at the time, but according to the website they have their own line of free leaf teas.
By the time my wife and I finished our drinks (she had a delicious mocha), our friends arrived and we made our way to lunch (which ended up a bit more of a drive up to Culver City). In the end, I liked my experience with Kean and thus, if you're in the area looking for decent coffee, give it a try.
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What's does "CC" mean?
Subject: Caffe Luxxe
Location visited: Santa Monica, CA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]
As a lad I recall thinking of Californian beaches as odd places, especially since I held the NJ beach towns of Ocean City and Wildwood as a standard. I remember pondering the concept of having multiple parking lots near a beach as crazy and that it sounded mildly unpleasant to lift weights on a beach (the sand would surely chafe).
But now that I'm older, the uniqueness of the CA coast (both natural and cultural differences) holds great allure, especially in a town like Santa Monica. Granted I've only visited once, but the meld of boutique-lined streets and serene beaches is a beautiful and rare combination in the US.
One venue that caught my attention was Caffe Luxxe, a coffeehouse that aims to provide a European cafe experience, including quality coffee. The establishment sits in a row of shops with a black awning and a wooden bench. Within the doors, the cafe is set up in a monochromatic yet very swanky manner.
They roast their own coffee, providing only one offering. The drip provided a smooth coffee with a touch of raisins and a noticeable peppery zest. The espresso, pulled short and with what seemed to be trepidation (I think the barista was having a rough day), delivered a sweet tang with a velvety finish and a nice acidity, with only a subtle bit of char on the end. The tea is free leaf.
While my success with coffeehouses in other ocean-front cities exists, I would say Caffe Luxxe stood out as yet another unique facet of California beaches (or the towns that own them at the very least). If you happen to be in town, swagger your way over to Caffe Luxxe.
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What's does "CC" mean?
Subject: Kaffe 1668
Location visited: Manhattan, NY
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]
Not every day do I get an actual good lead or corroboration on a new-to-me coffeehouse from personal contacts. Most often people will throw me something I've been to or have heard often, but not always do new or forgotten tips pour forth.
But just this past week I was talking to a new acquaintance and he reminded me of a place I'd heard of but had escaped my radar, a place called Kaffe 1668. With my memory freshly jogged, I made my way over soon after.
Kaffe 1668 is located a block or two north of Ground Zero on Greenwich St in a nondescript building with floor-to-ceiling windows and a simple street sign outside. The inside blew me away with an almost complete contrast, as the interior was possibly the best decorated cafe I've ever seen, with beautiful furniture (even a beautiful banquet table) and just an overall well-construed ambiance that made me want to redecorate my apartment.
The coffee comes from Intelligentsia and Plowshares Coffee Roasters, as well as a guest espresso from random roasters (this time, it was from Ecco Caffe). I had the Bolivian (didn't ask who roasted it, though I'm pretty sure it was Intelligentsia) via a Clover machine. The coffee came out beautifully, displaying hints of flowering grass and an overall taste of pomegrante. I had the guest espresso, an Ethiopian single origin from Ecco, which by far was one of the best espressos I have had in a long time; the front of the shots were crowned with the flavors of vanilla ice cream, following with some orange and semi-sweet chocolate. The tea is free leaf and organic.
Walking away, I thanked my lucky stars that Kaffe 1668 made it back onto my map as the experience was one I shant forget. If you are anywhere near Manhattan, give it a hearty try.
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This past Monday and Tuesday, the International Culinary Center in NYC and Illy Caffe held the first class of Coffee Expert: From Plant to Cup, a class aiming to educate both "devoted coffee lovers and industry professionals" on the ways and correct techniques of serving superior coffee.
Looking at who was putting on the class, it seemed that the hosts possessed some strong credentials; the International Culinary Center holds a strong culinary reputation and Illy Coffee, though a large producer of what I would interpret as sub-par coffee (pre-ground and coffee pods), has a strong legacy of quality and a strong claim to the form of espresso as we know it today.
So when an invitation to attend landed in my inbox, I decided to clear my schedule and experience the class.
I arrived Monday morning to a small lecture hall in the ICC, complete with two large La Cimbali espresso machines (Illy customized) and a large host of people ranging from local cafe owners to coffee enthusiasts. The main instructor was Moreno Faina, a formal professor of Universita del Caffe', the backbone of the class. The other instructors were Giorgio Milos, a well-seasoned barista who has claimed many awards, and three ICC instructors: Chef Candy Argondizza, Karin Endy and Alexis Kahn.
The class went much the same both days; lecture and coffee tasting throughout the day and the last two hours of both days were focused on letting the participants try their hands at making quality espresso and cappuccinos. Lunch was also provided.
In the end, my impressions were as follows:
Positives:
- Illy really seems to know their stuff when it comes to history, technique, and processes. I would have to say I learned a few things about espresso machines, barista skills and agriculture.
- Giorgio demonstrated amazing barista wisdom and skills. I learned most from the basic tips and wisdom he offered as well as his outstanding performance.
- Lunch was amazing both days.
- The coffee tastings were a great introductory excercise for those not accustomed to looking for detailed characteristics in their coffee (I found it a welcome refresher).
Negatives:
- While the presenters really knew their stuff, they hailed the Illy espresso pods and pre-ground coffee as acceptable practices in a business. Yes I know that Illy is a business that needs to make money and of course they recommended fresh ground coffee and manual espresso machines as better, but recommending low quality products as acceptable is never acceptable.
- Illy is obsessed with blending and the importance of blending coffee for espresso became a point all too emphasized. Sure blending for espresso is a tried and true means of producing consistent espresso, but single origin espresso holds great potential (not to mention sway!).
- The coffee background was extensive yet also a little shallow in my opinion. Granted I've studied my coffee textbooks, but I feel that for an introductory course there were some things that could have been trimmed down and other things that could have been expounded.
- The session seemed too specific to Illy culture, as there was little American coffee wisdom in the session. What I mean by that is that the session focused on what Illy holds as acceptable and while Illy shares a good deal of overlap into the American coffee scene, there are some differences, which most of the session attendees will encounter. I feel that if they pulled in a non-Illy guru (preferably a true coffee expert with minimal corporate ties), the class would be much more well-rounded.
- To follow the last point, the Illy influence was overall too much. There were marketing gimmicks left and right, there were account representatives and a lot of the information was Illy specific. Subtle marketing would have gone down much smoother.
My final word would be that the session was an overall decent experience. I would recommend it for anyone just getting into coffee, a cafe owner/restauranter absolutely sure they want to use Illy as their coffee roaster or someone looking to emulate Italian coffee practices down to the smallest detail.
What's does "CC" mean?
