To those of you who’ve read my blog for a while, I’m a java junkie. I live for good coffee (and chocolate but that’s a whole ‘nother subject). Heck, where I attend to school in the Upper West Side Starbucks is EVERYWHERE that I could only live off of Bouchon Bakery’s coffee when I’m in dire need of caffeine. I don’t really like Starbucks coffee because it tastes a bit too burnt and their latte is too milky. I’m all for the independent coffeehouses like Joe (for their house drip) or Ninth Street Espresso (for their delicious latte). Sure I... Read more

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Order coffee at the Roasting Plant, 81 Orchard Street (Broome Street), and instead of a barista pulling levers to fill your cup, a clerk will touch a computer screen.

The correct amount of whole coffee beans, roasted on the premises, right, will then whiz and clatter through a network of transparent plastic pipes overhead and drop into a compact countertop machine to be ground according to the type of coffee ordered. The beans are then brewed, in one seamless operation.

Regular coffee, as well as espresso, comes with an impressively creamy head, but it would not be mistaken... Read more

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In the increasingly competitive coffee-shop market, savvy independents keep searching for ways to trounce the Seattle Goliath. Some turn to rock-star baristas, others to the sanctity of their politically correct, sustainably grown beans. Roasting Plant, which opened last week on the Lower East Side, relies on new technology and Wonka-esque spectacle.

Founder Mike Caswell, an engineer and a veteran of the Coffee Connection and Starbucks (where he held the Orwellian title of "director of profit improvement," spent five years developing a system that would emphasize freshness, a crucial, if often ignored, requirement for great-tasting coffee. Roasting Plant�s goal, according to Caswell,... Read more

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