The Wandering Eater
4.20.07

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 like the aforementioned places but I’m always up for a better cup of coffee.

I really love the design of this space, even though it’s small but it feels roomy and a great place to hang out for a while. But the thing that gets my attention is this Wonka-esque coffee storage.

What I learned from one of the employees, he explained that their coffee (from various regions, e.g. Kenya, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, etc.) is roasted on-site and gets rested for about at least overnight to a day, so that the coffee "de-gases" so the coffee drinker would not have an initial off taste. Then they load up the beans to that contraption you have seen before and it’s ready to be ground and brewed to your cup of coffee (drip and espresso) the moment you order. Now, that’s a great idea. I just wish I could have all of that in my house- but I know it’s not going to happen anytime soon since I don’t have that much space or the money to do so.

Anyways, I’ve gotten myself a medium Ethiopian cup of coffee ($2).

The lovely crema in my coffee

At first glance from this cup, this was unexpected: the crema. Crema is usually found in espresso drinks and I have never encountered that when I’m drinking drip coffee in any coffeehouse I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to many). This is certainly most welcome. Since I like some of my coffee with a touch of milk and went to the spot where they had the milk and sugar, they have all of this. I think my sugar-loving friend who drinks coffee will love to see that for her morning coffee.

Sweetener choices

When I took my first sip of coffee, this is the BEST coffee I have ever encountered so far. It’s smooth, some fruity notes, and bold, along with that velvety crema! oh jeez. I need to go down here more often. Somehow I need to plan out how to get down to the LES and up to the Upper West Side just before my classes start. Hmmm!

I should mention that they do have really fabulous pastries (I sampled their lemon poppy muffin). I didn’t order them just because I wanted a cupcake (which you’ll read later on). Here’s a few of their pastries sold there.