i got yer coffee right here
Mmm, coffee. So many ways to make it, drink it, buy it. And if you've been tainted by that big old super-chain "coffee" shop (I'll spiel about that another time) or one of it's many rising competitors (that are not the best, no matter what their name says), you may have forgotten just how many ways there are to roast it. Typically, when you go to any coffee shop, whether they are a big old chain, or even a tiny little hole in the wall, they've chosen the roaster for you. You may get to choose between a medium or dark roasted drip coffee, but you don't get much more than that. And as for espresso drinks? Well that's usually a one shot deal. (No pun intended. Though I do rate a coffee shop as knowing a bit more about coffee when they serve an 8oz that comes as a double by default.) If you want to try different brands of coffee, you've got to go to another shop. Then another.
Well, now I welcome you to my new job, and give to you Seattle Coffee Works. If you've seen my coffee collection (and if you've looked at this blog, you've seen it) you know that I'm not particularly loyal to one kind of coffee, but rather I like all kinds. I like good coffee, all good coffee, and am astounded at just how variable this little bean is. And Seattle Coffee Works read my mind. We have, in the store at all times, not one, not two, but no less than ten different local roasters represented on our shelves. We've got a couple local populars like Caffe Umbria and Caffe D'Arte, as well as tiny little ones you won't find too many places, like Borogove, Vashon, and Vista Clara.
Don't know the difference? Well, neither do I. Yet. I'm about to learn more about coffee than I thought there was to know. I can't wait to share it with you. Provided I have the vocabulary to know what the hell I'm tasting.
So, first step: developing my palate. I know what I like. I know what I don't like. But I also know I am willing to drink both. There are a lot a stops in between good and bad, as well as different kinds. This is a step I won't much be able to write about, so stay tuned because once I get my coffee connoisseur speak down, this blog may go coffee overboard.
[And now for something completely tour guide!]
So, next time you're in Seattle - coffee mecca of the West (as seen on a Pike Place Market t-shirt, "When it rains, we pour."), and you want to know what Seattle coffee really is, skip the "original" Starbucks (which I hear isn't actually the first location) and move just a couple blocks over to find Seattle Coffee Works, where we will serve you the espresso of your choice in your latte. Or better yet, to get the true picture we will serve you The Works: three different double espressos side by side... by side for your very own taste test. (You don't have to drink them all, you know. Bring a friend to sample it with you.)
And so ends the introduction to your introductory coffee ed course entitled "What Coffee Actually Is."
love-love. Lindsay
Comments
If I am in the Pike Place area, I will try and stop in and say hi!
If not for the part about the smell, too, I would have argued that you probably have never had real, well-made, unburnt, fresh coffee. (My starbucks spiel, when and if I really get into it, begins with the fact that I am so sad that people think that's what coffee is. That's not coffee.)
But I'll grant you it's an acquired taste. Just be careful. Those who acquire it do so with a passion. And they're hopped up on caffeine. ~__^
Heh, I have actually only tried it a few times and it isn't necessarily the taste that gets me, it is the aftertaste (which I suppose could be alleviated with a proper roast?) that really pushes me away.
I guess I'll stick to my Coke addiction, I have already acquired that taste! ;) If I get a chance to stop in, you could introduce me to a "proper" cup-a-joe and we will see what happens to my coffee relationship.
I keed.
It's probable that you might not have had the chance to taste a properly prepared cup of coffee, or perhaps a blend that suits your tastes. There are blends that tend to have overbearing flavors and aftertaste (like some middle-eastern coffees and blends) Then of course, you could prolly just not like it. There is the matter of personal preference, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Hope you give coffee another chance before giving up on it completely. Cheers!