The Little Things In Life...: Cup o' Joe, and a plug

Quick post today: Over at the "Little Things in Life" blog, my fiance has recounted my initial forays into coffee roasting. I agree with her assessment that my first roasts where lackluster verging on disastrous! Yet, using the oven to roast coffee has turned out to be a wonderful step forward in producing quality joe. Please, stop over at The Little Things in Life, and read her insightful posts into coffee and teaching!

The Little Things In Life...: Cup o' Joe, and a plug: "My fiance has recently begun to roast his own coffee. He buys 'green' coffee beans (beans that have not been roasted yet), and either roasts..."

Starbucks, Laptops, and Seating (Or Lack Thereof)

Last Saturday, the Fiance and I strolled down Lee highway to the local Starbucks located in Lee Heights plaza. Desiring to grab a cup of coffee (me) and some tea (Fiance), we peered into the window finding that the meager amount of seats were filled. Some people typing on laptops and one large group chatting over caffeinated beverages. No seats open. Not wanting to merely order coffee and return to our apartment, we debated for a few minutes on our options. Thankfully, as we did this, the large group finished their chat, freeing up two tables!

Seeing our conundrum solved, we went inside along with a father and son to order our beverages. As we waited in line, a person who just finished ordering proceeded to take the two recently freed tables. Out of his magical bag appeared a laptop, books, papers, and a Rolodex. Yes, you read that right. A Rolodex! Who uses them anymore!

Upon the customer managing to make his physical foot print as large as possible, the barista mouthed a few words of contempt to himself. Now, neither the father and son or my fiance and I could sit down and have a conversation. I literally stared at this ignorant customer for a minute trying to get his attention. My passive aggressive methods of intimidation failed. Muttering to myself, we left Starbucks returning to the uninviting winter air.

Two Questions:
1. Why is there a shortage of seating at this Starbucks? Literally, it sits about 10 people. I will get photos later.
2. Is there seating policy at Starbucks that addresses this? 4 people wanting to sit down, 1 person with five trees worth of material and a Rolodex.

....Thanks I needed that.

Here is a Wall Street Journal article talking about the same issue.

What do you think? Am I being overly critical?

Coffee Review: Rappahannock's Guatemalan Antigua Panchoy

Welcome to the first Metro Espresso review of local coffee. The first review comes from Rappahannock coffee on Columbia Pike in Arlington. You can check out their website here.

Disclosure: I do not receive free coffee from the roasters, but buy it from them without their knowledge of it being reviewed. In this manner, I hope to recreate what a normal

consumer would buy from each establishment.

The coffee is graded from of 1 to 5 based on the following criteria:

1- Horrible/Bad: Does not deserve to grace any types of brewing methods. Most likely extremely stale, burnt..etc.

2- Meh: Generally displays uneven characteristics or muted flavors. The overall taste does not blend well, and could be improved up. Stale

3- Average: A well crafted coffee with either a one-dimensional flavor or hints of one. Moderately fresh.

4- Good: Demonstrates a good combination of flavors and is freshly roasted.

5- Excellent: Similar to 4, but demonstrates a complex arrangement of flavors and exceeds in quality from similar coffees.

Value is added into the preceding criteria for the final review score.

Brew method: Most reviewers use French Press as their main method of brewing to review coffee, but as I believe any coffee shop should be judged by their double espresso. Espresso acts as a base to many coffee drinks, so reviewing it as mainly an espresso drink is my main concern.

I will refine the criteria in future reviews, but it is a good start to review the local coffee selection.

The barista informed me Rappahannock roasts once a week on Mondays. I recently ran out of the excellent Sumatra Mandheling from Northwest Coffee Company, I needed more coffee. I chose the Guatemalan Antigua Panchoy for a Central American bean.

Aroma: Opening up the bag, I discerned a spicy, floral aroma like a potpourri. After the initial smell, I discerned a hint of chocolate. After grinding, the beans released a potent, syrupy smell.

Taste: Initially, the espresso hits you with a bright, floral taste, followed by a syrupy flavor very similar to Intelligentsia's Black Cat Espresso. While it may not share BC's complex taste, it is eerily close. Unlike an earthy Sumatra, the Guatemalan had a thin body, emphasizing the vivid flavors.

Visual: The espresso displayed a deep, orangish-red color similar to auburn. The spent grounds were quite red!

Final Thoughts: Rappahannock's Guatemalan Pantigua Panchoy is a tasty espresso with a clear, pronounced taste, but lacks a body to compliment the flavors it has. Similar to Black Cat espresso, this Guatemalan coffee would be better suited as a base to a latte or cappuccino to give added flavor. Also, French Press would lesson the extreme sweetness. To take artistic licence, the flavor is arrogant and loud, yet beyond its flamboyant facade, it lacks a strong foundation. At 13.99 per pound, it is a bit pricey for me lowering the coffee's overall value.

Score: 3/5

Coffee House Review: Cafe Amity

*Update* Cafe Amity is now known as Upper Crust Cafe, yet the rest of the review remains the same.
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Today, I visited Cafe Amity located in Arlington, opposite of the hustling and bustling Ballston metro on Fairfax drive. Cafe Amity offers pastries, European and Turkish food for lunch and dinner, and most importantly coffee beverages including Turkish coffee.

Atmosphere: There is plenty of seating including elevated two-person tables for staring out the windows and people watching. WETA plays in the background providing calming classical music to accompany conversations, work, reading, or having a minute to yourself. When I went my first time, Mozart's The Magic Flute was playing during the Hölle Rache aria (see 0:58). Although do not worry, opera generally isn't on! Adding to the relaxing atmosphere, Cafe Amity offers free wifi with no registration, allowing easy access to the Internet. The design is clean and modern with a nice wooden floor providing an uncluttered and spacious area to spread out. One will not feel cramped like the coffee shops in DC. Temperature: It was extremely air-conditioned. It may be a bit uncomfortable for some, but in the humid, summer months in the metro area it is appreciated.

Service: Cafe Amity offers friendly service without the accompanying barista snobbery. You order at the counter, sit down, and they bring it out to you. My favorite aspect is that you pay at the end, and not when you order. In this manner, they invite you to stay and enjoy your time, rather than paying and ignoring your existence once you paid. Oddly, by changing the order it develops a better atmosphere. Any ideas why?

Price: The prices tend to be a bit higher than the average price in the DC area. A single espresso is 1.75 and Turkish coffee is 2.49 (not including tax). With that said, the aforementioned service, free wifi, and atmosphere mitigates the slightly higher price. For some, those prices may not even be that high.

Coffee Impressions: Today I ordered Turkish coffee. Having never tried it, I was excited and wanted to see how it differed from drip or espresso. For more information on Turkish coffee, see Coffee Geek's excellent guide on how to make Turkish Coffee, it provides an introduction too. The barista brought out the coffee to the table and even water for my girlfriend, which we didn't even order demonstrating their effort to cultivate an inviting atmosphere. Oddly, the Turkish coffee came in a large espresso cup. After sipping, I tasted a strong floral taste coming from the cardamon, a spice traditionally used in Turkish coffee, providing a pleasant touch. At first, my girlfriend and I wondered what the taste exactly was ranging from pine to mint. In addition, there was no bitterness or burntness, only a smooth aftertaste. Unfortunately, it was gone too soon, leaving me wanting more. A few questions I had was whether Turkish coffee comes in larger cup than 3-4oz, and my coffee had no foam.

After chitchatting, I paid and asked about the spices used. The owner came out, and happily explained the whole process of brewing Turkish coffee for a few minutes, mirroring much in the Coffee Geek guide. One could tell that he genuinely cared about coffee.

Overall: Cafe Amity provides excellent service, pleasant and spacious environment, and decent coffee. While a tad pricey, (at least for my wallet) the pleasant and engaged baristas make the experience. If one is near Ballston, one should walk in and order the Turkish coffee.

Stay Tuned: Upcoming Review

Hi all, later today I will be reviewing a coffee shop in Ballston. For those who do not live in the DC area, Ballston is part of Arlington, VA outside of DC.

Update:
This morning, I re-tried Archer Farms Ethiopian, and unfortunately yielded similar results from last post: lingering bitterness and weak floral, berry flavors. Remember, you can follow me on Twitter at Metroespresso, where I will be updating with content that does not necessarily need a full blog post devoted to it.