After Portland we headed down to Eugene, so my son could attend first year orientation at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks). We had a nice time here as well, getting to know the town, staying at a nice cottage. However, we may have chosen the wrong places, but frankly the food and coffee were underwhelming.
Continue readingThe second leg of the trip was in Portland, Oregon. The city is still scarred from a year of political violence, and there was a sense of uncertainty of when or if some kind of normal will return, and what it will look like. But the attractions of the Rose City are still clear.
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Just back from a family vacation in the Pacific Northwest. Of course I drank a lot of coffee. As when I did my coffee tour of Denver three years ago, I ordered a traditional macchiato at each stop rather than my usual quad shot version. This kept my body in check on those days when I had three or four coffees. So let’s get to it!
First Stop: Seattle
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I am a few days into a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Seattle now (no, I did not go to Starbucks), Portland next, then Eugene. Drinking lots of great coffee, taking pictures and notes, will do a big post once I’m back.
Atlanta Braves All-Star first baseman Freddy Freeman hit for the cycle last night for the second time in his career, and it’s clear why:
“My wife, we had breakfast this morning and we had two cappuccinos delivered — and she chose the cappuccino and she handed it to me and said this is the one with a lot of hits in it. So I have to give this one up to my wife, Chelsea, because if it wasn’t for the right cappuccino pick, I wouldn’t be here talking to you guys,” Freeman said.
ESPN.com
Congratulations, Freddy! You’re a Coffee Achiever!
One man’s opinion. Ask me tomorrow and I’m likely to tell you something completely different.
Roasters
1. Onyx
2. Heart
3. Verve
4. Sweet Bloom
5. Counter Culture
DMV Cafés
1. Café Unido
2. The Coffee Bar (Shaw)
3. Baked & Wired
4. Dua Coffee DC
5. Northside Social (Arlington)
HM (alphabetically): Kaldi Social House (Silver Spring), Lost Sock, Maketto, Swings (Alexandria), Takoma Bev Co, Vigilante (Hyattsville)
We moved a couple days ago. The most important unpacking is done.
The folks at Mahlkönig, the German company whose grinders grace the counters of specialty coffee houses around the world, are entering the home enthusiast market with the X54.
The folks at Sprudge were fortunate enough to take it for a test drive ahead of the imminent US release. Sounds like it’s as amazing as it looks, though the biggest problem is the hopper is too tall. I’d suffer through that. Then again I’m not really looking to spend $900 on a home grinder, as magnificent as it may be. But if money were no object, that bad boy would soon be sitting in my kitchen next to a La Marzocco Linea Mini or a Rocket Appartamento.
Remember mashups? Thanks to Glee and the Pitch Perfect franchise, there was a hot minute when listening to one song at a time just wasn’t enough. But one way or another a golden opportunity was lost as no one made the right choice.
These two songs together would give us, if the not the mashup we want, definitely the mashup we deserve. Layer these two guilty pleasures together and 1+1 will equal a jillion. Play them back to back 21x in a row and they’ll be all mashed up in your head, you’ll see.
It’s been more than 15 months since the pandemic hit and for those of us who work in DC’s Foggy Bottom area one of many things we’ve lost is Sami’s Coffee Kiosk. The space at the corner of 22nd & Virginia which used to be occupied by Sami’s cart has been empty, with no sign of a return.
The corner’s still empty, but a few weeks ago Sami resurfaced on the twitters:
I stopped in this morning to see him, and it was a delight. Friendly as ever, we had time to catch up without the usual line on the sidewalk, and the coffee was as great as always. Sami has a sunny alcove with a lot of windows, more room than he had in his cart, and has basically shifted his gear out of the cart and onto a few countertops. He told me that business has been good, and at this point he thinks he’ll be staying at Sol so long as that continues.
So DC peeps, stop by and see Sami, and support a local businessman whose livelihood has been hit hard by the pandemic. You’ll be glad you did.