When I was in Milwaukee last summer I visited an outlet of Colectivo Coffee, a local coffee business with 13 cafes in the Milwaukee area, three in Madison, WI, and four (soon to be five) in Chicagoland.
I liked the ambience, the coffee was very good (if not exceptional). Felt like a small, independent cafe, definitely nothing like a shop that’s part of a multi-outlet behemoth.
Continue readingHere’s an interesting article on NBA athletes trying to boost their game by drinking coffee before tip-off. I’ve heard before of people trying an espresso shot before working out, but not this kind of pregame pick-me-up.
A lot of it makes sense, and I’m also glad to see any move away from the poison of “energy drinks.” Figures that Portland would be one of the franchises driving the trend, given it’s geographically the most remote franchise, as well as a hotbed for high-quality coffee.
I was a bit saddened today, as for the first time I had to mark one of the coffee shops in my guide as closed.
Spiral Press Cafe in Manchester, VT is no more. In fact, it seems to have closed mere days after I visited it this past August. The owner wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper giving his view on why the business went under.
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Here’s an interesting story about Italy’s resistance to third wave coffee.
Lots to digest here. I’m a fan of both approaches.
Continue readingHi Kids!
Thanks to everyone who took a look at this nonsense in 2018; I’m absolutely stunned to see that, as of this writing, there’s been exactly 1,300 (!) page views*. Here’s a quick look back at those posts that were viewed the most, and the ones I took the most pleasure in writing.
*I reckon I myself must only be responsible for, what, 1,283 of them
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see my Georgetown field report
A late addition to my recent deep dive into the Georgetown coffee universe. To be honest, I hadn’t included this spot because I didn’t know it existed until reading about it in an article today.
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see my Georgetown field report
Our venture through Georgetown ends at what, at first glance, seems to be a nondescript building next to the C&O Canal, its bricks painted the color of Kaopectate. But look a little closer, at the big casement window framed in hot pink, at the built-in marble bench, and then step inside for the neighborhood’s finest cup of coffee.
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see my Georgetown field report
Blue Bottle, a roaster and cafe operator founded in Oakland, California, is a leading player in coffee’s third wave. It has grown significantly since raising capital from private equity investors, and global food megaconglomerate Nestlé now owns a majority stake in the company.
What was once a spunky little indie now is a growing global presence, with stores in California, New York, DC, Miami, Boston, Japan, and soon South Korea. But unlike certain other global coffee chains (cough cough), you’ll still get an amazing coffee from Blue Bottle.
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