Love the new-ish La Marzocco machine at DC stalwart The Coffee Bar‘s Shaw location.
Beauty
Tag: La Marzocco
gorgeous
Have seen many in red, but this is the first time I’ve come across a La Marzocco machine in blue, especially such a vivid shade. The fleur-de-lis are a nice touch. What a beauty! At Swing’s roastery/café in Alexandria, VA.
new object of coffee gear lust
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.
photo: Mahlkönig website
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.
3rd Annual Holiday Gift Guide
also see my 2018 and 2019 guides
As terrible as the year 2020 has been, the holiday season gives us a chance to end on a positive note and get ready for better days ahead. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the coffee obsessive in your life, or want to treat yourself, here are a few ideas for you. All are available online for those unable or unwilling to do in-person shopping. I also encourage you to take a look through my previous gift guides (links above), as most everything in there is still available and still makes for great presents.
Shop Local
If your giftee’s favorite coffee shop is still open, you can bet they’re fighting for survival. Give a gift that will be appreciated by the recipient and the merchant. Look up the website of that favorite shop, there’s a good chance you can find electronic gift certificates, beans, and merch.
coffee world faces its own reckoning
As the US, and now the world, is forced to face up to the injustices and structural racism which confront black people on a daily basis, it’s no surprise that the coffee industry is dealing with shocks of its own. The past week in particular has caught up key players in the specialty coffee world, as well as the gargantuan icon of the global coffee industry. Let’s weed through a few examples.
Continue readingback to school
Since things haven’t been going so well in my never-ending quest to produce even a passable example of latte art, I figured it was time to take another class. So I spent a couple hours today with the good folks at Vigilante Coffee in Hyattsville, MD.
Continue readingmini review: Café Georgetown
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.
Continue readingmini-review: Allegro Coffee
Today a coffee craving struck me while I was at an outlet of a well-known, high end grocery chain. For the sake of nothing in particular, let’s refer to the store as Mole Dudes.
Mole Dudes owns Allegro Coffee, which started as a roaster in Boulder, Colorado in 1977. Many Mole Dudes, including the one I found myself in today, have an Allegro shop within a shop in their stores.
master class
This morning I returned to the Counter Culture training center in DC. It was time to learn how to make a better espresso, and (hopefully) how to make some latte art. Not to mention the attraction of getting on a La Marzocco machine I could never hope to own.
mini-review: Takoma Bev Co
On a bucolic commercial block in the DC suburbs which just screams small-town American goodness, you’ll find Takoma Beverage Company, otherwise known as Takoma Bev Co. This shop has quickly become a mainstay of Takoma Park, MD, a progressive, funky town hard by the DC line.