SweetLeaf coffee joint

 At the foot of the Pulaski Bridge in Brooklyn is a cool place that takes coffee serious.  Of the third wave places, this one is one of the more weird, less serious, and better quality.  These guys are serious about one thing, the bean.

 Oh, and next door is a tiny, improbable bakery that turns out some really good, basic baked goods, all day, almost to order.  Bring your taste buds and brain to Brooklyn and give em a some exercise at Sweetleaf.

Whatever you do, get your coffee to stay, in a ceramic cup so you can taste it.  And if you must, take it in the back room, the laptop room, and spin some of the vinyl they have.  Rich, one of the owners is a great, devoted guy, and this combines two of his passions.

Stumptown

I will sleep better tonight, knowing I will go downstairs for a delicious Stumptown coffee in the morning.

Added a Blog Today

I keep my "blogroll" short.  Every once in a while I go through the blogs I read, and curate the list.  That keeps me from getting bored with blogs, lets me add content that I think is relevant to my current state of mind, and exposes us all to new (to me), bloggers with some quality content relevant to ExecHobo.  I added bitterpress today.  Check it out if you like coffee.

Stumptown Roaster Cafe

In Brooklyn Stumptown Coffee runs a roastery, so it is normal they would have a cafe attached. Interesting that this cafe has no espresso, only coffee. Vacuum pots, french press, Chemex and Hario V-60 pour overs are the ways they brew coffee. And if you know Stumptown, you know they have a broad variety of exquisite, exclusive small batch beans roasted to individual perfection. They may be the gold standard of roasters at this time. We tasted a bean brewed on the Hario and on the Chemex. We all noted variations of flavor in the brew that were pronounced and intriguing. Such a fun window on what coffee can be!

Note the dark fashiony look of the photo- and is that Jackie-O?  It is that hip, Stumptown.


-Exechobo

Rockin Joe's Coffee

Rockstar parking at Rockin Joe's
rock-n-roll coffee shop. In downtown Westfield, NJ, this two location chain spans the second and third wave cafe worlds. It also has a respectable menu for luck and dinner.







The coffee is fresh ground and brewed, From Delano's roastery. Not bad, it's fresh. There are lots of cute espresso drinks named for rock stars emphasizing their caffeinated properties.

The menu is a good one, and they know how to cook eggs. The specialty is Belgian waffles, a passion of the owner. They looked good, if that is what you want.

- Exechobo

Sweatleaf Cafe Brooklyn

Just across from lower Manhattan is renaissance Brooklyn. They know about microbreweries and third wave cafes. Sweetleaf is one of the latter. It is popular for good reason. They know coffee. We geeked out here for a while with the coffee nerds. Fun.




- Exechobo

Home 'sspro

Home 'sspro
Originally uploaded by Exechobo

After serving 'sspro for a couple of expert coffee nerds, who are now serving the throngs of NYC fliers, this bit of kit resides on my counter. I am working to master it, but I do not feel the spirit of the bean flowing through it to me. I continue to develop my worthiness.

Just a tech note, I am trying RAW images and Flickr.  If you click on the photo you will be taken to my Flickr Photostream.

-Exechobo

Espresso Success !

Lookit that Crema! What does it remind you of? Guiness? Yes indeed.


- Exechobo

Seattle Adventure Part 2

In which we visit Herkimer Coffee on the esteemed recommendation of @CoffeePedaler. It is a roastery coffee house keepin it 3rd wave.



The latte was done very well, and the great dairy they use smoothed out the shot so that it's honey notes were easy to appreciate. My espresso came with a shot of soda water to rinse my palate when done. Great little shop, great coffee. A place to stop at anytime we are on the north side of town.


- Exechobo

Victrola Coffee

Recently corrupted while in NYC, we are now third wave coffee aficionados. Filled with a dangerous level of knowledge and Stumptown coffee we now find that Starbucks simply won't do. So when in Seattle we did a mini tour, looking for the beans to buy for our home espresso making. Naturally my espresso skills are hampered only by the bean! (the last thee sentences are in jest)

We were recommended to taste Victrola and so we did. We went up to 15th Ave, for I mistakenly though we could sip our coffee while looking into the roasting room. But alas no. So we simply sipped.

We immediately agreed the espresso they were serving was bitter. Maybe it was our palate, maybe the bean, a single bean Guatemalan, maybe the roast. But it is a very nice cafe in a hyper hip Seattle neighborhood worth a stop.


- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

Stumptown Coffee

In our hotel this is how we coffee up. Stumptown is a Portland company who won't brew anything but what they roast, and their roaster has to be within less than a day's drive for the delivery van. So locations are limited, geographically speaking.

But that's the Third Wave coffee business.



Today's espresso was an Ethiopian. Very citrus and bright. Of course to appreciate such a bean and roast you have to pull a mean shot. These guys can. It was thick, like syrup, with a crema that was unguent. Good.


- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

WorldBean

In the Delta terminal of LaGuadia airport you can get a superb cup of coffee. This is nothing like Starbuck. As part of coffee's "third wave" they are using the best beans, roasted by artists and brewed by state of the art equipment. The line will get long and may move slow, but WorldBean and places like it will make you think you are discovering an entirely new beverage, not just a new coffee shop.







- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

#VeelaCafe Review

Batdorf Bronson coffee. Judging by the logo, and that is what I have to draw conclusions from, this is not a hyper hip micro roaster. But the Barista wearing the "Barista Forever" Russian look tee made a nice Maple Leaf Forever- flavored latte with a good balance between maple syrup and coffee. This is a good alternative when the Itty Bitty Buzz has a long line. And it is a real Internet cafe.



- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

Review #CafePaix in Forks

When in Forks hunting Vampires one needs coffee to stay alert all night.



This place, despite its inviting name and appearance, is not the place to get it. My mocha was exactly like instant cocoa made with weak coffee. Bad bad bad. Avoid and take your chances with the vampires.

- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

Tyler Street Coffee House

Strolling the streets of Port
Townsend, one is apt to want coffee. I can heartily recommend this cafe. Cafe Vita is the roaster, and the Barista is accomplished. Coffee art so good the tourists make the photos. Mai Oui!



- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

Coava Coffee

Passing through Portland, we were rebuffed by restaurants and coffee shops closed at all hours of the day.  But being persistent, we persevered.  On the third try we found an open establishment.  (Mainstreet Advantage hint #1: Never overlook the obvious- Be open when guests want to eat or drink.)  We were driven into the arms of the big chains to fill our needs.

Anyway, we enjoyed little forays into unexplored territory, and decided to return to get some cool on in Portland.

The last stop our schedule afforded us was at Coava Coffee at 1300 SE Grand Ave.  It co-habits a green, Oregon based bamboo manufacturing shop, which makes a great diversion while sipping hot coffee.  @CoffeePedaler struck up a conversation with the owner about beans, roasting and other esoteric coffee stuff, and fed me a few samples of the product.

WOW! It was as different as it could be from other espressos we had sampled.  What a great insight.  The place is beautiful, the owner is passionate and knowledgeable, and the product is really good.   In fact, the espresso I chose was so flavorful that it needed no sweetening to make our Latte.

Located just off I-5 at exit 300, by the bridge, I will stop again here.