I am not the biggest fan of Winter. I think my genetic disposition requires me to crave warm places, much like the rest of my people who tend to migrate during the cold months to places like Boca Raton Florida. But for … Continue reading
Last week I spent a few hours in New York City’s West Village. The neighborhood is distinguished by streets that are “off the grid” — set at an angle to the other streets in Manhattan. It’s still Colonial in feel and very residential. In my fantasies when I dream of moving back to the city my first choice is a brownstone in the West Village. A few years ago while getting into my car I saw Gwyneth Paltrow exiting her home on one of these charming streets and the idea of her as one of my neighbors cemented my decision.
Street Fair, West Village
I only had time to check out two coffee shops, Prodigy Cafe and Whynot. Prodigy is a great space for a quiet respite from the tourists clogging Bleeker Street just around the corner.
About six months ago the two owners started roasting their own coffee in Brooklyn at the Pulley Collective and they do a great job. They offer both their signature Brooklyn Blend as well as single origin selections.
Just a few blocks away, Whynot Coffee and Wine on the corner of Gay and Christopher Streets is where the monied cool locals hang out. Toby’s estate is the house offering and the music is all vinyl. After 5 the coffee shop becomes a wine bar. Hang out here (make sure you dress the part…NYC cool) and you’ll most likely rub elbows with a screenwriter, photographer or a local artist.
Whynot
Dinner was spent in Chinatown…a bit of Szechuan followed by some bubble tea.
Chinatown fish market
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When Astoria Cafe’s Dennis Lee sent me some beans from their Ohio roaster Cafe Brioso, I couldn’t wait to check it out. Dennis and his girlfriend Liz hail from Columbus and moved to Queens, New York in 2009. Their dream is to open their own coffee shop in the neighborhood.
Elixr Coffee
After the beans arrived, I decided to contact Evan Inatome, owner of one of Philadelphia’s best coffee houses, Elixr. He was all about cupping the beans and we arranged a tasting.
Cafe Brioso sent me a bag of their Colombia La Primavera Microlot and Evan thought it would be interesting to blind taste them against other roasters’ offerings from the same country. The lineup contained,
Toby’s Estate’s Santa Ines (cup A)
Heart’s El Desarrollo (cup B)
Square Mile’s La Buitrera Huila (cup C)
Cafe Brioso’s La Primavera (cup D)
Four coffee professionals joined me in the cupping. Evan presented the coffees in cups labeled A-D so that we could check them out blind.
So what was the consensus? Interestingly, our opinions were unanimous. The coffee in the first three cups were very sound. The lighter roast brought out interesting fruit and floral notes that wasn’t as pronounced in Cafe Brioso’s full city roast. But cupping them side by side brought out nuanced differences and Heart’s El Desarrollo was the winner. Between the three, the La Buitrera Huila was just a hair past it’s peak, perhaps because it was roasted a few weeks earlier and then shipped from the UK. With that said, Evan felt that any of them would make for excellent pour overs.
What about Cafe Brioso’s offering? Although quite good and well crafted, the group felt it was a bit too assertive, perhaps because it seemed to be a darker roast than the other selections. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing and one of the group offered that it would probably be a really nice selection to use with milk based drinks such as cappuccinos.
The next day I tried the Brioso using my Aeropress with and without milk. I liked the strong, earthy tones and think the added lactose rounded out the flavors. It should make a nice house selection when Astoria eventually opens its doors.
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A few weeks ago one of my Twitter followers @AstoriaCoffeeNY asked if I’d like some coffee beans. Who could refuse so of course I said yes. While I waited for a sample of their coffee from roaster Cafe Brioso based in Columbus Ohio, I learned more about Dennis Lee and his girlfriend Liz Wick’s journey and challenges in their quest to open their own coffee shop.
Dennis and Liz moved to Astoria, Queens in 2009. They had met in Ohio working in a coffee shop opened by a mutual friend. Noticing that their Queens neighborhood had only a few places to get a decent cup, they began discussing opening a place of their own.
So far it’s been a challenge opening a brick and mortar. Finding an affordable lease in a great location and obtaining financing hasn’t been easy. In the meantime Dennis and Liz started a neighborhood whole-bean coffee delivery service and were just awarded a $10,000 business start-up grant through the Queens Economic Council.
I asked them why they picked Cafe Brioso over so many other options closer to New York such as Toby’s Estate and Stumptown. One reason is their connection to Columbus and its burdgening coffee scene. In addition Dennis and Liz work directly with Jeff Davis the owner/roaster at Brioso and prefer that to working with a sales rep.
So how does Cafe Brioso’s beans compare to other roasters? Tomorrow I’ll publish the results of a comparison cupping against beans from Heart, Toby’s Estate, and Square Mile.
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