Here’s a great New York Times article last week by Oliver Strand about the growth of the culinary coffee scene in New York City.
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Posts Tagged ‘Ninth Street Espresso’
A Guide to Good New York Coffee
March 12, 2010The Black Cat From Bolivia
August 17, 2009
What happens if, in a quest for a perfect shot of espresso, you actually find it, or something close? For one thing, perhaps like a fine wine, you can never be sure the next year’s vintage will be as good. And your taste and preferences might change. Of course, my quest was mainly a conceit to try a bunch of coffees and blog about them.
I didn’t expect to actually find something so far superior to the rest. But the third bean I brought back from Intelligentsia in L.A. this July came close. Alas, I just drank the last shot.
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Named for Itzamna, ‘God of Nectar’
August 9, 2009
After neglecting my blogging for a while, I figured I ought to make note of three excellent coffees from Intelligentsia in Los Angeles that I have been drinking over the past month or so. On a vacation trip in early July to visit family, we made a detour over to Silver Lake, where I bought a mug and a few different bags of single-source beans. I packed them in my suitcase and returned to New York (carrying coals to New Castle in a sense, since some local shops carry Intelligentsia selections). First up is the selection from Guatemala.
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Shots of Alphabet City, the Espresso
April 26, 2009
It was a busy week of catching up at work after vacation, then a busier weekend that included a children’s birthday party by the Hudson River, with volunteer activities to benefit the Children for Children Foundation.
Then last night it was off to Madison Square Garden for The Dead. It was a great show, musically. There were certainly some aging hippies in the crowd, but most of the audience had a middle-aged suburban feel to it. A lot of people who might have been dancing in the hallways and aisles 20 years ago seemed content to sit in their seats and suck on plastic bottles of Budweiser.
Toward the end of the night, I was thinking more about bedtime than the music never stopping, despite a couple of quick shots of this Intelligentsia espresso blend before the show. I’ve been drinking it all week.
Let’s resume the coffee quest.
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Taste of Agua Preta From Carmo de Minas
April 17, 2009
Earlier this week, my quest for a perfect cup of home-made coffee took me to Chelsea Market, where I picked up this direct-trade coffee from the outpost of Ninth Street Espresso at the market. This was part of my at-home vacation, or staycation, which mostly entailed watching my daughter do gymnastics; taking her to a bookstore, a tea house, and a museum; reading some books; sharing fresh Belgian beer with some friends; working out; updating my Twitter status; and, of course, drinking coffee.
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Another Fine Coffee From Finca Santuario
April 15, 2009
I’m on vacation from the job that pays the bills this week, but vacationing is hard work, especially since our daughter is off from school and my wife has to work. I need many shots of espresso to keep up my stamina. On Monday, I hustled my daughter off to a playdate, then wandered off on a chilly but sunny day to the Ninth Street Espresso outpost in Chelsea Market. I was on a specific mission: All of NInth Street’s coffees are roasted by Intelligentsia, which has a roasting lab but no shops in New York. I had been pleased with several Intelligentsia “guest” coffees purchased at Cafe Grumpy, including this Colombian. I’ll have more on the results of the expedition later. How did this bean fare in my ongoing coffee quest?
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