gorilla in park slope. game over. case closed. pm sent
BEST COFFEE
gorilla in park slope. game over. case closed. pm sent
One wonders where it will end, when everything has become gay.
Why are they so good?
What do they brew, how do they make it, are you talking coffee or espresso or espresso drinks? Is this a coffee place (like the stumptown annex), an espresso drinker's place (like any number of good joints), or a latte art spot (like Ritual)?
The best espresso I've had yet came from Cafe Grumpy (manhattan location), when they were serving Counter Culture coffee. Sadly, they're not consistently that good.
The best Macchiatos I have had come from Stumptown (Portland Oregon).
The best brewed coffee is, hands down, at the Stumptown Annex, from their Clover. It's not because they use the clover, it's because they tinker with it until they find the "just so" settings for each bean they serve.
Best beans I've had is a tricker answer, and I can't pick one, but if I had to try I'd probably say Stumptown's Finca El Injerto Reserva, which I think is no longer available. I tend to brew Intelligentsia Black Cat or Stumptown Rwanda Musasa at home.
I drink more coffee than most nations.
Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.
definitely. by becoming my new corner coffee shop, gorilla will finally break me away from my unecofriendly addiction to the starbucks grande soy chai.
Distraction is an obstruction of the construction.
i'll +1 gorilla although i couldn't say whether it's the best per say. from my brief barista stint at peets back in the day i know that to truly judge coffee you've got to drink it black from a press pot. and there's a whole theory about espresso drinks and the right beans and heat.
Peets used to be wonderful. Ever since they incorporated, laid off most of their old workforce, and hired new people without experience for higher profits, they've really lost it. They don't have many good baristas and they seem to burn their beans quite often nowOriginally Posted by AKA*NYC
i'll +1 gorilla although i couldn't say whether it's the best per say. from my brief barista stint at peets back in the day i know that to truly judge coffee you've got to drink it black from a press pot. and there's a whole theory about espresso drinks and the right beans and heat.
Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.
true on the coffee press...tell me more about the beans and the heat, seriously.i'll +1 gorilla although i couldn't say whether it's the best per say. from my brief barista stint at peets back in the day i know that to truly judge coffee you've got to drink it black from a press pot. and there's a whole theory about espresso drinks and the right beans and heat.i too used to make many a coffee beverage at a restaurant i used to work at oh so many years ago.
Distraction is an obstruction of the construction.
as expected..lol....i've been addicted to them for six years, as well as the entire prospect park brooklyn area...they have a website maybe it can answer your questions. www.gorillacoffee.com
and i agree on the downfall of peets having grown up in the city know as sf.
One wonders where it will end, when everything has become gay.
i'm primarily an espresso drinker, and the i've found the espresso that my Nespresso machine makes (from capsules no less!) is pretty damn good. gives a nice, thick crema and a rich flavor every single time.
with regards to coffee shops, im a fan of Intelligentsia here in LA as well as Abraco and Zibetto in NYC.
My favorite in NY was Think Coffee on Mercer and W. 4th, I spend many a late night there, their cheese plates a pretty good too. Nearby Joe's coffee on Waverly probably has better coffee but isn't open very late.
In Chicago, Intelligentsia is great of course, I also have a friend of a friend who is a coffee freak who opened a place called Star Lounge in Ukranian Village, I highly recommend it to anyone in Chi-town.
the one machine I've been very interested in tasting a cup from is the Clover. I want to see what the hype is all about really...
Looking at the Clover x Starbucks website it looks like they dumped a shit ton of the machines in the Boston area (why not NY... I have no idea) so at least I'll be able to test it/taste it in about a month or so.
Anyone give it a go yet?
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Stumptown Annex in Portland used to only serve from Clovers. They had all their roasts sold by the cup. Kind of a grand coffee tasting room. Clovers are very nice. They are basically an industrialized vacuum pot. You lose a bit of the clarity of vacuum pots, gets a bit more "muddled" I suppose would be the word. But, it is a hell of a lot easier to use.
Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.
'irving farm' on irving place, nyc
cant say they have the best coffee
but definitely a coffee shop that i love to go
Who ever calls that black brownish water they serve
at Starbucks coffee, I'll personally get together a lynch
mob and hunt you down ...
the best espresso coffee is Illy, made in Trieste, Italy
and served in bar Portizza, in Trieste.
It's so incredible how just few steps away the same coffee tastes completely differently. I suppose then that it depends on HOW they prepare it (pressure, number of seconds they hold the thing etc.) I think I wouldn't survive with coffees done in other countries....
some people say though that the best coffee is the traditional coffee in Neaples. They have a special moka thing for preparing it used only there. I've always been very interested in it but never had the chance to try it.
You need to branch out. Illy was great when no one was doing coffee right, but it pales in comparison to a lot of the coffees produced by Stumptown, Intelligentsia, Counter Culture and others.the best espresso coffee is Illy, made in Trieste, Italy
and served in bar Portizza, in Trieste.
It's so incredible how just few steps away the same coffee tastes completely differently. I suppose then that it depends on HOW they prepare it (pressure, number of seconds they hold the thing etc.) I think I wouldn't survive with coffees done in other countries....
Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.
+1 also, its progenitor: 9th street espresso.
Haha, well I sorta agree but I've gone there way too many times lately.
I'm a coffee snob and prefer supporting local shops, but I've found time and time again that in the midwest, Starbucks is consistently better than the local yokel joint. Of course, if you live in a place that has a coffee culture like Chicago, Seattle, or NYC there will be a million local places that make starbucks look like swill.
Many Americans complain about Starbuck's coffee being burnt or too strong, but I'm mostly an espresso drinker so I like it better that way. If you have time get a french press. I got a Sumatra French press the other day at Starbucks that was damn decent.
Who ever calls that black brownish water they serve
at Starbucks coffee, I'll personally get together a lynch
mob and hunt you down ...
I feel I have to weigh in here. I'm serious about my coffee. I have yet to find a mindblowingly good coffee place in NYC. Granted, my preference is drip--which is tough out here. I've adjusted accordingly and have been drinking espresso drinks more.
I will try Gorilla, and Grumpy's. Have tried Oslo, 9th street, Gimme and some others -- meh..
I went through a French press phase, and I agree with above comments about it. However unless you have a good grinder, you will usually get coffee 'dust' at the bottom which is a bad way to end a drink.
I have tried clover coffee once and I felt that the coffee was too fruity. I prefer a little of the burnt bitter flavor of a more balanced coffee. Perhaps clover machines can be highly variable in their output?
I feel the best coffee in the country originates from the Pacific Northwest. Have had Stumptown, Vivace, 4 Barrels in SF, Blue Bottle in SF, LaMill in LA--these were all very amazing coffee
Siphon is the last 'method' i've tried and I prefer it over the clover method, although I only have one experience from each.
Regarding pulling espresso shots, it's all about creating the right pressure on the tamped coffee. The big variables are the the fineness of the roast and density of the tamped coffee. If done right, you should get the correct volume in a certain amount of time. To me tamping is something that is the biggest variable to taste, experienced baristas can get it right by feel they've done it so much. Unfortunately for us, it's kinda hard to tell if they know what they're doing until you taste it :(
La Colombe has the most consistently great drip coffee I've ever had.
Clovers are quite variable. Brew temp is adjustable in .5 degree or 1 degree increments, and brew time in 1 second increments. Also, since it is a siphon process but without the water temperature fluctuation, you get a lot of flavor out, many beans aren't flattered. Even some coffees that are flattered by the right settings are ruined by bad ones.
I used to do my work at the Stumptown Annex (yay remote work!), and when they got a new bean, they'd bring in the different ways they were considering roasting it, and those would taste vastly different, but even once they settled on a roast, there was dialin for the clover. I dunno that they still do this, but it was informative, delicious, and twitchy when they did.
Glad to hear 4 barrel started doing their own roasting, I'll check them out next week. When you do your west coast coffee tasting stuff, don't forget Zoka (Seattle) and Ritual (SF). Neither are as good as Stumptown (or even Courier on his good days), but they've both got good roasts, and are more than worth checking out.
And, yeah, you can't fuck around with grinders. I've had a Mazzer grinder for a few years now. Heaven.
Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.
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