Some Recent Coffee Experiences

After the birth of my 2nd child, my wife thankfully encouraged me to go grab a shot at Barismo in Arlington Center. Lord knows with a newborn you need all the uppers you can get. Barismo was totally mind-blowing. The best shot of espresso I have ever had. On the day that I was there they were serving Koke. I went back the day after and had a 50/50 Doppelganger. Both were excellent, fully of crema. The Doppelganger had a downright raspberry flavor to it that I've never experienced with espresso. The Doppelganger was the first shot of espresso I've ever had that required absolutely no sugar. I bought some of the Koke and when I had it at home with my Mazzer Mini and Pavoni, it was delightful as well. Barismo is an experience unto itself, and it doesn't hide the fact that if you want really amazing espresso, coffee, or tea, you have to wait for it. Each shot requires some patience, but it's totally worth it. If the line is out the door, come back some other time. But if you hit the place in the middle of a slow weekday, you're in for a treat.

My mother in law--a huge fan of coffee--arrived a few days later to help take care of our son and as a treat I took her to see George Howell's new-ish coffee operation in Ashland, MA. We didn't make an appointment and truth be told I wasn't sure if the place was going to be corporate HQ offices, a giant loading dock, or an actual cafe. We just sort of stumbled into the place, walked into the back room and met George and his lovely daughter. George was kind enough to take me, my mother in law, and my 2.5 year old daughter on a quick tour of the operation, showing us a bit of R&D, bean packaging, roasting, and tasting. It was awesome. And his daughter pulled me a shot that rivaled Barismo's. It's clear that George loves coffee and all of the details that go into a relatively high throughput (at least compared to Barismo) roasting operation. I was a kid when George first opened coffee connection and as a teenager I lamented the dropoff in quality when the Coffee Connection was dragged asunder by Charbucks. So I'm very excited to see George Howell back at it, delivering us from the evils of Starbucks' brand of super dark, burned, thin coffee. I usually buy George's beans from Whole Foods, but I notice that sometimes the beans aren't terribly fresh. Mail order from GHH is pretty speedy and the beans are always very fresh.

Update: Some great espresso beans from George Howell: Kaguimoini, Sorento, and Gingerbread. All are terrific. The Kaguimoini is very complex. The Sorento is more caramel-y and chocolaty.