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Ithaca's coffee scene has never been strongerCoffee has come a long way since my grandmother's daily percolator full of Maxwell House. Whether or not you're into the cappuccino thing, or you're a Starbucks fan, there's lots to check out in coffee and coffee drinks these days. A recent visit to the Blue Bottle Coffee Company in San Francisco to enjoy individually made pots of siphon-brewed coffee, along with a fresh batch of Peet's Espresso Forte in some well-made cappuccinos, has reminded me that coffee is well worth exploring -- while traveling and while right here at home.
Ithaca has a long history of wonderful espresso bars, and even though Juna's Cafe has joined Silverbird Espresso in the pantheon of past cafes, we're glad to see there are still several great locally owned and operated cafes in town. Gimme! Coffee has taken the world by storm, but they're still focusing on serving great coffee in and around Ithaca. In addition to their own area outlets in Trumansburg, Lansing, and Ithaca, Gimme!'s products are available at other businesses, including Smart Monkey Cafe and the Queen of Tarts. I'm hooked on the cappuccino at the Queen of Tarts, but when it's hot out, I appreciate their freshly brewed iced coffee, or a cool and sweet Cafe Cubano, a concept I learned from the Coffee Tao web site.
Also downtown, Ithaca Coffee Company's new store on East State Street in the Gateway Commons has not just a good espresso bar and assorted coffee supplies, but also a wide selection of teas you can enjoy there and supplies and equipment for brewing your own beverages at home. And, this weekend a friend visiting from out of town brought along a bag of Community Coffee. This Louisiana specialty comes in tightly vacuum-packed red bags to keep it fresh. My favourite Community Coffee variety is the coffee and chicory, a blend that dates back to days when coffee was strictly rationed, and coffee drinkers in the Mississippi Delta stretched their supplies by adding dried chicory to their brew. Perhaps a more famous version outside of Louisiana is the coffee with chicory served at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. Both are available via mail order. This brings us to how to brew coffee at work or home, but that's probably a topic deserving of its own feature. Suffice it to say for now that I use a Senseo pod brewer for cup-at-a-time needs, a terrific Cooks Essentials brewer with a thermal carafe for a few cups, and a Krups coffee-and-espresso machine for larger pots or for proper espresso. What's in your coffee arsenal? |
That siphon coffee experience, while on a trip for work, was my first -- the concept, apparently a Japanese import, involves using bright, hot lights to brew coffee that's strong but not bitter. It takes a while for each pot, even longer than the few minutes for a latte people already complain about, so your average corner coffee shop will probably never get around to going the siphon route.
Juna's may be gone, but interesting coffee hasn't departed the Commons. I don't usually go for the sweet and whipped-creamy coffee drinks, but couldn't resist trying the spicy Viennese espresso at Brötchen. This downtown Austrian bakery and cafe has several coffee options, including plain brewed coffee.