Voltage Coffee and Art - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 10/1/2012
Price: $2.50 for pour over
Location: 295 3rd St, Cambridge, MA
website

The Quick Bit:

+ great atmosphere of an art gallery with a coffee shop

+ high quality coffee beans

+ convenient location

Δ Ordering can be difficult when there is a line

Voltage Coffee and Art is owned by Lucy Valena. Valena's premise is that coffee acts as a fuel for artistic innovation; by providing coffee in an art gallery ambiance, Valena hopes to jump-start creative works. Interestingly, Voltage was founded through a microloan program. Valena used this loan to establish a reputation to eventually secure venture capital for establishing a brick and mortar storefront.

The espresso drinks served at Voltage contain added flavors to take them to the next level such a the vanilla and burnt sugar in the Atticus Finch drink. However, the draw for me was the the Madcap pour over. I knew Madcap was an up and coming coffee roaster and I jumped at the opportunity to enjoy their coffee in the pour over method - a process that unlocks more acidity and floral notes in the coffee leading to greater body and balance in flavor.

madcap ethiopian pour over

When I sipped the Ethiopian Kochere, I knew I had made the correct choice as it had a great balance of acidity and floral notes to complement the toffee undertones. Even without added milk or sugar, the cup was extremely balanced, and more reminiscent of a strong yet balanced tea.

Conclusion

With its great variety of espresso and pour over coffees and excellent ambiance, I was extremely happy with my visit to Voltage. Even with a single visit, I am confident in awarding Voltage the bit award.

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Coffee Tomo - Flash

Date of Dining: 3/31/2012 
Price: < $3 per cup
Location: 11309 Mississippi Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025
website

The Quick Bit:

+ high quality single origin coffee
+ japanese slow brewing methods
+ coffee roasted in house
Δ parking can be difficult

While waiting for Tsujita, we arrived a little early on a cold and overcast morning. We decide to spend some of the time by getting some coffee from the shop next door.

When I walked into Coffee Tomo, I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up getting something much more in line with Bird Rock. The coffees were roasted on the premises and of single origin. To top it off, they had a slow brew method like Bird Rock's V60, except it was a new model.

Seeing that they had the slow brew method, I new I would be ordering one of the single origin coffees. As they were lacking the Southeast Asian variety, I settled for Ethiopian.

After weighing the coffee, the water, and making sure the temperature was the desired brewing temperature, the barrista settled on making my coffee. First, the grounds are just wet slightly before the more complex brewing takes place.

After the grounds are wet, the coffee is brewed at a slightly faster pace

The coffee drips down into a waiting canister below.

Meanwhile, we ordered a more traditional vanilla latte as well.

latte (left), slow brewed ethiopian (right)

The final product was delivered surprisingly almost at the same time.

The latte was a well done latte; the flavor of the espresso was nice and strong and I preferred this one over Starbucks.

The single origin slow brewed Ethiopian was really nice. The slow brew system really allows the caramel, mocha, and floral notes of the coffee to come through. I did find that I liked the chemex better as the metal filter allowed more oils of the coffee to come through. While the head of this coffee was nice, it was lacking in finish due to the lack of oils.

Conclusion

Overall, I was really surprised and happy to find Coffee Tomo readily available next to Tsujita. It was a great one-two punch. The availability of slow brewed single origin coffee is always nice. On the other hand, I prefer a slow brew system that does not rely on paper filters as I enjoy the oils in the coffee.

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Bird Rock Coffee - Flash

Date of Visit: 12/22/2011
Price: $2-7.50 per cup of coffee
Location: 5267 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla, CA 92037
website


The Quick Bit:
+ High Quality single origin specialty coffee
+ Coffee Roasted In-House
+ Chemex brewing system
Δ Location could be more freeway accessible

Although Bird Rock Coffee was popularized by recently being named Roast Magazine's Micro-Roaster of the Year for 2012, one of my friend cgfan actually put Bird Rock on my radar prior to the award. Unfortunately, I never made the visit to the shop before Bird Rock received the accolade, so I'm not sure how much has changed in the intervening time.

What I do know about Bird Rock is that they source all their coffee beans directly from the farmers and pay above fair trade value to ensure they get the finest quality beans. The beans are also organic and are roasted on site fresh daily to ensure the highest quality cup of coffee.

Further, while Bird Rock does have high quality single-origin coffees, they also have a series of "reserve" coffees that are even higher in quality. These set of reserve coffees are sold at "market price" and brewed on one of two special brewing platforms: chemex or v60.

Having heard about chemex being the best coffee brewing system, I decided to see what it was all about.

Bird Rock Chemex System

weighing the beans

Everything about the Chemex brewing system is meticulously measured. The weight of the coffee beans, the amount and temperature of the water, and the exact brewing time are all crucial elements to crafting the perfect cup

barrista smooths out the beans in the filter prior to brewing

flow of water is carefully controlled

the entire brewing process is timed to take an exact amount of time

the end result

While the entire process does seem overly complicated, the resulting cup of coffee was phenomenal. It was easily among the best and most flavorful cups of coffee I have ever had. The taste of the coffee was decidedly more floral, and the oils and acidity in the beans meshed to create a much more complex taste.

While I recommend a visit to Bird Rock in general for their high quality coffees, I especially recommend trying the chemex system if you are a coffee connoisseur. While Bird Rock does sell a variety of espresso drinks, skip those and take the opportunity to try the high quality single origin brewed coffees.

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