GUD BLOG: SINGLE POST
The C in OCD Stands for Coffee
Friends of mine know that I have a tendency to get more than a little obsessive about my beverages. After a few months of drinking piss poor beer and whiskey (and a resulting bout of stomach sickness), I swore that alcohol would never again pass through my lips. Then I had a decent bottle of beer in the form of Hacker-Pschorr Dunkel Weisse, and four years later I had a collection of 1,000 unique beer bottles and about 1,500 different beers on my drinker’s resume.
Then came wine. Then tea. Then cocktails.
And now coffee.
My previously chronicled adventures with coffee drew some laughs from friends and colleagues, but I’ve started to really embrace the stuff. More importantly, I’ve finally had some truly bad coffee to really put all the great stuff I’ve had into proper perspective.
On a recent trip to Stratford, Ontario, I had coffee at two of the little cafes — two of the only options not serving mass market stuff and one of which was “fair trade” — and in both cases, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. The espresso at the one place was thin and lacking any flavor beyond that of burnt cardboard, and the drip at the other place was OK, but it was again thin in body and lacking much flavor beyond bitterness. While I’ve never had coffee from Blue Bottle or many of the other great American outlets, I’ve definitely come to realize that I’m spoiled with my three most common coffee options: Great Lakes (at home), Intelligentsia (Lab Cafe in Ann Arbor), and Ritual/49th Parallel (Comet Coffee in Ann Arbor).
Some recent thoughts:
- James at Great Lakes roasts my two favorite coffees, period. And I’m not just saying that because he knows where I live and/or because he could easily spike my beer. One is an Ethiopian that I understand comes from Amaro Gayo, which draws plenty of internet praise in and of itself. The other was a particular Kenyan microlot of a peaberry coffee. The thing I find remarkable about both of these coffees is how much the non-bitter flavors dominate while remaining entirely balanced. The Ethiopian screams blueberry, blackberry, and black currant; and the Kenyan had a wonderfully acidic quality that popped out from behind some cherry and peach skin. Amazing stuff.
- Lab in A2, which I’ve blogged about before and which continues to be my “go to” option when I’m not at home, serves exclusively Intelligentsia coffees, and while I can’t speak to the espresso (yet), their single origin pour overs are all great. This morning, I had a coffee from the Homecho Waeno cooperative in Ethiopia. The roaster describes a lot of light, citrus, floral notes, but I just don’t get it. To me, I taste chocolate, spice, and bitterness. Nevertheless, it’s a delicious drink, but it feels more masculine — for lack of a better word — than I get when reading the notes from the company. And more importantly, especially in the context of my next bulletpoint, it was served to me by Emily, who is always smiling and polite (and if it weren’t served by Emily, it would have been served by Toby or Dusty or any of the other great folks who are talkative and inviting).
- Last week, I went back to Comet Coffee after a few weeks away. After my bad experience in Canada, I figured I’d give it another shot. Previously, I’d been less than thrilled with that particular venue for two reasons: (1) Their pour over coffee is so dark, I usually can’t taste much nuance, and (2) More than half the people who work the counter are jerks. I’ve seen the uber-hipster staff audibly sigh at people (or even chastise them for) asking about outlets for laptops, and I’ve had the staff virtually ignore me while half-assedly completing my transaction so that they can rap with each other about some new product they’re drinking. (I’m only barely holding it against them that they’ve screwed up my order in the past after I waited for people behind me in line to get their correct orders.) Staffing issues aside, the Kiangol AA Kenyan coffee I had the other day from the Rungero Farmers Cooperative Society was solid. Full bodied, it had the gravitas lacking in the cups I drank in Ontario. But it lacked the finesse of James’ coffees or anything I’ve ever had at Lab. They described “sparkling acidity” on their menu, but it weighed on my tongue and was something of a chore to drink. Admittedly, I’m a coffee novice, but if it’s that much effort for a “newbie” to get into it beyond the caffeine fix, color me disappointed.
If all goes well — read: if I don’t have a hangover — I’ll be headed to Eastern Market on Saturday morning to load up on more of Great Lakes’ wares. If you’re a Detroiter and haven’t tried it, you owe it to yourself to find James’ most recently roasted stuff and brew it up. Delicious, and definitely worth obsessing over.
2010.10.28 Evan Hansen at 9:58 pm
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2 Responses to The C in OCD Stands for Coffee
Great Lakes Coffee’s Amaro Gayo is the best brew I’ve ever had. I have not been to Blue Bottle either, but I’d put my money on James’s selection and roast.
Yes! This is exactly why I go to Lab and not to Comet. Both shops have employees who have mad espresso pulling and milk frothing skills, but Lab has Comet beat hands down on customer service.