Some days you wake up and the world seems to be smiling at you for no reason. I fear those days, since most of the times it is a cue from the great beyond that we are all part of a cosmic joke. I had one of those two weeks ago, which I'm going to tell you about in a moment.

I live on a small Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. That piece of real estate features the best the world has to offer, from French Baguette to Chinese Opera (you'll need earplugs for the latter). But decent coffee, and particularly espresso, is nowhere to be found. A thousand coffee shops and not a drop of espresso to drink.

About a year ago I wrote a review of Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Cafe Grumpy threw its hat into the New York coffee wasteland and the only complaint I had was their location. People who live in Manhattan never go to Greenpoint Brooklyn unless they have a very large debt to collect; or as a tied-up & gagged passenger in the trunk of a speeding car. So, I was hoping Grumpy would see the error of their ways and move to Manhattan. A year later, they've finally crossed the Brooklyn Bridge in the right direction.

Their new coffee shop is located in a hip neighborhood in Manhattan (Chelsea), and is accessible by subway. John Moore of CCC invited me to a cupping session at Grumpy and on an early Saturday morning, (10 am ! the nerve that man has...), I showed up dressed down and barely conscious.



The shop has a very warm vibe that is partially attributed to the hardwood floors, light stained wood bar and red brick wall interior. The first things that caught my eyes, after the 2 group Synesso, were two brand new Clover Coffee Brewers. For those who are unfamiliar with that contraption, it is the latest in brewing technology, and in essence it brews coffee for ~45 seconds and then uses vacuum suction to separate the grind from the brew. The machine allows for infinite adjustments tailored for each coffee, from soaking time to temperature, and is said to produce a unique & clean cup unmatched by any other brewing method. These are expensive hand-built precision tools and seeing two of them in one store was pleasantly surprising.




Clover- back


Clover - driver seat

I tried a cup of Bolivia Caranavi from the Clover and it was molasses sweet, with stone fruit & cinnamon. It would be nice to try the same coffee as French Press or just straight cupping I said to myself, and compare it with the Clover. I moved to a straight shot of Ecco Reserve espresso, which was sweet and very mild. If you are are puzzled by the term "sweet espresso" and want to calibrate your palate to that definition, a shot of Ecco will give you a very good idea.

I watched the barista steaming milk and was delighted to see white chrome homogenized micro foam served to the guy next to me. It seems everything in this coffee shop is up to specs at a very high level.

We proceeded with the cupping session lead by John Moore of CCC which lasted about 90 minutes, tasting five coffees from various origins, and a good time was had by all. For those who are interested in participating in future cupping sessions at Grumpy's please contact John Moore at jmoore@counterculturecoffee.com.


Caroline Bell, a Joyzy gal and Grumpy co-owner, taking a picture of the cupping table


cupping at Grumpy

Cafe Grumpy
224 West 20th Street
(between 7th & 8th Aves)
New York, NY 10011
Tel: 212.255.5511

Abe, thanks for the great news!
Do you know if they sell beans as well?
I guess this is a must have destination in Manhattan now. I am planning to visit soon.

Yes, they sell beans too. All the coffees they serve in the shop you can buy in beans.

I visited them this morning. They served the best cup of espresso I have ever tried in a cafe. It was exceptional.
The aftertaste was so good that I decided against trying clover - it will have to wait for my next visit.
Bought fresh ecco espresso blend with the roast date printed on the bag - 5 days from the roaster.

Life does not get better then this.

as soon as the temps warm to the point where my ears and nose unfreeze, ill take the 20block walk and give em a shot

Has anyone tried "Joe the art of Coffee" in NYC?

I am going into NYC on Feb 17 and want to try either Grumpy's or Joe's place, just looking for some info on it?

Thanks
-Craig

CyclingCraig wrote:Has anyone tried "Joe the art of Coffee" in NYC?

I am going into NYC on Feb 17 and want to try either Grumpy's or Joe's place, just looking for some info on it?

Thanks
-Craig

Why not try both? Joe is uneven in quality - very much barista dependant, but worth a visit. I'd rate Grumpy one full notch above Joe.

WOW!

That was fast

Thanks Abe, not sure if I will have time for both, but based on your suggestion I will be hitting up Grumpy's (Besides I really like the logo)

Since I am new to "good" espresso, I can't wait to compare what a Pro can make and what I am getting from my 6 week old Anita

I hope I don't realize my shots taste like poo compared to what I get next sunday ... I can't wait!

Definitely worth a visit to Cafe Grumpy! (Though if you want a two-fer, go to Union Square and you can hit 9th Street Espresso's & Joe's locations there). Even though it's nowhere near me, I've been to the Chelsea Grumpy about a half-dozen times over the last month. I've yet to have anything but an amazing shot there. The Clover is fun (I had an unbelievable Kenya AA on it), but the espresso is so good, it's tough to have anything but straight shots (makes me wish I could handle having more than two shots at a time). They're using Ecco Northern Italian Reserve beans, which are great. Every other time I'm there, too, the barista dumps my shot because he doesn't like the way it looks, how fast it's pulling, etc. -- most places in NY, I'm just happy to see them wipe the portafilter basket or even have a tamper!

On a side note, I hope the business succeeds. I think they don't charge enough! Basically Starbucks prices (or cheaper), but not Starbucks volume of customers. Couple that with highly-skilled Baristas and excellent beans, and they must have high operating costs (two clovers and a 3-group Synesso can't help).

CGP4 wrote:On a side note, I hope the business succeeds. I think they don't charge enough! Basically Starbucks prices (or cheaper), but not Starbucks volume of customers. Couple that with highly-skilled Baristas and excellent beans, and they must have high operating costs (two clovers and a 3-group Synesso can't help).

I really really hope they succeed. I am spreading the word around as much as I can.

Also I didn't know 9 Street has a location on Union Square. How long ago did they do it?