Hi,

I'm headed back to visit Austin next week & haven't heard much about the state of espresso shops in the area. (nothing recent searching the forums, espressomap.com, etc.) Is there anyplace worth hitting?

Thanks.

Caffe Medici is North West of downtown back near Mo-Pac. That is the big 3rd wave shop. www.caffemedici.com.

-C

If you are looking for serious barista skills and home-barista attention to detail, be sure not to miss Frank. They have intelly beans and no matter what you are after (espresso, cappa, vacume, drip, press) Franks' award winning Barista will not let you down...believe me, I've hit every shop ion town!

***Be sure to look for the dude with the red hair - if he's not there, I can't vouch for what you'll get!!

Caffe Medici is North West of downtown back near Mo-Pac. That is the big 3rd wave shop. http://www.caffemedici.com.

+1

Caffe Medici is good. There is the location in Clarksville mentioned above and a location on the Drag (Guadalupe) across from UT.

(Edited due to the following post. Maybe my initial take on the Austin scene was unfair.)

It could be worse he could have asked about Dallas or Houston, then we could just tell him to go to a HB members house.

Only kinda a joke, sorry.

+1 to Caffé Medici, both locations. I've had my best cups at the West Lynn shop. They're the biggest, best-known, and a huge part of driving quality coffee in the city. If you happen to be in Austin over the weekend, Medici Notte is a pretty unique experience that allows customers to experience "signature drink"-style beverages a la USBC competitions.

Once Over, though, is my favorite shop these days, when I make it into Austin (once or twice a month). I'd have to put it just ahead of Medici for my tastes. They have a GB5 and an FB70 and use K30 Varios, and they've got their own blend, Dead Fingers, developed by Cuvée Coffee for them. Cuvée also supplies Medici and a number of other shops in the city. Anyway, I've never been disappointed by a drink at Once Over; the owners, Rob and Jenée, are usually to be found behind the bar (in my experience), and they're top notch folks. I believe they maintain the shop with only a pair of baristas, which is pretty impressive to me. Their blend is a little different, and they seem to dose a bit lighter than Medici from what I understand.

AUSTINrob wrote:If you are looking for serious barista skills and home-barista attention to detail, be sure not to miss Frank. They have intelly beans and no matter what you are after (espresso, cappa, vacume, drip, press) Franks' award winning Barista will not let you down...believe me, I've hit every shop ion town!

***Be sure to look for the dude with the red hair - if he's not there, I can't vouch for what you'll get!!

+1. Frank is a cool (new?) place I was introduced to late last year and have only visited a couple times. The food is excellent, and the coffee is Intelligentsia. They ran a LM GB5 and Major-E last time I was there, and also serve vac pot/chemex brews of their coffees. I believe the red-headed barista you speak of is named Tyler, and I concur he can make an excellent cup of coffee.

All three places are well worth checking out. Also, If you are going to be in Austin on this Friday-Sunday, Jan 8-10 (I will be!), The South Central Regional Barista Championship will be going on, which is probably worth checking out too.

CRCasey wrote:It could be worse he could have asked about Dallas or Houston, then we could just tell him to go to a HB members house.

Only kinda a joke, sorry.

Cecil refers, I think, to Flint's 'controversial' thread on Houston Coffee (is there one on Dallas?). While my 'shop' is open to all geeks by appointment, Catalina and Tuscany Coffee both have promising, cool things going and are well worth a visit. Sean Marshall and Max Gonzalez (owner) are the baristas to get at Catalina, and David Buehrer is the star at Tuscany. I can't compare any of these shops to premiere West Coast shops directly (not having been there), but I can say most if not all of the people behind these shops are passionate about great coffee and work hard to deliver the best they can to people in cities where the appreciation of what they do is considerably lower than most other big cities.

Cool, I'll check out Medici for sure (grew up on the north side, my family's still all there.) I look forward to checking out Frank as well.

I always get nervous about having coffee when I leave Portland- good to hear that some good things are happening in Austin.

pdx wrote:Cool, I'll check out Medici for sure

I just had a shudder pass through me as I contemplated third wave quality coffee at Kreutz' Market. Wolfing down a half-pound of brisket and some sausages, with some white bread and some cheddar, and maybe half an onion and and RC, and then lean back, belch, and order a nice after dinner espresso or a cappuccino.
[slurp]

Once Over, though, is my favorite shop these days, when I make it into Austin (once or twice a month). I'd have to put it just ahead of Medici for my tastes. They have a GB5 and an FB70 and use K30 Varios, and they've got their own blend, Dead Fingers"

Hmm, I'm glad I saw this thread, I'll give Once Over a try this week!

Some really exciting stuff has been happening in Austin over the previous year. All the above shops mentioned are well worth a visit. Medici (two locations), Once Over, and Frank. All three have top notch baristas, and can talk your ears off about their blend, technique, etc. And at any of these shops, if you don't get a drink that is tasty, they will have no problem in remaking something for you. As long as you're nice about it, of course.

Also, I feel I should mention Thunderbird off of Koenig. They also use Cuvee beans and their espresso is a bit darker than the other three mentioned above. NOT a dark roast, just a little more chocolate, leather, smokey. Halfway between Counter Cultures Forza and Toscano. Just throwing that out there, if that's your thing.

If you're at Frank, Tyler (the red head) will pull you an awesome shot, and so will a cute brunette named Erin. If you pop down at the bar, you can chat with the barista, and maybe order some Siphon coffee.

Rob and Jene are always at there shop, and they are perfectionsist as well as being really cool people. They used to be bartenders in New York (though they are originally from Austin).

Medici is on West Lynn and another shop on 22nd & Guadalupe. It's much easier to park at West Lynn, but still not that easy. Come to think of it, you may run into that at Frank as well. Justin and Patrick usually work mornings at the West Lynn, as well as Drew, and they are all solid baristas.

You should definitely check out the http://www.usbaristachampionship.org/southcentral/SCRBC if you are down through the weekend, as you'll get to meet all of these awesome professionals geeking out and shaking with nerves.

*full disclosure, I work at Medici and will be competing this weekend*