Espresso in Austin? - Page 10

Talk about your favorite cafes, local barista events, or plan your own get-together.
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Eastsideloco
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#91: Post by Eastsideloco »

crusty cup wrote:Well I've been to Figure 8 nearly every day since they've opened and I must say it has drawn me away from other local espresso purveyors. They've had a nearly full house most every time I visit, and I've seen that other folks are becoming regulars there. Some of them are the usual case-hardened espresso nuts I've been seeing around Austin for the past 20 years. That's quite amazing for a new business. Customers order mostly espresso or espresso-based drinks, and the espresso is more chocolaty and in the traditional vein which I look forward to. In fact I generally like Timepiece here better than at Houndstooth.

The last God shot I had was at JP's Java in 2003; the one before that was in my home in 1990. I think these guys are a candidate for my third. Anyone serious about espresso in Austin should check it out.
+1. We were in Southern Oregon for 4 months, so I'm just now making my way to some of the new cafes in Austin. On Saturday, I had a great espresso at Figure 8. I've had very good Timepiece shots at Houndstooth. But I totally walked away from my shot at Figure 8 wondering if they weren't getting even better results than Houndstooth, which would be a bit ironic given that Tweed is basically part of Houndstooth. Obviously the staff is very competent at Figure 8, and they know how to get the best results out of their house espresso.

I've also been to the Cuvee shop a few times since we've been home. The Meritage blend is their "house espresso" and is consistently good. They've also been serving Reserva, which is a SO espresso blend, as it were, where one coffee is processed three different ways, roasted separately and blended. But my favorite Cuvee shot so far was a SO Kenya Kumurembe.

Anyone been to Seventh Flag Coffee?

gsylvest
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#92: Post by gsylvest »

I was at Seventh Flag while in town for work for a few days a week ago. Nice open airy cafe. They do a nice espresso. Interesting presentation as they serve it paired with a Yirga tea. They let me pour a rosetta and offered me a job on the spot. hehehe. I hung out at Seventh Flag for a bit unlike Once Over just down the street which had equally good espresso but a rather strange atmosphere. Felt dark and cramped inside. One person per table who looked like they were camped out for days and without a doubt didn't want someone to sit down at 'their' table. I ended up standing the whole time but there is no real bar to stand at. Overall, I didn't feel overly welcome at Once Over.

Also went to Franks. While not a destination in itself, the espresso was good (ie, better than 99.9% of coffee shops in the US) and it's part of a larger restaurant that with very good food.

I didnt' take notes on the style/taste of each espresso at each place and only remember the overall impression.

csader
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#93: Post by csader »

If you haven't been to Patika's new brick and mortar off of South Lamar..run, don't walk. It was one of the best cappas I've had in town.

crusty cup
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#94: Post by crusty cup »

O.k. guys, and gals, let's have a list of coffeehouses open for Thanksgiving in Austin. I'm pretty sure Epoch and Bennu will be; any others? Coffee shop owner/lurkers, join in here!

And here's a thought: When I go visit these places on holidays I always say to the barista, "Thank you for coming in to work on a holiday, so I could have a cup of coffee." If all of us do that then probably there will be some good Karma here and there.

No not probably. Certainly.

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Eastsideloco
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#95: Post by Eastsideloco »

csader wrote:If you haven't been to Patika's new brick and mortar off of South Lamar..run, don't walk. It was one of the best cappas I've had in town.
Thanks for the tip, csader. Patika's coffee kart on Congress was Lorenzo Perkin's favorite place to get coffee in Austin-at least before Cuvée opened it's own cafe. ;-) Definitely time for a South Austin coffee crawl and visit Patika and Seventh Flag. (Thanks for the Seventh Flag review, gsylvest).

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CrabRangoon
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#96: Post by CrabRangoon »

I'm a long time HB reader and lurker who just discovered this thread this month! I really appreciate it's existence, as it's made me aware of some newer shops that I hadn't heard of before. I most often drink at home and rarely get out for coffee or espresso, but I'm trying to get out and enjoy the growing espresso scene in town more now.

While I don't have anything to contribute about local shops, I am hoping that someone could weigh in on what temp you're brewing Tweed's Timepiece (as it's local, I'm guessing at least a couple posters in here are familiar with it). I just upgraded from an Oscar to a Cremina and am still honing my skills with the new lever. I'm now witnessing exactly how much difference 5-10 degrees can make, so any input I can get is MUCH appreciated.

Cheers!
LMWDP #505

crusty cup
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#97: Post by crusty cup »

200F.

I'm not using Timepiece but I believe that's what Houndstooth brews espresso at.

If you're not using a resin bed (water softener) then that will make a difference.

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Eastsideloco
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#98: Post by Eastsideloco »

Good point. I put bottled water in my Cremina. It might not be as optimal as the water at Houndstooth or Figure 8. But it tastes way better than running filtered tap water through the machine.

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CrabRangoon
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#99: Post by CrabRangoon »

Thanks for the tips! I'm just using Brita cartridge-filtered tap water. I've considered the bottle route, but our house is quite small and I don't think it'd fly well with my lady.

Anybody a fan of Sa-Ten? I just might show up for their movie night next Thursday, as I love Tokyo Drifter. We've only been once or twice, so I haven't had too many of their coffee & espresso offerings. I'm pretty sure they only brew Casa Brasil.
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Eastsideloco
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#100: Post by Eastsideloco »

While I still haven't made it to Seventh Flag, I had an underwhelming shot a Patika this week. They were serving Cuvee's Meritage. While I've enjoyed Meritage when I've had it at Cuvee's E 6th cafe, the barista wasn't getting the most out of the blend at Patika. In fact, it wasn't really even close; it was simply a disappointing shot. Otherwise, the shop is nice. I'll give them another try.

FWIW: while the espresso at many of the "good cafes" around town can be hit or miss to a certain degree, I've had consistently good experiences at Houndstooth's North Lamar location and Cuvee's new E 6th cafe. (The latter is right next door to our post office drop location, so I seem to wind up there two or three times a week.) And when I talk to baristas around town, many of them swear by Figure 8-it's the cafe they go to when they aren't working-which I'm looking forward to visiting again.