Chert wrote:Any update on the Houston espresso scene on the heels of the SCCA? More and better espresso or coffee in general?

While we were in town for SCAA, Dan Kehn, Shadowfax and I had a very nice experience at Catalina.

Yes, actually... Downhouse Coffee in the Heights. They serve Cuvée from an FB80 machine, and seem to have pretty good baristas. I've only been there once so far; they opened pretty recently. The space is very cool, lots of antique/antique-looking furniture and decor. Also, there are 2 shops that are opening later this year that will be, I think, quite spectacular. The Houston coffee scene is really growing!

Sounds promising. I'll have to check them out. The Heights definitely needs any good businesses it can get. I'm not going to say it was a "wasteland" when I lived there but...

Another Heights entry: Revival Market. They carry beans from a variety of local roasters (worth mentioning: Catalina Coffee, Fusion Beans, Greenway Coffee & Tea) and brew varying selections of the same on a 3 group E61 legend with, IIRC, a Kony-E. They do espresso drinks and I believe they do coffees on a Fetco. I don't think they have a pourover program at the moment. The store is a nice boutique grocery store with a wonderful selection of charcuterie and cheeses.

Also on the horizon, a pair of shops I am very much looking forward to in the Montrose area: Blacksmith and Southside Espresso, new endeavors from the guys behind Anvil Bar & Refuge (spearheaded by David Buehrer from Greenway Coffee & Tea) and Sean Marshall of Fusion beans, respectively. It's good times for Houston's coffee scene. One thing that I love about it is that it's very home-grown stuff. We haven't seen big-name roasters come in and try to develop the coffee scene; we're doing it ourselves here in Texas.

I look forward to a cafe crawl in Houston sometime in the future.

Out of respect to the scene of great espresso in Houston (and great HBers there) and because this thread has been called controversial for the disrespectful tone with which it started, I updated the title today. (Perhaps another controversial act...)