Houston TX: Kraftman Bakery near the Montrose branch library: I do not recommend the espresso based on a sip of my wife's latte which reminded me of Cafe au lait I used to make with a moka pot.

If someone has tried Dirk's Coffee across the street and a little north on Montrose, I'd be interested in the review. Based on the fact that only 2 ceramic espresso cups were visible, I have my doubts. My wife had an iced coffee, which again I tried. I hope to soon do better for her at home with french press. Houston in the summer is a good place to choose iced coffee.

Ithaca NY: recommendations anyone? In 1998, I had the best tasting iced latte I can recall, but have forgotten the location. I see that Gimme! is mentioned on page one. Maybe that was the place...

Chert wrote:Hip spots in Austin, TX, but I do not recommend the espresso: Ruta Maya Coffee house, Clementine Coffee Bar, and Green Muse.

Thread is technically titled "good espressos I've had away from home"...

My favorite comes from Bevalo in Salt Lake City who serves up a variety of Barefoot Coffee Roasters' offerings. You can never go wrong with their "The Boss" blend. Running a close second is the Mountain Mambo from Cafe d'Bolla now that their #53 is done for the year.

malachi pointed out

Thread is technically titled "good espressos I've had away from home"..

Point well taken: some of my posts to this thread are about failure to find that good espresso one would like to find, away from home. I'm in Houston for the time being and would love to go buy an espresso or cappuccino that could match what I make at home. I list the failures to spare someone else the 2 dollars and disappointment. But if the deviation from the intent of the thread is not appreciated or felt to be in bad taste that's cool, too. I can leave it to the good ones. Does anyone have a recommendation for Houston? Cuvee moved and doesn't seem to have a client espresso joint here.

Lubbock, TX "Sugar Browns"
Great coffee, college coffee house atmosphere (which translates to, ahem, pretty girls young enough to be my.. um.. granddaughter)
Best of all, REALLY friendly, knowledgeable baristi, several trained by CG'er/HB'er "Jasonian"

Chert wrote:Ithaca NY: recommendations anyone? In 1998, I had the best tasting iced latte I can recall, but have forgotten the location. I see that Gimme! is mentioned on page one. Maybe that was the place...

Certainly Gimme! (also now in Brooklyn and Manhattan), but not in '98 (founded 2000, too late for me, too).

Well, I'm on the tail end of a deployment on the aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis, so i've been away from home for a while. We've hit the following ports: Hong Kong, Sasebo (Japan), Pusan (South Korea), Phattaya Beach (Thailand), Singapore, and now Honolulu, Hawaii. Beans from Terroir take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks to arrive on the carrier when out at sea, and I have a french press, so that has been my staple. (Terroir nitrogen flushes their roasted beans, and I have been very impressed with the freshness - they go stale after I open the bag, but even at 3-4 weeks, the nitrogen flush keeps them fresh).

Espresso, the focus of this post, has been strictly an in-port affair. However fresh the beans from terroir, I don't think they'll make it as espresso (although when i get home, i may buy a bag, age it 3-4 weeks and then try it as a test for the next deployment).

I was eager to sample japan's espresso as I had heard good things about the state of coffee in that country. Unfortunately, sasebo is a relatively small town and i repeated the order-pay-throw out scenario a number of times. They did roast freshly, however, and their drip wasn't horrible.

The surprise find of the trip was Pusan, south korea. Randomly out one afternoon, i ducked into a coffee shop. The owner was training the barista using a book printed in korean, but I recognized the cover. It was "The professional barista's handbook" popularized here on HB! He was attempting some basic latte art. I whipped out my iphone and showed him some of the work I've done at home. In broken english, he invited me behind the bar to pull a few shots on their machine. The shop cared about quality, the coffee was freshly roasted, the machine clean, and the tamper good quality. Unfortunately, my nerves and lack of practice got the best of me, and I screwed up the latte art a decent bit. Still, it was a pretty neat experience, and my friend took photos of the whole thing.

Coffee, like any interest, has the ability to connect people through a shared passion. I've experienced that in pittsburgh, atlanta, victoria, and other places throughout the US. But talking the language of "coffee" in a random south korean coffee shop is an experience I won't forget.

Ok, now that I've written up the previous experience, I want to say that Honolulu coffee company, Hawaii, is probably the best shop(s) in Hawaii. They have a flagship shop in the base of the ala moana surfrider hotel in waikiki beach, where i was served a delicious latte with an excellent rosetta. (with a kees speedster too).
Imagine my surprise when i walked across the street to the honolulu coffee co. cart in front of the princess Kaiulani hotel and got a shot that was even better than what they served me at the first shop. (On a 2 group synesso).

The barista at the cart dumped the first shot (too fast and machine wasn't up to temp). He ground fresh, leveled, tamped with polishing twist. He preheated the cup with hot water, then held it up right beneath the spouts during the shot. It was delicious. It rivaled the best shots I've received from stumptown, coffeehouse NW, and other shops in portland. Oh, and it was on the house (not that i would have minded - i tipped him generously anyway).

The problem with any shop - and the reason I am a home barista - is that sub-par espressos are served to the customer. Most customers (especially your average vacationer in Hawaii) don't care anyway - heck, getting them to appreciate that your shop is different than starbucks is a big enough challenge. So the espresso that is "good enough" for 95% of the people who come in gets served. I went back to the same cart today, and there was a different barista there. I ordered a double. I got it in a paper cup. On the first shot, the cup wasn't centered and one of the spouts missed. So she made me a second doubleshot - and collected only one of the spouts again! 1 shot from the first pour, one shot from the second. Needless to say, it wasn't a great shot. It still was better than 95% of the shops out there, and would have been fine with 95% of the population. (her tamp wasn't level either).

The second barista probably could have pulled a better shot if she tried. I'm about to head back across the street to the proper "shop" where i'll have another espresso. The barista over there will probably be capable of the same quality of shot as I was originally pulled at the cart. But will he care enough to make it?

Chert wrote:malachi pointed out

Point well taken: some of my posts to this thread are about failure to find that good espresso one would like to find, away from home. I'm in Houston for the time being and would love to go buy an espresso or cappuccino that could match what I make at home. I list the failures to spare someone else the 2 dollars and disappointment. But if the deviation from the intent of the thread is not appreciated or felt to be in bad taste that's cool, too. I can leave it to the good ones. Does anyone have a recommendation for Houston? Cuvee moved and doesn't seem to have a client espresso joint here.

"Away from home" is away from home in my judgement. Insights of home folks I would think are helpful to the travelers who end up there.

Thanks to some tips on this website, I have finally enjoyed some good espresso in Houston.
Houston, TX:

1. Catalina - located east of Heights on Washington Ave. I enjoyed a rich shot which left me with a lingering aftertaste of peaches. I have never experienced that particular and enjoyable finish.

2. Tuscany Coffee - located in Greenway Plaza 5 which is a miniature mall as part of a complex of hotels and office highrises west of Buffalo Speedway and just north of Hwy 59. The Barista pulled a very tasty shot and I noticed his partner was decorating some milkbased drinks with latte art. What I enjoyed was the house blend, but he also intermittently offers coffees from successful roasters such as next week, Intelligentsia.

Pascagoula, MS: Red Cup Coffee Co is on Hwy 90 at 13th street. The coffee was roasted freshly toward the darker side style and the shot was pulled well, not overextracted, rich brown crema. I found it quite enjoyable and therefore recommend the coffee shop if you are down that way. To my taste the coffee of the day, a cup of excellence from Honduras, was brewed a bit weak but it made a tasty cup as well.

This is a fabulous thread. Is there a way to compile all of this information into a guide for the members?

Doing so would imply endorsement of the listed shops.
Given that there are probably many of us who have seen at least a few shops recommended in this thread where we've gone "really?!?!?!" that might be a little odd.

Coeur d'Alene, ID - Java on Sherman - I believe the shiny, red La Marzocco is an FB/80. They serve up Bumper Crop Microcosm. My friend and I were respectively impressed with their espresso and macchiato. Very kick-back place to enjoy a cup of fine coffee.

malachi wrote:Doing so would imply endorsement of the listed shops.
Given that there are probably many of us who have seen at least a few shops recommended in this thread where we've gone "really?!?!?!" that might be a little odd.

I want to agree with this, but on the other hand, I feel like at some point, particularly on the road in an unfamiliar place, I'm willing to drop some of the pretense about 'only the best' and settle for trying something I haven't before and hope for something good, but be happy with something that's only decent. In most of the US, the ratio of coffee shops that have a clue at all to those that don't seems to be about 1 in 100, much worse than that in some places. A modest set of suggestions of those with a clue is useful for most people. I know you've mentioned shops in SF that you really like and some that you think are no good. I admit I've never been to San Francisco, but I'd kill 100 virgin rabbits to have any of Blue Bottle, Ritual, Four Barrel, Sight Glass, or the like--'emo' 'commie' 'alternative' baristas and all--here in Houston, my home. I'm sure one or the other of those shops has consistently better QC than the other, but they're all no doubt in the 99.9th percentile of shops nationwide. I think that's a really worthwhile consideration.

If we're going to rate shops comparatively, though, then by all means, I say pull no punches.

Keep in mind, these are places recommended by others and is in no way some kind of endorsed/approved by HB list. Tastes vary by person as do the expectations of a good shot. I have been to locations that were recommended by other and thought the espresso was horrible but this at least provides a starting point. As with everything, your mileage may vary.

Portland, OR: Barista at 13th and NW Glisan has it going on! They vary the coffee used (as does Tuscany coffee mentioned above) and the baristas are highly skilled. I had espresso from Olympia, Verve and Stumptown there, expertly pulled. You would see a vacuum pot in action if you order their non-espresso fresh coffee. They sell 12 oz bags too so you can avoid shipping costs for Olympia, Ecco, Intelligentsia, Stumptown and others!

Ann Arbor, MI- Comet Coffee

Comet coffee is definitely one of the best in Michigan. They source their coffee from 49th parallel, Ritual, and George Howell, along with offering various other guest espressos from around the country from time to time (actually from around the world I guess, they recently had a guest espresso from Square Mile in London). It is a small store, but the baristas are top notch. They sport a Synesso paired with a Anfim Super Camino. All drinks, including non-espresso are made to order. I've had some of the best drinks I've had anywhere from them.

Vancouver, WA: Nor'west Coffee Roaster's Paradise Café. I actually made it over there in early November. I enjoyed a delicious pour over Ethiopian Mike McKona had on tap and a straight shot of the Delirium Espresso and brought home some fresh roast for the Peacock. The latte my wife enjoyed was nicely decorated and delicious. Congratulations on there new coffeehouse and roaster. We enjoyed the 1304 Main Street location, which I understand is still going strong.

the raven cafe, prescott, arizona