RioCruz wrote:Thanks for all the help! Our train leaves early tomorrow morning, so it looks like we will definitely be visiting Boxcar and Sweet Bloom whilst wandering about Denver for a few days...then checking out whatever we stumble on as we roam around the hinterland.

I see there's a Boxcar in Boulder, too. Prolly need to give it a look as well. Can't wait!

Let us know what you think. And don't forget babbettes for pastry at the source!

gr2020 wrote:Ha - Lone Tree is a bit of a black hole for good coffee. I actually live near there - just a bit west. From Lone Tree, the options are:

- Starbucks - everywhere.

- 303 Coffee - they serve Coda, which I'm not a fan of. In fact, if I couldn't go any further, I would have to debate between this and Starbucks. There are a few other shops nearby that also serve Coda.

- Spur Coffee - 13 miles. They serve Sweet Bloom, which is quite good.

Beyond that, literally everywhere I can think of is more than 15 miles away!

Corvus is opening a location near I-25 and Belleview sometime in the near future. It's not exactly Lone Tree, but will be the closest third wave place when it opens.

Lacoffee wrote:+1 boxcar at the source because there are the best pastries in Denver right across the atrium.

On your recommendation, we just visited here. Very good espresso. Got a nice bright SO as a shot, AND a cortado, with the house blend. They weighed both the dose and the extraction, just like a conscientious home barista, which shows how much they care about giving the customer the best possible shot. The machine was a nice shiny 3-group, E61 Van der Westen. Curiously, their king Kong robur grinder was being used for decaf. The espresso was being ground out by a K30 peak, itself no slouch.

Pastries across the way, were fabulous, just as advertised.

Thanks for the tips.

Oh BTW, there's a place getting ready open next block from our rented Lone Tree townhouse. Going to be called Monk and Mongoose. I figured it would be racks of flavored syrup and Otis Spunkmyer muffins. But I happened by on my bike last week. They're still under construction, but I peered in the window, and damned if there wasn't a shiny new Linea, and at least one K30 peak. So now I'm cautiously optimistic... Fingers crossed.

-Peter

Glad you liked it. There is great coffee elsewhere in Denver but I am a pastry hound and that's the best I found. One stop shopping is hard to pass up. Lone tree could definitely use a top class shop.

pcrussell50 wrote: Oh BTW, there's a place getting ready open next block from our rented Lone Tree townhouse. Going to be called Monk and Mongoose. I figured it would be racks of flavored syrup and Otis Spunkmyer muffins. But I happened by on my bike last week. They're still under construction, but I peered in the window, and damned if there wasn't a shiny new Linea, and at least one K30 peak. So now I'm cautiously optimistic... Fingers crossed.

-Peter

They said on one of their Facebook posts that they'll be serving Sweet Bloom coffee.

Great recommendation on boxcar and the pastries across the way; bought a bag of espresso to try out at home

If I lived here I'd be at the source all the time

I'm writing this post from Monk and Mongoose in Lone Tree, which is now open! It's big and airy, quite a nice place; I count 8 tables inside, about that same number outside, plus a sofa and chairs near a fireplace, bar seating, and a meeting room that can be reserved. Two espresso grinders (can't see them from where I'm sitting at the moment), what I think is a Linea, and an EK43 for what I assume is everything but espresso. At the register, they had a list of 5 or so sweet bloom coffees that you could choose for pour-over.

And most importantly, my drink (an iced latte) is exceptional. It's using the Hometown blend from sweet bloom; coincidentally, I had a one and one of this blend yesterday at another shop, and found it not super interesting as straight espresso. Not objectionable, just not amazing - as opposed to, say, their guatemalan, which I think is amazing as espresso, but gets lost in milk. Anyway, the Hometown in a latte is great - I'm enjoying it quite a bit!

gr2020 wrote:I'm writing this post from Monk and Mongoose in Lone Tree, which is now open! It's big and airy, quite a nice place; I count 8 tables inside, about that same number outside, plus a sofa and chairs near a fireplace, bar seating, and a meeting room that can be reserved. Two espresso grinders (can't see them from where I'm sitting at the moment), what I think is a Linea, and an EK43 for what I assume is everything but espresso. At the register, they had a list of 5 or so sweet bloom coffees that you could choose for pour-over.

I went to Monk and Mongoose on Saturday morning, so they were at least open then, too. It was pretty busy. The two espresso grinders were K30 Peaks. I pretty much only drink espresso, so that's what I had. They didn't seem to have their rundown of what espresso coffees were available, worked out yet. So I just ordered "an espresso", and took what they gave me. There were two young girl baristas. One seemed to be training the other. I can confirm that the machine was a Linea. The portafilters were spouted, even though the publicity photos on their web site showed bottomless. There was a single scale, not being used. The lead barista girl said that they normally use it, but that "since it was busy", they weren't. The shot was super bright, almost lemon juice. Way over balanced toward acidity. Which was actually ok with me. I would have preferred more balance, but if it's going to be unbalanced, better toward acidity than not. If I had to guess, I'd say that the skills of the lead barista, were at the level of a trainee at a place like Intelligentsia, or any top-notch third wave place. There was ownership/management all over the place as that might well have been opening day. They played zero role in the barista side of things. I got the idea that the owners were young hip businessman who liked the idea of owning an espresso joint, did their homework on right equipment, but knew little of craft, leaving that part to the help they hired. I have seen this before, with the birth of The French Press, in Santa Barbara, and over time, it turned out very well. In that case they owners, who went in knowing little about the craft, invested in schooling themselves in all the best barista training classes.

I will definitely keep coming back to Monk and Mongoose, since it's less than a five minute walk from my September-May home in Lone Tree, and with the right care and guidance, could turn out very nicely as the teething pains run their course. I did happen by around noon yesterday, pulling my little girl in her wagon, and there was only one customer there. I hope the general cultural sterility of Lone Tree, doesn't doom it to *$$ oblivion.

-Peter

Well that makes me a little more nervous! Hopefully I didn't just get lucky.

There weren't too many people there today - while I was there, 90 minutes or so, I think I saw maybe 10-15 customers come in. With any luck it will get busier - 303 coffee, which is nearby, is much busier than this, with much worse coffee!

Red Rocks Coffee in north Boulder is a spot I like.

Not over priced and drinks are good.

Disclaimer, I usually buy milk drinks, but the owner knows his stuff and trains people well.