CoffeeShop-Hop, Episode 1

Almost every single day people ask me where the best coffee spots are in our fair city. What a loaded question right? First of all, my opinion on this matter changes on a daily basis. Second, most of the shops in town serving coffee are in some way my clients so picking a favorite would be uncouth at best. Third, there are so many factors that decide what the "best" place for coffee might be, I really don't think it is possible, as things stand, to single out one shop as superior over all the rest. As my favorite food writer says, "I would like to play the favorites game but I'm not very good at it". All that said, I do visit a lot of coffee shops and I do drink a lot of coffee; I believe it bears reason that these experiences should be shared. I'll call this recurring series CoffeeShop-Hop; here goes!

Yesterday I visited three coffee spots here in Richmond. I ordered the very same thing in each shop as is my custom. I am, admittedly, very habitual in my coffee shop orders so I will try, for the sake of diversity, to mix it up a little for these posts. However since this is the first installment it is fitting that I stick with my standard order; a simple double espresso. For the record, I generally order espresso because it is the highest iteration of coffee extraction. It requires the most skill and generally exposes the full quality (or otherwise) potential of the bean and the roast. This was my experience.

Ellwood Thompson Cafe

This was actually my third stop on the tour but I'd like to go in order of impression. Admittedly, ET Cafe is one of my favorite shops in town for a variety of reasons, however, in this case my espresso was not the best I've had there. It was still a wonderful espresso, don't get me wrong, but I know its potential and it didn't quite live up. I seek two main characteristics in espresso: crema and balance. I can appreciate most flavors as long as they're balanced. That sounds very simple but the levels of perfection involved in creating balance are almost endless (an article for another time). My espresso at ET Cafe had lovely crema but it was out of balance; the acidity was high and the body was weak giving me a sharp, palate biting sensation that I found mildly off-putting. This is odd for this shop and having watched the extraction I chock it up to barista error. In an ideal world, she should have dumped that shot and pulled another for me. I was still happy with the experience over all and I highly recommend the shop.

Cafe Caturra Midlothian

Cafe Caturra in Midlothian surprised me yesterday. I am usually prepared for a very dark, smokey espresso at all of the Caturra locations because their roast profile (yes, they roast on site) is a very deep French or Italian style. Often I find this smokiness tends to drown out all flavor of the bean itself which is a particular style of espresso from which I tend to shy away. This particular shot, albeit very smokey, had the most amazing floral notes at the front of the palate. These notes transitioned into deep strawberry tones and ended with the smokiness. I was very pleasantly surprised. The aftertaste, however, bothered me because it was a lingering charcoal flavor in the back of my throat. Had that aftertaste not presented itself I would have listed this as the top espresso of the day. I must also note, my barista was a jerk. Baristas: Don't be jerks--your job is to make people happy, not uncomfortable. Otherwise the experience was lovely.

GlobeHopper CoffeeHouse & Lounge

Globehopper, you took the proverbial cake. This espresso experience (which was my first stop) was all around the best of the day. The espresso was perfectly extracted, balanced, had lovely crema and the presentation was beautiful. I watched the barista attentively prepare and extract the shot while she made conversation to boot. The atmosphere was beautiful and I wanted to stay for more. This, folks, is how a coffee experience should go so I highly recommend paying them a visit soon.

All three of these shops did a great job and I would recommend them all to budding espressophiles. I will certainly be visiting them all again soon. It was clear to me that the ownership, management and staff in all of these locations are actively concerned about the quality of their product, the atmosphere of their stores and the overall quality of their customers' experience. Good job guys!