When I got there a customer was at the counter who had brought in his vacuum pot. After being introduced, he proudly explained to me that he bought the pot over twenty years ago at The Coffee Connection. And here we were, brewing some of the recent, excellent El Salvador La Pinera from George Howell Coffee. For those of you who don't know, George was the owner of Coffee Connection.
It seemed that most people in the cafe were enthusiasts of both cycling and coffee, and the converations shifted between those two topics.
The coffee was excellent: clean, sugary sweet, and fruity. Sal, the barista, poured multiple glasses so that numerous guests could try it. Despite the winter, it was a warmish day today, and standing there with a number of coffee lovers enjoying not just the coffee, but a moment of warmth among strangers, only added to the experience.
After that, I tried a shot of the Stumptown Hairbender espresso. I've had this before, and Sal hit the shot dead-on. I also ordered a pour-over of the De La Paz Hariman Tiger from Sumatra. While this had the typical earthy, tobacco taste of the classic Sumatran, it also had a refreshing, dominant, and unexpected strawberry note to it.
Sal's style was unhurried, but deliberate, so I had my drink in hand quickly. I sometimes hear that people complain about how long it takes to get pour-over drinks, but this was not the case at Ride.
Enjoy the pics posted above!
Thanks so much for the kind words about the Studio; great descriptions and great photos. We're glad you had a good experience. We're always experimenting with the way we're brewing; I'm sure in two months our brew methods will have evolved yet again. And, in January we're adding to our coffee offerings. Hope to see you at the Studio again!
ReplyDeleteI'll be there again, absolutely! Have a great New Year!
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