Foodie Friday: Feeding the Caffeine Gene

By Debbie Mitchell

I will begin this post with an apology. My last posting was Friday April 20, and before then my writing has been a little erratic over the past few weeks. But there's a good reason. I am preparing to launch a new company(which you'll read about on Monday) and have a ton of work.  

It has been a crazy time- consuming journey that will hopefully be worth it in the end. I've relied on several people and things through it all including my trusty cup of coffee to keep my going. I am not  the type of person who cannot function without  a nice hot cup but can and will enjoy a nice cup any day or night.  Yes night time too.

This morning's Foodie Friday is courtesy of my yoga buddy and fellow java lover  Stacy China who takes us on her latest journey to feed her caffeine gene.

by Stacy China

Ever since my last birthday, I have been beset by a newly-ignited caffeine gene that demands to be fed on a regular basis. Tea used to be enough for my body, but now it demands more. It demands coffee. Luckily, this occurred while New York is experiencing an artisan coffee boom, with new shops opening up every week offering beans from all over the planet. This time, my travels took me to the Chelsea/Meatpacking District, to see if could find a new favorite cup.

The morning began at Grounded on Jane Street, mainly because I heard they served Murray's bagels in the mornings. Get inside and the place looks like an overrun living room -- there's the wall bookshelf heaving under the weight of too many titles, there's the exposed yellow brick walls, the lazily-spinning ceiling fans, the hanging plants and the over sized potted plants, and the tiny circular mirrors hanging from strings dropped from above. Just about everyone in the place was typing into a laptop (except one patron, who was juggling a baby with his morning coffee). I listened to the indie soundtrack while munching on my everything bagel, which was the bomb -- toasted, crunchy, chewy, full of melted butter. The house blend coffee wasn't as exciting, however. It had a darker texture that would certainly wake you up in the morning, but the flavor didn't reach up and grab me. The ambiance is perfect, though, especially if you're a writer who doesn't want to write alone.

From there I moved on to Blue Bottle's location just across the street from Chelsea Market. Walk upstairs and there's a lovely coffee bar, where you can get a cup brewed from a siphon. What's a siphon? Picture a setup that looks like a chemistry experiment. They use a series of beakers to heat the water, brew the coffee, and then extract it from the grounds. The process is enough to get oohs and aahs out of any kid, and most grownups. I tried the Tchembe, a single-orgin bean from Ethiopia. (Single-origin simply means all the beans were harvested from the same farm, as opposed to a blended coffee, which uses beans from a variety of farms.) Dry, the grounds smelled earthy and spicy, while wet, they smelled much sweeter. The taste was slightly sweet as well, especially at the end. (I tried it with and without added sugar, and preferred it without.) It's served with a small shot of cascara, which is a brew made from coffee cherries (which I like -- smooth, almost syrupy) and something called a bourbon-infused marshmallow with sea salt. Wha?? It was a little early in the day for that kind of decadence, so I brought it with me. In all, the siphon cup is a pricey though sure-fire way to shake up your daily java routine.

Last stop was Joe Pro Shop, the new corporate headquarters for Joe The Art of Coffee. Located on West 21st Street, the shop is as bare-bones as you can get: bags of coffee on one wall, coffee supplies/accessories on the opposite wall, two stools to sit on by the window. Don't let the modest decor fool you, though; they know what they're doing. The menu consisted of beans from Joe, Heart, Ritual, Handsome, Madcap, and Counter Culture coffees, all brewed via pour-over by the order. I went there to taste the Handsome Coffee, which I've heard a lot about (the company just opened a shop in Los Angeles and is rumored to be opening a New York outpost soon). They made me a single-origin from Ecuador called Juan Francisco Robles. Best hunch I'd followed all day. The cup was bursting with brown sugar and butter notes, and that was before I added any sugar to it. With just a hint of brown sugar, it rounded into this full-bodied, buttery cup of joy. This was not your training wheels coffee; this was a cup for the grown and sexy. I felt more sophisticated just drinking it.

The plan is to get back to Joe Pro Shop on a regular basis, as they promise the menu will change often (get there before they switch out the Counter Culture Barioda; it's spicy with dried fruit notes. Yummy.). The caffeine gene must be fed.

Stacy China is a professional writer and active philosopher raised in Brooklyn, NY. She has written/edited for several major media outlets in the NYC area, including The Newark Star-Ledger, Newsday, Major League Baseball, and the Associated Press. She is a lifelong admirer of art and architecture. Her descending angel needs work. She credits her yoga practice with keeping her sane. Check out Stacy's blog here.

TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards committee.  If you are a food blogger interested in television placement or connecting with brands follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or email Ready4Airtv@gmail.com .