If you’re on the go with your cell phone and just want a list of coffee shops nearby, look no further than www.arizonacoffeemap.com, the newest addition to the Arizona Coffee web site! Now you can visually see the closest independent coffee shops.
This is in addition to our great list of coffee shops which is updated constantly.
In the future, I will update each listing to indicate whether they have free wireless internet.
Sheila writes:
I’ve been in business in Gold Canyon for 6 years, have seen 5 other shops come and go. We love shaking things up and are looking for some new healthy pastry items (energy bars, etc) we’d buy the dough and bake, or have finished products delivered. Any ideas?
Website: geckoespressoGC.com
Taking a cue from The Copywriter Underground, which had a post about the sentences every copywriter hates to hear, I thought it would be fun to hear the simple sentences you hate to hear from customers.
Please add your own in the comments.
Here’s a neat video about how solar roasting coffee works. I found it online, and it’s by the same folks I reported on last week, www.solarroast.com.
There are a surprising number of coffee roasters in Arizona (about 26) and the following ones offer online ordering (14 of them, or a little bit more than half).
If you order from a local company, let them know you heard about them on Arizona Coffee.
Theodore Morfonios writes:
I would like to ask you to list my coffee shop Cafe Grande which is located in Casa Grande @ 1659 E Florence Blvd Suite 1.
We roast the coffee in-house and have a drive thru. Also provide free Wi-Fi to our customer (as long as they make a purchase of $5 or more). The phone number here is 520-876-5565 and my name is Ted Morfonios. Thank you.
Thank you for writing, Theodore!
This is a new one. Of all of the things to go “green,” the roasting of coffee was one of the few that I expected. Nevertheless, a team of people have found a way and it is called solar roasted coffee.
Springwise provides some of the background:
Based in Pueblo, Colorado, Solar Roast Coffee uses only 100% organic or fair trade coffee beans. Their special solar-powered roasting technique ensures the least impact on the environment. Not just a regular roaster powered by solar panels, Solar Roast’s Helios 2.0 catches rays of sunshine directly on a drum roaster filled with beans. The roaster is capable of reaching temperatures upwards of 550 degrees Fahrenheit, and swivels and tilts allowing it to track the sun throughout the day. No fossil fuels are burned to heat the beans, and no electric connection is needed to power the roaster’s fans and motors. The result? Likely the most earth-friendly coffee available on the market—and one the owners are hoping will be a hit with consumers.
Thanks to Tomas for sending this link to me.
Website: www.solarroast.com
Contact: info@solarroast.com
I thought this would be an interesting topic for discussion: Cold-brewing coffee. I know there are a few people in town that make coffee this way. What do you think?
If you are unfamiliar with the process, or even just want to read a good article on the topic, visit the NY Daily News site.
Candace Gibson, who manages the city’s sole outlet, in the Penn Plaza Borders, takes 5 pounds of coarsely ground coffee beans, pours them in a giant filter in a big white plastic barrel, and lets them soak in 14 quarts of filtered water for 18 to 24 hours at room temperature.
Then, she lets the coffee slowly filter out the bottom through a spigot into a pitcher for pouring drinks. This brew, says Gibson, “is actually a concentrate”: thick, slightly syrupy and very strong, meant to be cut in half with water before it’s poured over ice.
The resulting drink ($1.70 for a small) is rich and flavorful with a creamy feel, minus any of that bitter bite you’d expect in cold coffee served up straight.
In fact, Jason Scherr, a cold-brewing advocate who owns Think Coffee in Greenwich Village and the Verb Cafe in Williamsburg, recommends his version without milk or sugar – “because we think our iced coffee is smooth enough.”
Scherr, who’s been cold-brewing for six years, thinks the method makes better-tasting iced coffee for two reasons.
First, he says, you’re not “going back and forth between extreme temperatures,” leading to a “bitter and over-extracted taste.” And the long, slow, cold brewing process means he’s “being as gentle with the bean as possible,” resulting in that velvety feel.
There’s science at work, too, claims Brett Holmes, a partner in Toddy, the Texas beverage company that makes the low-tech cold coffee brewers for coffee shops and regular Joes.
A smaller, home Toddy is $29.99 at Seattle’s Best, although MacGyver types could always rig up their own filter system.
Cold water extracts 67% less acid from beans than hot, says Holmes, meaning less bitterness and less trouble for those with tender tummies. Still, while 9,500 coffee shops nationwide use Toddy as “their little secret,” says Holmes, it’s been mostly under the radar in New York until now.
Beyond Think, Verb and Seattle’s Best, the only two Toddy shops he knows are Full City Coffee on the lower East Side and Ciao for Now in the East Village.
Scherr has a good idea of why it hasn’t yet caught on commercially: The buckets take up space, each filter costs $1, and you use more coffee per cup than brewing it hot.
“But if you ever had it,” he says, “you would definitely understand why we do it.”
Of course, there are caveats, say coffee geeks, who’ve long posted reviews of cold-brewing on sites like www.coffeegeek.com. Like any food, coffee is a subjective thing, meaning some like it smoother and creamy – the Seattle’s Best style – while others like bite sometimes associated with Starbucks.
But however you like it, iced coffee is definitely hot now.
Phoenix is going to have some serious catching up to do because another coffee shop has opened in Tucson. Maybe it’s the nice weather, or maybe it’s the coffee, but this place sounds cool.
Ronald G. Cortez wrote:
Hello Chris. I love this site. Last Saturday I visited a brand new Coffee Shop / Roastery in Tucson. It’s name is Caffé Lucé. Located at the edge of the campus at U of A. It is refreshing to see the level of coffee knowledge that they have. The owner is Martyn Meisner, an ex-musician going for a coffee roaster title.
Martyn has re-located from Seattle and has a lot of experience on coffee. He was in charge of some technical department for SBC.
Thanks Ron, appreciate the email.
Caffe Luce Coffee Roasting Co.
845 N. Park Ave.
Seth Chadwick wrote in to share some coffee news… and before I get to that I wanted to point out two new links in the ‘local’ category on the sidebar. One of them is Feasting in Phoenix, which is Seth’s restaurant review site. We’re linking to each other to help share traffic. Definitely a must read.
Chris,
Just a heads up on a couple of things:
1. It looks like Counter Culture Cafe is gone. Their website domain is up for sale and their phone line is tagged as no longer in service.
2. Unlimited Coffee at 7th Street and Glendale now has a website: www.unlimitedcoffee.com
I hope that helps.
Best wishes,
Seth
Paul Predmore wrote:
We would like to post the following in your job section, Thank You!!!
Spilled Beans Espresso in Gold Canyon, AZ is accepting applications for experienced Barista’s. Please email work history and salary requirements to spilledbeansespresso@yahoo.com.
That’s how AZCentral describes Lux.
Lux: A nightclub for morning people
Megan Finnerty
azcentral.com
Jun. 6, 2007Although it’s 7:30 a.m. and the sun is bright outside the front windows, Phoenix’s Lux Coffeebar feels like a nightclub for morning people.
As the hipsterly styled locals queue for coffees, raspberry brioches and golden scones, a mix of DJs man a light table at the back of the room, playing a dance-heavy mix of edgy wakeup music.
“We really try to play music that’s inspiring, in that it makes you want to dance, or it makes you take notice,” said DJ Luis Solis. “We’re not playing atmosphere music.”
Solis spins with partner Sean Watson and the two make up the DJ duo Ill Pescados, known for hosting Sundays at HT Lounge. DJ Brazilia, aka Claudia Bona most notably from AZ 88, joins them, spinning a mix of electronica, soul and hip-hop and name dropping groups as divergent as Ladytron, Stevie Wonder and Digable Planets.
And the mix of people is just as eclectic.
The shop is crowded with freshly coiffed breakfasters, smelling pleasantly of just-applied perfume and cologne, grooving to the loud music. It’s easy to imagine them as potential dates. It’s easy to imagine you’ve already gone out, and now you’re indulging in the morning-after casual coffee ritual. And it makes this little corner of Phoenix feel just as sexy as any Scottsdale lounge.
“I think it’s great anytime you can see a DJ spinning vinyl these days and it fits with Lux because it’s very personal to have a DJ right there and introducing the music everyone,” said Lux regular Doug Brown, 35, of Phoenix. To come in and hear something like that, it’s a great way to start the day.”
Click here to read the article and see the photos.
Somebody actually did it. They named a coffee shop Thanks A Latte.
John writes:
Thanks A Latte at 323 South Gilbert Road Suite 107 in down town Gilbert! The place to be for great coffee, tea and specialty coffee and tea drinks.
They feature lunch too! Great place to eat, drink and have a great relaxing time!!
Update: Here is their web site: www.thanksalatte.net
I’ve been getting into iced tea lately (surprise!) and even though I’ve visited so many coffee shops, I haven’t tried the iced tea. I am curious if there are any good places around town that serve great iced tea?
Brandon Casey writes to let us know about the return of live music:
Hoping you might be able to post that live music is returning to the Biltmore Coffee Plantation (2468 E Camelback Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85016) on Friday and Saturday nights from 7:30 PM – 11 PM.