Our guest blogger Ndunge, lives in Nairobi and absolutely loves everything about tea. Her kitchen cupboard can testify that she owns stacks and stacks of different types of tea. In her words, “I went to kericho once and toured several tea farms…Funny thing was I had my worst cup of tea in Kericho.”
I discovered this little gem quite by accident, next door is a garage and I took my car in for some service. Unfortunately the garage was quite busy. I joined the queue but was soon very bored of sitting in the car surrounded by greasy men and petrol fumes. I decided to look around for a restaurant where I could sit down and read my book while perhaps sipping a decent cup of tea. When I asked one of the garage attendants if there was one such place he looked at me like I was the silliest woman he had ever seen. He very brusquely pointed out that the next building was actually called Chai House and the restaurant called T-Spot.
How could I have missed that? Kenya Tea Development Agency has its headquarters in that building and in their mission to develop tea in Kenya they set up a tea restaurant. T-spot is a project of this agency. Who else knows more about tea?
I expected a poky restaurant with no style. I was pleasantly surprised. The first words that came to my mind “airy”, “simple” and “fragrant”. The décor is relaxed and inviting. I hate cluttered restaurants. At T-spot you own the area around you and one can relax stretch out…feels like home. The seats are comfortable this could be the reason why people tend to stay for hours and hours. The staff is really friendly and there is always someone ready to advice on what the different types of tea have to offer. They have seating outside where you can watch the city move while you sip your tea cocooned in your own paradise. Or upstairs where you can sit in silence and muse over life and love and whatever else.
Many are the times that I have been disappointed by a cup of tea but not this time. The menu offers so many types of tea; many I had never heard of. I admit to being a coward and ordering a cup of Masala tea and not trying the ones that I did not know.
This is the problem that I have with Masala tea in other restaurants; they use store bought powder masala. I can always tell the difference. The Masala tea at T-Spot did not have that old spice taste…the ginger was sharp and so was the cardamom…and the spicy fragrance that wafted from my cup…sigh…I literally spent five minutes just holding the cup to my nose and breathing in deeply. That was an awesome cup of Masala tea.
I was hooked on T-Spot. I am a regular now; I am still working my way through their delightful menu of unique teas.
They offer green teas for days when you feel like you need to detox. They have flavored teas; Cardamom Tea, Lemon Grass Tea, Ginger Tea, Cinnamon Tea, Clove Tea, Masala Tea, Vanilla Tea and Hazelnut Tea. Iced Teas, White tea, and a special blend of tea called Oolong Tea ( Which I am yet to sample).
Whenever I leave T-spot I feel rejuvenated and cannot wait to be back. So if you ever find yourself on Koinange Street and smell tea…follow your nose you will not regret…I promise!
Posted in Beverage Banter, Coffee, Tea & Hot Chocolate, Coffeehouses & Shops, africa | Tagged africa, cardamom tea, chai, chai house, cinnamon tea, clove tea, east africa, ginger tea, green tea, kenya, kenya tea development agency, koinange street, lemon grass tea, masala tea, nairobi, oolong tea, t-spot, vanilla tea and hazelnut tea. iced teas, white tea | Leave a Comment »
Our guest blogger Kathleen VanDerAa writes for the Seattle PI and Altrooist. She lives in Seattle where she takes her coffee with 2 sugars and 2 creams.
Hot Chocolate at Cafe Du Monde by Kathleen VanDerAa
Back in March I got a chance to take a business trip to New Orleans. Months before I had started making lists, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to see, but mostly the lists contained things I wanted to eat. The original Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter was very high at the top of a mighty long list.
The first night in New Orleans I headed straight there. I had waited months to try a beignet and I wasn’t about to wait any longer. I had already endured months of anticipation – to build it up in my head to more than it could ever hope to be – months to ruin it with overly high expectations. Looking back it was like I was trying to ruin it before I even had the chance to experience it. How could it possibly live up to all that? Except it lived up to everything I could possibly anticipate and more. The fact that they had coffee was just an added side benefit.
Cafe Du Monde, even at 10 o’clock at night, did not disappoint. I take that back, especially at 10 o’clock at night, Cafe Du Monde did not disappoint. I was immediately charmed by the bustle, the covered outdoor seating, the striped green and white awnings, the cafe chairs, the heavy dusting of powered sugar over nearly every flat surface, the clink of the plates, the hustle of the servers, their diverse ages, and the the variety of the crowd taking it all in.
I ordered a plate of beignets to share and a water. The coffee would have to wait for another day since it was closing in on midnight and caffeine and I, that late at night, decidedly do not mix. But as soon as the beignets arrived I immediately regretted my choice to share. I wanted them all to myself. Airy fried dough covered in sweet powered sugar. I immediately turned to my companions and declared that I would be coming back every day until we left town, and that’s exactly what I did.
A couple days into my seven days in town, I ordered an iced coffee. It was bitter. That was to be expected. After all they add chicory to the coffee here. I added some sugar and it tasted fine. However no better than simply buying a can of Cafe Du Monde coffee and making it at home. But, for me, experiencing Cafe Du Monde wasn’t really about the coffee. It was about the place, the history, the sights and sounds.
My last day in New Orleans I made one last trip to Cafe Du Monde. I bought two orders of beignets to bring home with me, back to Seattle. In hindsight I realize how silly this was. Like trying to catch fireflies in a jar. You can’t box up the magic and simply bring it home with you, and passing along day old beignets to an innocent bystander would only take away from the authentic and delicious melt in your mouth delightfulness of experiencing Cafe Du Monde in person.
By the time I stepped off the plane the beignets has toughened and the powdered sugar had all but entirely fallen off. It’s not just that they didn’t taste as good. It’s that tasting them all chewy and unsweetened had in some small part taken away from the magical memory of Cafe Du Monde’s previous perfection. And that’s when I realized it’s better to simply enjoy it while you’re there, and vow to return someday soon. Which is exactly what I plan on doing. Soon. Very soon.
Posted in Beverage Banter, Coffee, Tea & Hot Chocolate, Coffeehouses & Shops, north america | Tagged beignets, cafe du monde, chicory, coffee and chicory, french quarter, la, new orleans | 5 Comments »
I have always been a bit apprehensive about espresso carts and especially those espresso carts that tend to locate themselves in weird places like at gas stations or at Seven eleven type delis. In general, I rarely get my espresso drinks from espresso carts, not because an espresso cart equates to bad coffee, but because I have seen my fair share of the really bad ones. And yet the irony here is that I was first introduced to and hooked on espresso drinks by a friend of mine who used to work from an espresso cart. Then there are a number of great coffeehouses that started off as espresso carts and of course if you keep up with the World Barista Championships, you’ll remember that Gwilym, the WBC 2009 champion from London England runs and serves espresso drinks out of two coffee carts. The moral of the story here is that even though there are quite a number of really bad espresso carts, there are also plenty of really great espresso carts out there and each one of them needs to be given a chance and needs to be judged individually and not collectively.
Now With that in mind, I decided to check out “The Fix Espresso”, a espresso cart that I have driven by for a number of years now. This cart is located in Montlake right by the SR 520 on-ramp. This is one cart I have been reluctant to try because it is located right outside the market deli, next to a gas station. That location just never really spoke to me as ‘good coffee’ but the fact that I had exhausted all the coffee options in the immediate area, i.e. Fuel Coffee and Volunteer Park Cafe and Marketplace, I was thinking that maybe it was time to put down my fear and loathing and at least give the place a try.
And I am glad that I did. The owner of “The Fix” is a pleasant lady whose husband bought her the cart about three years ago as a gift. The cart has been there much longer though. The previous owner of the cart, Mark, had operated the cart for about 12 years prior to this. Apparently when she first started out, she didn’t know too much about espresso but she learned pretty quick. She was able to retain most of the customers, learned to make good coffee and try out something new.
What I found fascinating while talking to her is that she really knows her product well. As We talked, she gave me some really great advice on how to pull good espresso shots without burring the beans. As I ordered my usual double tall latte, I told her about my need to have a drink that was a little stronger than normal and she assured me that the coffee that she used was a really good strong bean and very flavorful. She told me she gets her coffee beans from Seattle Mountain coffee which she believes is a really great roasting company and great beans. She uses their espresso blend which is a blend of Columbian coffee beans
Surprisingly, I enjoyed the coffee. It could have been a tad bit stronger, but I actually liked the coffee. The flavor was pretty nice actually and the taste was nice and bold and based on what we had talked about earlier, I tried to really pay attention to discern the various nuanced flavors in the coffee. Now the only downside to this is that I tend to pass by there in the morning on my way to catch the bus to work so to some extent I am not necessarily able to just sit and relax and just enjoy the coffee since I am thinking about all the stuff that I need to do at work that day.
One other point I wanted to mention is that I really like her excellent customer service and her ability to quickly remember the various drink preferences of her customers. I really do feel that she certainly appreciates her customers and is pretty conversational with them. This is a place I intend to go back to every so often, especially when I am on the go and don’t necessarily need to sit by the cart and hang out. Now just in case you do, there are a couple of tables available for seating.
Now that I am much more open to seeking out good espresso carts, I need to work on my prejudice for espresso drive-thru stands. However but I draw the line on those stands that dress their baristas in bikinis, lingerie and other skimpy ‘outfits’. My philosophy is that if you need to dress up your baristas that way, then clearly, serving good coffee is not your main focus.
Posted in Beverage Banter, Coffee, Tea & Hot Chocolate, Drive-Thru & Espresso Carts, north america | Tagged columbian coffee, espresso blend, espresso cart, fix espresso, montlake, north america, pacific northwest, seattle, seattle mountain coffee, the fix espresso, usa | Leave a Comment »
Fast forward to a few months later, I was back in the area, working on a new project. On this particular day I just had this craving for a baked good from the Brazilian bakery which of course meant that I was going to have to order another espresso drink. Besides the baked goodies, I really wanted to see if they had improved, not in customer service for which they are great at, but in the making of their espresso drinks.
So I stepped up rather gingerly to the cashier and placed my order for a double tall latte. I mean they are using Caffè D’arte which is one of my more favorite coffee bean roast so how bad can they really be?
Well to my surprise and slight disappointment, the double tall latte they served me tasted more like a single Grande. My latte was really weak and milky! And I asked them if this was a double shot or whether they have actually served me a single shot? The assured me that what I was holding in my hand (they didn’t use this exact phrase) was indeed a double shot latte. I was really surprised and at first I was going to ask them to add another shot of espresso, but then I decided it wasn’t worth it.
Although the coffee wasn’t great, the guys at the café were really pleasant to talk to. We chatted a bit about the language they spoke, i.e. Portuguese and also about traditional Brazilian pastries and baked treats. They told me about their other retail location in Kirkland and also a bit about the blend of coffee they serve. They also did not have any problem with me taking pictures in the place. I think they probably thought I was a little weird.
I think I have to give the place one more try. I need to go order a double short (8 oz) latte and see if that will make any difference to the quality of coffee that I get. If they serve me a nice strong double short latte, I will be pleased. If however the coffee if mediocre, then that would probably be the last time I go there. Life is too short to keeping going to the same place if they are not going to serve you good coffee
Posted in Beverage Banter | Tagged Bellevue, brazilian coffee, brazilian espresso, caffè d'arte, jitters coffee, kirkland, kitanda, kitanda gourmet espresso, Redmond, starbucks | Leave a Comment »
May 21, 2009 by tinaskiwi
Our guest blogger Tina is German but lives and works in New Zealand. She enjoys the coffee culture in New Zealand and is sending posts of her espresso sojourn.
Flat White at The Back Porch Cafe
Coming from a country where it is common to have ‘coffee and cake’ at around 4pm in the afternoon, I still haven’t managed to adjust to the fact that most cafés down here close just around that time, if not earlier. I suppose Kiwis prefer an early Saturday morning coffee break so they can spend the rest of the day surfing, hiking, kayaking, paragliding, fishing or sailing.
Since my perfect Sunday involves sleeping in, having a late breakfast, browsing through a book or magazine for a while, taking a long shower and then heading to town to stroll around the little shops, by the time I enter one of the cafés, most of the other people have already left.
The same happened on Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks back, when I walked into The Back Porch Café, a neat little place between a strip of shops on the road towards Mt Maunganui. I asked whether their kitchen was still open, and the lady behind the counter said it wasn’t, but that they would make me something anyway. So I took a seat on the back porch (of course), and minutes later she brought me a big plate of bacon and eggs, with a warm slice of salty buttered baguette, a bottle of water as well as a creamy flat white, which is what lattes are called here in New Zealand. And while I was eating up what tasted absolutely homely and delicious, I could hear the chef cleaning up the last pans in the kitchen, happily whistling a tune.
The coffee they’re offering at The Back Porch Cafe comes from a small Auckland brand, Velvet Coffee Roasters. And that name alone makes me crave another flat white right now, while I am typing this.
Posted in Beverage Banter, Coffee, Tea & Hot Chocolate, Coffeehouses & Shops | Tagged back porch cafe, bacon and eggs, flat white, latte, new zealand, oceania, tauranga, the back porch cafe, velvet coffee | Leave a Comment »
