Good Coffee

Somewhat ironic that I'm choosing to write about coffee the day after I write about sleep, isn't it?

I got plenty of sleep last night and plan to do the same tonight! But, even with a good nights sleep, I still LOVE a good cup of joe. I didn't always like coffee. It wasn't until I was hanging out with Woody that I started drinking it, actually. I couldn't figure out how to make it taste good (to me) without adding a lot of milk and sugar, and I don't like adding sugar to foods. Somehow though, when we started going out to breakfast often (we LOVE breakfast) I gradually started drinking a cup. Then when I moved out here, I started drinking it in the office and now every day I grab a cup from the coffee cart across from our office. The coffee guy is really nice, if he sees me across the street and he doesn't have a line waiting, then he'll have my coffee (small with a little bit of skim) waiting when I get there, and it's only 75 cents a cup! I also love going to coffee shops in the city, getting a cup and sitting down to read a good book or write out my thoughts. There are some great coffee shops in this city, but it seems most are not in this neighborhood, which is kind of a drag. Still, I have a few favorites and a few on my list to try out this winter.

Anyway, we only make coffee at home on the weekends since we usually have green tea when we get back from the gym. Woody has been trying all sorts of different coffees - the roaster and country of origin - to find what we like best and just try new things. I want to find him a book like the wine books, but for coffee, so he can keep track. (Let me know if you ever see one!)

Today we made our way in the snow (it wasn't really sticking yet) down to 29th street to check out Stumptown. The coffee shop opened in the ACE Hotel not too long ago. Many smaller coffee shops and restaurants have been carrying the Portland, OR coffee for a while now, but this is the first shop in the city. I'd heard lots of great things about it and wanted to check it out. Well, so far, it's lived up to the hype. We picked up half a pound of Indonesia Gajah Aceh whole beans to bring home with us and each got a cup to enjoy there. Delicious! Smooth and flavorful. I am not a coffee connoisseur, but I really enjoyed the cup. The shop itself doesn't have any seats, only a bar at the window, but it's connected to the ACE Hotel, so we went into the lobby and took a seat on one of the many couches to enjoy our coffee before heading back into the snowy cold.














Stumptown follows a direct trade practice, which means they work directly with the coffee farmers to give them the best price possible and help them produce the best beans possible. The company started in Portland, has several there, as well as two in Seattle and now one, in New York. The coffee served at Stumptown in New York are roasted in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and I've heard, this is the only coffee served in NYC that is also roasted in NYC. You know what that means - FRESH!

We're very excited to try out this coffee tomorrow morning while we read the NY Times and the ground is covered in snow outside. Sounds pretty close to a perfect Sunday morning, right?