NYC_Crema Senior Member Joined: 13 Oct 2004 Posts: 1,504 Location: New York City Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Miss Silvia Grinder: Mazzer Mini Roaster: I <3 Gorilla Coffee
Posted Mon Feb 28, 2005, 6:44am Subject: Jersey City, NJ - Legal Grounds
Ahh, finally, a local place that roasts their own coffee!
170 Grand Ave in Jersey City, NJ - just a few minutes from the Grove Street PATH station and probably 10 minutes from Exchange Place. The cafe is on Grand just a block east of Marin Blvd. Its well worth a visit and as of today, it is just a few days old.
They roast their own coffee - simply making them the #1 cafe in Jersey City IMHO. They had like 10 different roasts their for sale, all in big mason jars with eclectic names and ROAST DATES ON THE JAR!! I tried something with "goat" in the name and while I can't remember the full name the taste is still on my mind. Smooth and nutty and only 3 days old. The eclectic names refer to a lot of Jersey City things like the Statue of LIberty (which is actually in Jersey Water, not NYC, but whatever - and you can see it from the cafe too!), Jersey City neighborhoods, etc.
I had an espresso there and I was actually amazed that it had crema! It wasn't burnt and bitter! So, by default its the best espresso I've had outside pro espresso bars (i.e.: Gimme Coffee). However, it lacked any real signiture taste, thus making it dull. But, by no means was it bad at all and perhaps my first impression suffered typical high expectations. So, with that said, the bottom line was that I very much enjoyed this cafe and their coffee and plan to buy a whole lot of beans from them.
THEY EVEN SELL GREEN BEANS AND HAVE A ROASTER RIGHT THERE - YOU CAN SEE IT!
So, if you're in the area, its worth a shot. If you live in Manhattan, especially on the west side, its definetly worth a trip for fresh beans. The beans are $8/lb so you really can't go wrong, though inversely their espresso shots are expensive: $2.50.
Oh, my girlfriend had a latte and it was very good, with microfoam and all. They use mazzers (SJ I think), but I don't remember the espresso machine name.
All in all good stuff for Jersey City. Also opening this week is MELT which sells Terroir coffee at the same price as online - another plus for jersey city.
Posted Mon Feb 28, 2005, 8:29am Subject: Re: "Legal Grounds" in Jersey City, NJ
WOW!! Excellent stuff to hear Andre! {:-D You were gettin' pretty discouraged, & about dam time too!, like you were saying., no reason why not & you guys there deserve it!.., that close to NYC ya deserve to be world class!! How far away for/from you is it by transit?, 5 - 10 minutes?
Not sure if you're referring to NYC or the cafe..?
NYC: transit: 5 -10 minutes depending on where in Manhattan. The World Trade Center is 5 minutes via train at most. The Empire State Building is more like 15.
Legal Grounds: no transit needed, a 5 minute walk from my house.
NYC_Crema Senior Member Joined: 13 Oct 2004 Posts: 1,504 Location: New York City Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Miss Silvia Grinder: Mazzer Mini Roaster: I <3 Gorilla Coffee
Posted Sat Apr 23, 2005, 6:31am Subject: Re: "Legal Grounds" in Jersey City, NJ
Hey i was told by the people who own legal grounds that there is another coffeegeek coming in that is as nuts as me! if that's you reading this, shoot me an email =)
49express Senior Member Joined: 7 Nov 2003 Posts: 258 Location: Denver Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Francis Francis X5 Grinder: Rancilio Rocky Doserless Drip: Braun
Posted Sun May 15, 2005, 8:58pm Subject: Re: "Legal Grounds" in Jersey City, NJ
Gee, next time I visit my sister up in Hawthorne I'll have to make the trek! You're right, there isn't anyplace in Jersey for good espresso. I had to make do with super strong coffee made by me. Thanks for the tip, Diane in Denver
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