Posted Thu Jan 1, 2004, 10:44am Subject: Chicago Area Coffee Shops/Roasters
I've noticed quite a few Chicagoans on the boards here. Do any of you have reccomendations for good coffee shops and/or roasters in the area? Intelligentsia is great, but unless I'm in the Loop or heading to the North 'burbs out of the loop and can detour to the Lincoln Park area, they are a little inconvcenient for me (but i will visit whenever I can!).
So... How about places in the following areas...
West Loop
Near West (Oak Park, etc.)
Western suburbs (all the way out to the Fox Valley area where I live)
NW Suburbs (since I seem to have wuite a few business reasons to be in that area.
Or, anyplace else worth the trip to visit on occasion (like Intelligentsia).
Spinnaker007 Senior Member Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Posts: 1,778 Location: Chicago! Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Fri Jan 2, 2004, 8:59am Subject: Re: Chicago Area Coffee Shops/Roasters
Hi Ron,
I haven’t found any place that is good to visit in Chicago area, except for Intelligentsia. I have visited all of the coffee shops in Evanston, and found none to my liking. The only place I would go for a latte besides Intelligentsia is Torrefazione Italia.
I found a place online, but haven’t had a chance to visit is Fat Bean coffeehouse in Naperville (too far for me). I guess it is pretty much in your alley.
Fat Bean coffeehouse uses the beans from Alterra from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I have heard many good things about it (if Rob/rbh151 is happy with it, then I want to try it.) Perhaps, I will order a pound from them one of these days...
How is your cappuccino making so far? Got any perfect ring around the foam lately?
Posted Fri Jan 2, 2004, 6:48pm Subject: Re: Chicago Area Coffee Shops/Roasters
spnakr007 Said:
Hi Ron,
I haven’t found any place that is good to visit in Chicago area, except for Intelligentsia. I have visited all of the coffee shops in Evanston, and found none to my liking. The only place I would go for a latte besides Intelligentsia is Torrefazione Italia.
With the size of the area, I'm a bit surprised... I've got three Starbucks and a Caribou within a 5 minute drive of my house! Maybe the area is over-franchised?
spnakr007 Said:
I found a place online, but haven’t had a chance to visit is Fat Bean coffeehouse in Naperville (too far for me). I guess it is pretty much in your alley.
Fat Bean coffeehouse uses the beans from Alterra from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I have heard many good things about it (if Rob/rbh151 is happy with it, then I want to try it.) Perhaps, I will order a pound from them one of these days...
I've been playing with latte art and haven't made any caps for a few days... I'm waiting for Miss Silvia to warm up right now for my evening decaf (the price I pay for getting old... no cafienne after about 3:00pm!). Maybe I'll make it a cap and try my skills at a nice ring...
Thanks... Elmwood Park is tough, but I may be able to swing by there one day. Bannockburn is more likely... I have to be in Waukegan on Wednesday, so I could stop by the Newport Cafe on my way home...
Posted Fri Jan 2, 2004, 7:56pm Subject: Re: Chicago Area Coffee Shops/Roasters
Ron_L Said:
Thanks... Elmwood Park is tough, but I may be able to swing by there one day. Bannockburn is more likely... I have to be in Waukegan on Wednesday, so I could stop by the Newport Cafe on my way home...
Fat Bean Coffeehouse is at 2959 Artesian Rd, in Naperville.
As far as Alterra, I have never been there, so I can't really recommend it. I have heard positive things about it, however, that make me want to try their beans.
Posted Mon Jan 5, 2004, 7:33am Subject: Re: Chicago Area Coffee Shops/Roasters
Thanks, again, Steve... I found Fat Bean on smartpages.com over the weekend. Depending on what time I leave downtown today I may even stop by there this afternoon. They're a ways south of I88 on Rt. 59, but not too bad.
It looks like Alterra has several locations, so I have to figure out which one is closest to either my customer site or closest to I94/Wis43 so I can detour to visit them.
Posted Tue Jan 6, 2004, 5:55am Subject: Re: Chicago Area Coffee Shops/Roasters
Well, I tried the Fat Bean Cafe on Rt. 59 (at 87th street) in Naperville yesterday afternoon. The espresso machine was two group Rancilio but was was quite dirty. The coffee was ground to order and hand tamped but the shot was pulled into a glass demitasse cup that was well stained with coffee oils (it looked like it hadn't been washed for a long time). The pull looked good (nice timing, good crema), but the overall experience was dissappointing. I had ordered an Espresso Machiato and the PBTC repeated my order. When my drink was ready, I was given what is called a Caramel Machiato at Starbucks (Fat Bean has this on the menu as a Latte Machiato). I asked the PBTC if this was an espresso machiato and he assured me that it was. Oh well... Fat Bean Cafe was a disappointment.
On the way home, I stopped by a LaVazza Drive Through Cafe that was mentioned on a food-related list that I subscribe to (the list is a companion to the Chicago group at www.chowhound.com) yesterday. It is on Ogden Avenue (Rt. 34) at Eola Road (SW corner) in Aurora. It is a Fotomat-esque building with a drive through window on each side. They have a full drink menu including coffee alternatives like Chai tea. They sell ground coffee as well as whole beans, and I heard a grinder running before they pulled my shots. The espresso machine is a Faema El Presidente and looked well maintained, but I couldn't see too much of it. I ordered an Espresso Machiato and received espresso with about an inch of dishwater-like bubbles on top. Closer, but not quite, plus the foam was far from microfoam. The espresso was actually good, but the presentation and the quality of the foamed milk were below par.
I'm heading to Milwaukee on business today, and I am scheduled to visit Alterra Coffee Roasters since I am in the area.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 