Anyone know of any good shops in either of these areas? I think I've been to all of the palces in Tallahassee. There really aren't any that have excited me.
Edge Senior Member Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Posts: 56 Location: North Florida Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: ECM Giotto Grinder: Mazzer Mini Roaster: FR+ w/ PID
Posted Sun Mar 28, 2004, 9:15am Subject: Re: Tallahassee, Florida _or_ Jacksonville, Florida
Since there aren't any replies yet, I figured I'd check out some of the coffes shops in the area here and post some quick pseudo-reviews.
I recently visited Java Heads in Tallahassee, and had a great experience there. I have stopped by and enjoyed their coffee on several prior occasions, but had not tried their espresso. Java Heads is the only cafe in town I know of that roasts their own beans. The atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired (in my opinion), however. It's set up more for someone to bring in their computer and do some work. Mostly tables and chairs -- not too many soft couches to lounge in. They do have free WiFi though, which is nice. (You can go sip some espresso and catch up on the latest CoffeeGeek posts at the same time!)
I ordered a double espresso.. Keith tried pulling a double for me.. a quick 17 second pour. While most of the places in town would have just served it to me anyway.. Keith promptly dumped the shot, and set up another.. a little better, but still under 20 seconds. Third one.. a little better, but he still wasn't 100% happy with the way it looked. About the 4th time around, he got it right.. a nice 28 second or so pull.. The shot looked great with a nice layer of redish/dark tan creama. It tasted as good as it looked.. I ended up ordering another double.. it took them a lot less time to get the 2nd one right.
I'm not sure what type of grinders they use. I didnt' recognize them. Their espresso machine is a nice 2 group La Cimbali though..
My girlfriend had a couple cups of their Monsoon Malibar blend. That was very tasty. Great flavor.. nice heavy body. They had just roasted it a couple days before, so we picked up a pound of beans to take home. So far, no luck with the beans though.. made two pots and both have been weak with little body. I'm sure it's the crappy grinder and coffee maker we have, but we'll keep trying.
Last night, I visited another local coffee house, Cool Grindz. This, again, was a shop I had visited in the past but had not sampled their espresso. The cafe is small with limited seating, but has a nice covered, outside seating area, free WiFi, and a plasma TV on the wall. Soft seating, table & chairs, and counter seating as well. A nice variety. The lighting is good, and overall, the decor is quite nice.
Looking at the equipment, they have, what appeared to be, a couple of rebranded Mazzer grinders (Mini and Super Jolly, maybe?), and a nice 3 group La Marzocco Linea.
I ordered some dessert along with my espresso. The Heath Bar Cheesecake came as a huge slice that was definitely big enough for two people. I was all excited about the La Marzocco and figured the espresso would be good. My experience there, however, reiterated that even a La Marzocco is just a tool, and must be used properly by the Barista in order to have a quality drink.
After receiving my dessert from the cashier, I walked down to the end of the counter (the coffee pick-up area) and found my espresso waiting on me. What was supposed to be a double looked more like a single. There was just a small amount of crema on top.. and even though the espresso cup came from the top of the machine, it must not have been there long -- the cup was at best, room temperature.
Time to try the espresso... first sip... sour. really sour. Second sip.. still sour. Time to add a little sugar. That helped a bit, but really was only masking the poor quality of the drink I was supposed to be enjoying. Being such a short pour, it wasn't there long anyway. To be honest, I was just greatful when it was gone. I have had much better results from my whirleyblade grinder and Krups steam toy. Maybe I'll work up the nerve to try them again ... but somehow I doubt it.
While the dessert is good and nicely presented, it wasn't cheap. They don't bake them there anyway. The coffee is average.. and espresso is sub-par. But if you want a nice atmosphere and a plasma to watch while surfing Coffeegeek.com from their free WiFi, then check them out.
Located in the Publix shopping center on the corner of Tharpe and North Monroe Street.
As a side not, what I find really humorous are their recent advertisements. Tallahassee’s first Starbucks opened a few months ago, up the street from Cool Grindz. Cool Grindz started an advertising campaign bashing *$ because they are not locally owned and operated and don’t serve good product. The irony is that, while *$ may not be locally owned, they are locally operated, and staffed by locals, and each time I’ve been there, have served a consistently good product. Bash *$ if it’ll make you feel better, but at least have the stuff to back it up.. </rant>
Well, I just moved to Jacksonville, and will update this post as I check out the local coffeehouses. If anybody in Jacksonville wants to explore them with me IM/email me. I have opinions on one local shop and one local roaster, but will save them till after I have posted five times as per the new user policy--this is my first post. I have just heard about a place called Cool Moose on Park and King, and will go there next. I hope mentioning this isn't violating policy! If so, sorry!
I moved back to Jacksonville about a year and a half ago. Since then, I've been largely out of the coffee scene. I'm in the process of restoring a 1920's house (about 1/2 mile from the above mentioned Cool Moose). So, working on the house has shifted my hobby focus from reading CoffeeGeek to watching This Old House (figuratively speaking.)
That said, I've still been trying to find a decent coffee shop around here. Cool Moose is a favorite place of mine. It's within walking distance, and I frequently go there on the weekends for breakfast. They have good brewed coffee (I typically enjoy the Vermont blend), but I believe they've recently removed their espresso machine. Not exactly a coffee house.. but still a nice place for breakfast.
In Five Points, is Fuel Coffee House. It should actually be called the Fuel Bar though, as I don't consider a good coffee house one to have Budweiser neon signs flashing in the windows. Now, I haven't actually been in there. I’ve just walked by a few times. So, I don't know the quality of the product they're serving. But, when I go to a coffee house, I want to be able to relax, and sip some good brew. Neon is not relaxing... being in an environment where most of the clients are drinking beer rather than coffee is also not relaxing (at least not to me.)
I've also been to Uncommon Grounds, in San Marco, on Hendricks. Another place I wasn't impressed with... It's seems more of a place where downtown commuters grab a cup on the way to the office, than a place where I'd want to sit down and enjoy a cup. They serve Illy coffee.. take that for what you will. (Better than some shops that just go through the local beverage distributor, but still a far cry from fresh roasted beans.. ) The owners seem like soccer mom's turned small business owners. Again, take that for what you will. Overall the impression I got when I was in there, was the typical situation where someone opens a coffee shop without really knowing the intricacies of what they're selling.
If anyone knows of any decent shops in Jax, I'd love to hear about them... until then, I'll just continue to roast my own.
If your having a hard time finding coffee shops in jacksonville then I can probablly send you some good beans I Own Jungle Runners we are based in st. augustine. we are a vintage micro roaster. We are always looking for people to help open shops.
Hmmm, just moved back to Niagara Falls a couple of years ago to open a coffeehouse. Before that I lived in Jacksonville for 20 years. I cant remember there being a single coffeehouse there other than the one in 5 points. Bistro Biscottis has an espresso bar but that is really a restaurant. Good luck with the search.
-DS Kennedy Coffee Roasters is just opening on San Jose. This is a micro-roasting cafe. -Mystic Bean in St. Augustine a wholesale roaster is said to be opening a retail operation when they move. -Latitudes up in Fernandina Beach (as well as a couple of others I can't remember) -Ellianos has a drive thru in Lake City just off I-75, and another in Starke on 301
Now ask me about bars in Jax- can anyone tell me whether Murray's is still open in Yukon?
If you live in J’ville what gets you to Tally? I’ve been by to give a look at the few indies in Tally and didn’t have a good feeling about experimenting with what I saw. If I’d had more time and felt I coulda recovered from a stinkshot which I figured I’d likely get, I’d have tried my luck. I don’t know what it is about this town that keeps it in the cellar on food and drink. Seems like that kind of burger/beer joint persuasion will never change and perhaps has promoted a lot of closet chefs and drink mixers who hold up at home. That’s kinda the way it is with me. Jabba The Hut would feel at home here – plenty of slimy toads and lizards to slurp down when greasy burgers, breaded fried chicken and deep dish cardboard crust pizzas become a bore! Could it be there’s so many students and government lard bricks here?
My most highly consumed item at a coffee house here is free spent coffee grounds I get from *$ to put in my tomato patch when I’m out and around. Sometimes (not always) I’ll even have an Americano, black.
If I should run into a decent C-House around here, I’ll pass it on to you. That could take until Micky-D’s starts installing La Marzocco’s and pulling godshots!
If your having a hard time finding coffee shops in jacksonville then I can probablly send you some good beans I Own Jungle Runners we are based in st. augustine. we are a vintage micro roaster. We are always looking for people to help open shops.
I haven't had a chance to try your beans yet .. but I keep hearing the Jungle Runners name around town. Evidently Uncommon Grounds has switched to JR... I need to get back over there and try things out.. (my first experience with Uncommon wasn't a great one).
Also, I was talking to one of the owner's of Inertia Records in 5 Points over the weekend. They're trying to get the cafe business started up there. The cafe is owned by a woman who previously had a vegan/vegetarian cafe open in that location.. I guess they went out of business, and in came Inertia Records to share the space and help get the cafe reopened. I believe they're using Condaxis right now -- but it doens't look like anyone there knows a thing about coffee.. They have one lonely Bunn espresso maker, that didn't even look like it was turned on when I was there. That might be a good place for you to visit and try to sell to. ?? The owner of Inertia said he keeps getting people telling him they should switch to JR.. but I guess it's the girl's call and not his..
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