Posted Tue Dec 21, 2004, 12:29pm Subject: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
Shout out to CCC!
Ok, Saturday I found myself in a pickle. I had run out of fresh beans (the horror). My choices were: crack open a case of 3 month old Illy or open up a 1 month old bag of CCC Toscano that I had left over from EspressoFest. I opted for the Toscano, the beans are showing tons of oil; but that is to be expected by now. Anyway ........ <drum roll please>
The shots are great! After a couple of trials I settled into this quasi short pull/ristretto in a small 1.75oz cup, with 1/3 of it crema. When I slurped the velvety crema into my mouth, I didn't need a mirror to tell I was smiling. Damn, my eyes were probably buggin' out too. It hit the tip of my tongue and the chocolatey overtones were so rich and sweet I thought I was drinking super frothy hot chocolate for just a split second. The remaining shot was good also, with the same chocolatey and nutty flavors darting around. The bean's age seems to show through in the liquid (a tad thin), but the overall experience is perfetti! It's like a drag race you didn't win, but you blew everyone's doors off at the starting line. For 3 days I have been drinking these shots, so I'm living high on the hog right now.
I can't fathom these results because everthing I know tells me I should not be getting this out of 1 month old beans. The espresso gods are smiling down on thee, CCC!
Posted Tue Dec 21, 2004, 3:04pm Subject: Re: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
I forgot to order my Toscano yesterday so I'm licking pictures off Coffee Geek website until I make my run tomorrow. Thanks for the vivid description! Now I'll be up there waiting for them to unlock the door tomorrow morning.
Posted Tue Dec 21, 2004, 3:55pm Subject: Re: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
Dan! I look forward to it! I will see you on the 7th. Got to get in practice of getting up at the crack of dawn anyway.
Are you going to come and play with my FB70 3EE Hybrid when I'm open? Maybe once I get the store settled we can have a GeekFest some weekend at the shop.
Posted Tue Dec 21, 2004, 5:30pm Subject: Re: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
Geoff,
It would be wonderful to have a nearby café owned by a local CG! I met the owner of Shade Tree Café in Durham on a CCC Friday and he's definitely aiming for a top-notch product. Unfortunately that's a long drive for me. Some nearby cafés that I've tried and never returned to include:
Posted Tue Dec 21, 2004, 6:28pm Subject: Re: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
Andrew at JavaBlu is a good guy and near my kids elementry school. I stop by there now and again when I'm running around town. I believe he uses Cup of Joe beans so that might explain your selections :-)
There is a new shop in Chapel Hill called Three Cups. They are a CCC customer as well and all they sell is French Pressed coffee. Has a great speakeasy feel to the place and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and coffee.
Yeah, I got tired of doing IT. Actually I got tired of building great teams with great people and then telling them their jobs are going offshore. My teams all ran off of coffee and all of them rejected the flavor-crystal stuff the company gave us for free. Coffee and IT is like putting gas in the car, can't run without it. We can swap war stories when we meet on the 7th.
I am hiring for the store so if your tired of the IT rat race, let me know! I need to train another barista so I'll have a backup. Actually, everyone I hire will be trained before they are allowed to make drinks for the customer so until then, it's all me.
PeterG Senior Member Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 72 Location: Durham, North Carolina Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Faema E61 Grinder: Various Drip: Fetco Extractor Roaster: San Franciscan 1lb.
Posted Tue Dec 28, 2004, 7:40pm Subject: Re: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
Thanks, Noll for the shout out.
Makes a big difference for us when someone enjoys the espresso. I am particularly happy that the Toscano showed well even at a month old! It's rare that we taste coffee more than a couple of days old.....
Posted Wed Mar 16, 2005, 9:45pm Subject: Re: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
More props to CCC Toscano! I am in heaven; and the view is astounding! I can even see your crop from here...
Fellow CG's, I implore you - seek out this amazing blend! You will not be disappointed. It easily holds a candle to all the uber blends that get mucho traffic on the CG.
Do you enjoy waves of chocolatey goodness at first taste, with oodles of "mouth feel" braced against hints of caramel and a bit of fruit; only to finish with a tongue-rubbing-the-palate-I'm-t rying-to-get-all-of-this-flavor finish?!? Seek no more; but do not hesitate another minute - seek out this blend immediately.
RistrettoBabe Senior Member Joined: 21 Dec 2004 Posts: 282 Location: So Calif Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Anfim (doserless) Vac Pot: 3 French Presses Drip: Never
Posted Wed Mar 16, 2005, 11:06pm Subject: Re: Open tribute to Counter Culture Coffee
Thanks, 2, your description and the one on CC's website sound like a fab match for my preferences. But I can't find anywhere to order on their site...does one have to go to NC?
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