Psyd Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1,468 Location: MON AZ Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astoria Argenta SAE II,... Grinder: Rio and Astoria (Mazzer)...
Posted Sun May 17, 2009, 12:50pm Subject: Re: Notable Espresso/Coffee Houses in Phoenix/Tucson areas
OK, here's some great news!
Anyone remember the Studebaker Espresso Truck parked under the eaves of the Fry's out on N. Oracle (AZ-77)? Elixer? Black Cat and other Intelli coffee's, grind per shot, and great pastry, too. Oh yeah, they have tea for your coffee-less buddies!
Anyhoo, they've moved the truck into town, to Harlow Gardens Nursery, 5620 E Pima St. That's going to be on the S side of Pima just E of Craycroft.
Psyd Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1,468 Location: MON AZ Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astoria Argenta SAE II,... Grinder: Rio and Astoria (Mazzer)...
Posted Thu Jul 23, 2009, 6:06pm Subject: Re: Notable Espresso/Coffee Houses in Phoenix/Tucson areas
Psyd Said:
So, for those of you still paying attention, this is what I've come up with. These are based on the coffee, more specifically the espresso and not pastry, ambience, location, or any other metric. These are my notables, in the order in which I remember them for this list. I have only included places at which I have tried the product. Feel free to make suggestions. All I need is an excuse to go get a cuppa at some shop! ; >
In the Tucson area: ****Caffe Luce, Park Ave north of University Blvd ****Elixer, Harlow Gardens Nursery, 5620 E Pima ****Cafe VanGo, Campbell and Grant (Bookman's parking lot) ****Avenue Coffee, Campbell and Water ***Epic Cafe, University and Fourth Ave ***Safehouse, Speedway, east of Alvernon ***Cafe Le Buzz, Catalina Highway and Tanque Verde
And Crave may have settled into a groove by now. Anyone who knows is welcome to post details.
In the Phoenix area: ****Cartel Coffee Labs, University and Ash (one light west of Mill Ave) Liberty Market, 230 N Gilbert Rd, Gilbert Olive & Ivy Restaurant & Marketplace, Camelback, near Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale Lola Coffee, Camelback Rd. and E. 8th St., Phoenix Press Coffee, 5410 East High St. Ste 115, Phoenix **Ground Control, W Indian School at N Oleande (Litchfield Bypass), Goodyear
Elsewhere: ***Vida e Caffe, Cedar, 2 &1/2 blks E of US 60 (Willow St.)
Remember, if these are rated, it means that I have personal experience (and possibly just one, so as many grains of salt as you think you need with this) with the shop. No rating means that these are from people that I trust to know the great from the mediocre, and they trust these shops. I'd love to get anyone else's take on these.
**** Four stars is quality that stand out. Excellent, third0wave coffee, These folks are in it to make great coffee, all else is secondary. ***Three is great coffee, not doubt about it. Dependable, and reliably good. Just lacking that certain je nais se quoi. **Two stars is fairly decent coffee, where they have the beans and the kit, but haven't really gotten the nous to put it all together to be great. Still good, still dependable, nothing to write home about. *One stars are chains like Starbucks and Java City, Coffee Exchange or Cafe Diva with their superautos, or indies with little or no clue; Espresso Art, Chocolate Iguana, Raging Sage. Nothing wrong with these in a pinch, they just don't really make the cut, and range form horrible to mediocre. To numerous to mention.
Posted Fri Jul 24, 2009, 7:50pm Subject: Re: Notable Espresso/Coffee Houses in Phoenix/Tucson areas
Elixer, Cafe VanGo, and Avenue are all new to me - I'll have to check them out.
BTW, have you ever had the coffee at the B-Line on 4th? They have a gorgeous Faema E-61, and serve coffee roasted by Gadsden's in Arivaca. I've had excellent espresso there twice - but it has been quite a while since I've been there - at least a year.
Chris
Please remember CoffeeKids throughout the year: www.coffeekids.org
Worth a go. Quite pricey on their burritos and such, seeing as the best burros and burritos in the lower half of the state are available for about half that just on the other side of downtown from there. Of course, South Fourth's coffee offerings tend to suck...
And I have to admit that I haven't been anywhere else other than Cartel while in Phoenix. Except someone did a run to Ground Control while I was at a tournament in Goodyear. I wasn't too impressed.
Yeah, I kinda take the thread as a bit of a responsibility. It should be a fairly comprehensive post about the state of the state's coffee. I travel a bit, and I find it incredibly useful to have an expert opinion about what is available where, and in return, I try to offer the same for others in my shoes, visiting my area.
And since there is a nearly parallel conversation occurring on Arizona Coffee, it isn't to hard to keep this thread updated.
I kinda gave up on Seattle Espresso when I heard that you weren't there anymore. Has that changed yet again, or am I mis-remembering?
Posted Sun Aug 16, 2009, 4:58pm Subject: Re: Notable Espresso/Coffee Houses in Phoenix/Tucson areas
I left Seattle in March of 2007 and made a "guest appearance" from April 2008 to December 2008. Now, you'll usually see me passing through in the mornings/hanging out on Sundays sharing a Chemex (which I keep in tow) with whomever the barista behind the counter is.
I still highly recommend Chris at the Gilbert location seeing as he's 1.) Willing to bend over backwards for any customer who comes in and treats him like a person and 2.) He's pulled the best shot I've had from anyone in the Valley (although, that WAS when Seattle was using Batdorf & Bronson's Blue Blend as an interim espresso blend).
Occasionally, though, I am caught behind the counter trying to get a feel for the ol' girl.
Good to know. I have a couple of appointments when I next get to PHX.
In other news, I've filed to mention that there are two Clovers in Arizona. One in Phoenix (Tempe) at Cartel, and the other at Van Go in Tucson. I dunno how I missed Jason's Clover, but if you want to know why more often than not, most's people's response to their first cup from a Clover is "Wow! That's the best cup of coffee I've ever had!" take the opportunity to visit one of these locations. Or both.
I'll see if I can catch you at Seattle Espresso when I get to Phoenix next. I used to have a coupla friends and family that were happy enough to see me to provide crash space, but since they've all left the area, my visits have dwindled to whatever business I have up there. And business has dwindled to the point where I think I may be retired, and no-one thought to tell me! ; >
Posted Sun Dec 6, 2009, 8:36am Subject: Re: Notable Espresso/Coffee Houses in Phoenix/Tucson areas
Hello Tucson Coffee Geeks, My wife and I are vacationing in Tucson as I type. I used to live I TUS but left in 2000 and have been living in DC since. Back years ago I used to frequent Buzz up at TV at Bear Canyon. Super nice family owners.
Are we are staying off of Sunrise near Kolb. Are there any updates to the recent star list? Anyone interested in a coffee meet up?
Psyd Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1,468 Location: MON AZ Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astoria Argenta SAE II,... Grinder: Rio and Astoria (Mazzer)...
Posted Mon Dec 7, 2009, 4:19pm Subject: Re: Notable Espresso/Coffee Houses in Phoenix/Tucson areas
Psyd Said:
Updating:
In the Tucson area: ****Caffe Luce, Park Ave north of University Blvd ****Elixer, Harlow Gardens Nursery, 5620 E Pima Sold ****Cafe VanGo, Campbell and Grant (Bookman's parking lot)Closed ****Avenue Coffee, Campbell and Water ***Epic Cafe, University and Fourth Ave ***Safehouse, Speedway, east of Alvernon ***Cafe Le Buzz, Catalina Highway and Tanque Verde
And Crave may have settled into a groove by now. Anyone who knows is welcome to post details.
In the Phoenix area: ****Cartel Coffee Labs, University and Ash (one light west of Mill Ave) Liberty Market, 230 N Gilbert Rd, Gilbert Olive & Ivy Restaurant & Marketplace, Camelback, near Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale Lola Coffee, Camelback Rd. and E. 8th St., Phoenix Press Coffee, 5410 East High St. Ste 115, Phoenix **Ground Control, W Indian School at N Oleande (Litchfield Bypass), Goodyear
Elsewhere: ***Vida e Caffe, Cedar, 2 &1/2 blks E of US 60 (Willow St.)
Remember, if these are rated, it means that I have personal experience (and possibly just one, so as many grains of salt as you think you need with this) with the shop. No rating means that these are from people that I trust to know the great from the mediocre, and they trust these shops. I'd love to get anyone else's take on these.
**** Four stars is quality that stand out. Excellent, third0wave coffee, These folks are in it to make great coffee, all else is secondary. ***Three is great coffee, not doubt about it. Dependable, and reliably good. Just lacking that certain je nais se quoi. **Two stars is fairly decent coffee, where they have the beans and the kit, but haven't really gotten the nous to put it all together to be great. Still good, still dependable, nothing to write home about. *One stars are chains like Starbucks and Java City, Coffee Exchange or Cafe Diva with their superautos, or indies with little or no clue; Espresso Art, Chocolate Iguana, Raging Sage. Nothing wrong with these in a pinch, they just don't really make the cut, and range form horrible to mediocre. To numerous to mention.
Additions and subtractions to the Tucson scene, I'll get someone to update the PHX if anyone is interested.
There is a gelato shop at Sunrise and Kolb, and they have a machine, but I'm betting on two stars for the espresso. OTOH, the gelato is fantastic.
You're best bet is to take Sunrise west to just before the turn to La Paloma, at Hacienda Del Sol (less traffic than Campbell) and take that down to River, short dash to Campbell, and get thee to Avenue. That will be the closest, no miss, can't be beat coffee availability in your neighborhood. If you get to the gelato shop, tell us what you find. I'm betting it's a La Spaz two group with the PF's chilling (and I do mean chilling) on the drip-tray.
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