dgriechen Senior Member Joined: 27 Nov 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Spokane, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Venus Grinder: Rocky
Posted Sat Dec 25, 2004, 7:19pm Subject: Lindamen's in Spokane
Just wanted to give some credit to Lindamen's here in Spokane. They have pulled some excellent ristrettos and refined cappas with excellent latte art for me over the past two months . They have also ruined my daughter for hot chocolate, mine is no longer good enough and my meager attempts and latte art do not impress her anymore. I have had some mediocre shots there as well, but they were generally early in the morning before my favorite barista who comes in around 9am. I believe they are using Doma roasts.
I have spent many hours there working from my laptop (they offer free wireless service). They also have good food, a decent wine selection and an eclectic but comfortable atmosphere.
Its worth the short trip up the South Hill if your ever in Spokane.
milnerb1 Senior Member Joined: 25 Sep 2002 Posts: 391 Location: Lake Tapps, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vivaldi II, Isomac Tea,... Grinder: Mazzer Mini, Solis Mulino Roaster: Behmor 1600, BBQ drum,...
Posted Sun Dec 26, 2004, 7:19am Subject: Re: Lindamen's in Spokane
Thanks for the tip. I'm usually in Spokane a couple times a year and find myself going back to 4 Seasons or Cabin Coffee in Brown's Addition. This will give me a new place to try out.
I've found that there are some real coffee gems along the I-90 corridore between Seattle and Spokane (including in Spokane).
dgriechen Senior Member Joined: 27 Nov 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Spokane, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Venus Grinder: Rocky
Posted Sun Dec 26, 2004, 12:15pm Subject: Re: Lindamen's in Spokane
I've yet to try Cabin Coffee, but I've heard good things. I visit 4 Seasons at least once a week since I work downtown, but I've never had an excellent shot from there. They just don't seem to pay attention to quality i.e. no tamping, erratic pour times, etc.
There are a couple of other downtown places that you might want to check out as well.
The Spike Coffee House - 122 Monroe, just north of the railroad viaduct behind the Broadway Deli (which has good sandwiches and soup) Perhaps the hippest atmosphere especially in the evening. During the day its usually not to busy, but Wed-Sun. nights they usually have live music and/or spoken word, etc. They have wireless there too, but then the whole downtown is served up to free high speed wireless through the Spokane Hot Zone. They also are a juice bar, and some of them are pretty good as well.
The Rocket Bakery - 157 Howard Street, just south of the railroad viaduct in the Holly Mason Building Pleasant atmosphere and good baked goods. Again espresso quality varies significantly.
Barefoot Senior Member Joined: 6 Mar 2003 Posts: 403 Location: Santa Clara, CA Expertise: Professional
Posted Sun Dec 26, 2004, 3:28pm Subject: Re: great espresso in Spokane
You should all check out Rock Coffee in downtown Spokane. THey open tomorrow but they are pretty darned good. They use our coffee and they have been trained decently so they should be spot on. I have gotten great reports so far.
dgriechen Senior Member Joined: 27 Nov 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Spokane, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Venus Grinder: Rocky
Posted Thu Dec 30, 2004, 4:11am Subject: Re: Lindamen's in Spokane
I stopped by Rock Coffee this afternoon and chatted with the owners Todd and Misty(i?) for a couple of hours. Really cool people and we have a lot in common outside of coffee. The store was nicely done and very comfortable.
As for the coffee, I think i was their first straight espresso pull and I was a bit disappointed in it. The first shot was really blonde and they tried another, but it came out the same. It didn't look like they tamped very well and already had some ground in the doser, so I don't know how old it was. Hopefully they get things worked out and produce some good shots soon, because it would be great to have them so close to work.
At any rate, I'll be back to see how they come along. Maybe they'll let me pull my own one of these days.
rae76 Senior Member Joined: 30 Dec 2004 Posts: 2 Location: Spokane, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Dec 30, 2004, 7:21pm Subject: Re: Lindamen's in Spokane
It was great to visit with you yesterday, thanks for the review. Feedback is priceless to us and we value it!Please come back as we are daily working to perfect our shots. We only use fresh beans, we always grind to order and we are aggressively working to perfect our tamping method. We love coffee and we strive to serve great espresso/coffee so your input on how we can improve is appreciated, Thanks!
dgriechen Senior Member Joined: 27 Nov 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Spokane, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Venus Grinder: Rocky
Posted Fri Dec 31, 2004, 6:24pm Subject: Re: Rock Coffee
I know you guys at Rock will get things figured out. It just takes some time. I'm just glad that you guys are there and putting in real effort to do it right. You guys pulling a second shot without even asking tells me that you care about what you're doing.
I hope your New Year celebration is a big hit, I won't be able to get down there for it, but I'll be there Monday morning and I'll try to bring some of my coworkers as well.
rae76 Senior Member Joined: 30 Dec 2004 Posts: 2 Location: Spokane, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Jan 1, 2005, 8:22am Subject: Re: Rock Coffee
Todd will be there Monday morning and said he's going to pull shots until your happy! I'm sure he'd even let you give it a try which would help us in knowing how you like it. And then, when you're a regular we'll all know, 'this is how Darrin likes it. . .' New year's Eve rocked and we were packed out! It was a blast. See you!
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 