Coffee Review: Starbucks Pike Place
Starbucks opened their first coffee store at the Pike Place market in Seattle in 1971.This site also happens to be the Starbucks where Howard Schultz tasted his first cup of Starbucks coffee. He had gone there to sell them a coffee maker, but loved the coffee so much he joined the company. Later, he became the CEO and drove the company to the huge success it is today.
In 2008, Starbucks decided to honor Pike Place’s importance in its history by creating the Pike Place Roast. Starbucks intended this particular roast to be “an all around great cup of coffee.” It is purported to have softer acidity and a smoother finish than Starbucks’ other coffees because of high-grown Arabica beans. These beans are roasted and blended in a way that “brings out the cocoa and toasted nut flavors” of the beans.
Continue reading Comments (0) brewed on Apr 15th, 2010
Review of Andala Coffee House, Cambridge, MA.
The Andala Coffee House occupies a beautiful two-story building at 286 Franklin St, Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The lyrical title is the name of the nightingale’s song in Arabic, highly appropriate for this Middle Eastern style cafe. The unique decor of this coffee house is unlike any other eatery seen in Cambridge or Greater Boston. The owners of establishment have created this environment in order to reflect the tradition and culture of Old Jerusalem.
With its feeling of openness and space, the interior resembles some of the exquisite architecture the Moors created in Spain. Oriental-style throw rugs that look as though they might turn into magic carpets cover the hardwood floors. The centerpiece of one room is a pillar-legged wooden table intricately inlaid with geometric shapes and surrounded by slatted chairs. A large brass samovar, the traditional Arabian way of serving tea, stands elegantly on the ordering counter.
Continue reading Comments (0) brewed on Apr 10th, 2010
Review of Murdoch Perk, St. Louis, Missouri
Murdoch Perk is more than just a place to drop by and have a great cup of coffee. It is a cozy place to meet with friends and talk about what is on your mind. The wooden fireplace against the brick wall creates an aura of comfort and warmth that calls you closer. Comfortable upholstered chairs that curve in an arc around it invite you to sit and sip in leisure.
The brother and sister team Ed and Stephanie own and operate Murdoch Perk in the Southampton neighborhood of St. Louis. In 2006, they renovated a former dry cleaner’s building with exposed bricks, new floors, and dark wood trim. They opened their newly refurbished establishment at the end of October that year, to the delight of local residents. They have been serving great food and Kaldi’s locally produced coffee to happy customers ever since.
Continue reading Comments (0) brewed on Mar 31st, 2010
Review of It’s a Grind Coffee House
It’s a Grind Coffee House is to Long Beach, CA, what Starbuck’s is to Seattle, a native-born coffee house chain. In 1994, married entrepreneurs Marty Cox and Louise Montgomery opened the first It’s a Grind in Long Beach, CA. These days you can find It’s a Grind franchises as far away as Florida and Georgia. Though Cox and Montgomery now live in Irvine, the heart of It’s a Grind is still in Long Beach.
Some people visit coffee houses primarily to drink the blended drinks, and It’s a Grind’s blended drinks are excellent. However, their plain brewed coffee is some of the best you will find in coffee houses anywhere. Unlike some coffee house coffees, even their darkest roasts are smooth rather than bitter. There is always an ample choice of whiteners and sweeteners; however, you may find you do not need them.
Continue reading Comments (0) brewed on Mar 28th, 2010
