Philadelphia Coffee Pilgrimage/Evacuation

Four blocks over, two blocks down from my apartment;
the whole reason I'm even here in Philly.

I don't know if it's bad form to write about coffeeshops while using their free internet, but I'm doing it. I'm in Philly for the day, my neighborhood evacuated due to widespread central PA flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. Heather is attending a conference at one of the sports arenas, so I've ridden the Broad Street Subway two stops north to the first stop on my self-guided Philadelphia coffee tour:


I) Ultimo Coffee

The first thing I realize, approaching from the Snyder stop on the BSS is that I planned my tour backwards; Ultimo is paired with a local brewpub, but it's nine in the morning, so they're closed.  Had I arrived here later, I could've expanded this to a coffee and beer review.

Nonetheless, the coffee is wonderful. I'm starting off with a regular cup of brewed coffee, and they've got one of my favorite coffees of all time: Counter Culture's Finca El Puente, brewed with the Chemex. I've never had Chemex coffee before (it works a lot like a pourover brewer on a large scale), and this does not disappoint. Bright, with a clean finish, but not thin or watery. The experience was improved by the nearly-identifiable music over the speaker -- mellow, trippy guitar work and a familiar vocalist. It took me until halfway through my cup of coffee to identify early M. Ward.

The shop is small, but not cramped -- large corner windows let the sun shine on the battered wooden tables and the bar-style window seating. I didn't try their espresso, but the cappuccinos have well-executed latte art on the top, and they're using Apollo, so I have faith in their quality. I won't be acting on that faith -- I have a lot more caffeine to consume today, and I don't want to overload early on. I just overheard the baristas chatting about Orlando Arita, Counter Culture's latest espresso project, and one that I'll be experimenting with once I get back to Harrisburg.

A Chemex brewer.

II) Elixir Coffee

I wasn't planning on visiting Elixir, but as I searched for transit times to reach West Philly to meet up with Nathan and get to my next stop (Lovers and Madmen), Google presented me with this option, only a few blocks from my station. If Ultimo had the laid back charm of a South Philly brewery/coffeeshop, this place is all swank; located just off the Avenue of the Arts in the Walnut Street upscale shopping district, it has clean lines, wood and tile, and the smell of a spa (from the carafe of cucumber water, I think). I am seated at some of the only non-communal seating. Most of the chair space is along wooden benches at family-style tables. A nice touch, but most of the strangers sitting at them are (like me) tapping away on their screens.

Though tempted by their streetside sign ("Pour Over: Finca los Planes, Sumatra, Elida"), I decided to switch to espresso for stop number two. The Espresso Macchiato is my drink of choice, and, upon asking the barista, I learned that it would be made with a single-origin Sidama espresso. For those not familiar, single-origin espressos are a sort of coup-de-grace: most espressos are blended from coffees from a variety of sources to achieve a particular flavor. A single-origin can only be produced from an exceptional source coffee, by a roaster skilled at bringing out the minute particularities that reveal themselves in espresso.

The macchiato was (is; I'm sipping it as I write this) delicious -- the brightness of the Ethiopian coffee is evident, even as the chocolaty body is enhanced by the little bit of steamed milk in the cup. It has a complex, nutty flavor that is interesting at every sip. It makes me want another one, but I can feel my fingers starting to shake as I type. It's time to meet Nathan at the Clark Park Farmer's Market in West Philly for a break before heading to Lovers and Madmen.

III) Lovers and Madmen

Skipped the farmers market and met Abigail and Nathan here at Lovers and Madmen, just off of Market Street, near the Market-Frankford Line station at 40th Street.

Inside, the ambiance is different from the two shops before: more open space, more seating, more conversations than the two small shops before it. It might just be the time of day, but this place seems less hip and more welcoming.

I ordered a pourover coffee of Counter Culture's Maragojipe microlot. A microlot is a small portion of a coffee farm's seasonal take, usually selected by variety of coffee plant or from location within the farm (Maragojipe is the former). It is redolent of pistachio and plums, as described, so it was brewed well. The staff seemed less professional here; disconcerting in terms of expectations about coffee quality, but part of what made the place so welcoming when we walked in. The coffee is reassuring me, even as the baristas quibble about what kind of music to play.

Nathan and Abigail are sitting beside me discussing contemporary theater and literature, the kind of thing that the Scholar breeds, and the kind of thing that I haven't found at any of the coffeeshops I've visited today. Again, it might just be the company of the time of day, but this place feels like it engenders that kind of conversation. The aftertaste on that microlot doesn't quit. Even as we leave, the rum-like flavor remains on my tongue.

The counter at La Colombe.

IV) La Colombe

This place has always been my go-to spot for top-quality coffee in Center City, and yesterday's trip (yup, I'm writing from the next day now) only served to confirm this. If you can get a seat at La Colombe, it's a nice place to sit, but more often than not, the line stretches from the counter to the door, and all the seating is filled.

They focus on the espresso at La Colombe, and it shows. No menu posted, no flavored syrups, one variety of drip coffee on tap at a time; this is a place for coffee snobs. Their cappuccino is so creamy that one of my friends, upon tasting it, asked "What did you get? Hot chocolate?"

If it's variety that you seek, go elsewhere, but if you want to taste some of the best espresso beverages in the city (on the East Coast, even) go to La Colombe.


V) Conclusion

I have shied away from declaring any of these four cafes the "Best of Philly." I only visited four cafes, and my selection criteria were not at all scientific. And while La Colombe is the cafe I'll still visit the most (in part because of its central location) each of these cafes has its own charm, and should, if you get the chance, be visited. If you're heading to Ultimo anytime soon, pick me up some beer.