Guest Blogging From New York City

Hey, everybody. This is Mark L. Feinsod. Ola asked me to contribute a few posts now and again. He wanted me to mention a few decent places in New York City to get a great cup of coffee. This isn't always as easy as you'd think, as the incredibly large number of Starbucks everyplace has really done a fair amount to destroy cafe culture in NYC. That said, it isn't dead. Let's start at the top, eh?

In my opinion, the best coffee in New York City can be found at The Grey Dog's Coffee (33 Carmine Street, between Bedford and Bleecker). Situated at the eastern edge of the gorgeous West Village, this place is a legend in downtown Manhattan. The iced coffee is the best I've ever tasted (it's not bitter in the slightest, and appears to be brewed especially for this purpose, as opposed to being leftover hot coffee dumped over ice), especially when a bit of soy milk is added. Also, the homemade raspberry lemonade is amazing (it even has whole pieces of berries in it). Their own special blend can be purchased for home grinding, although it's expensive and I haven't tried it.

Be forewarned that lines during the weekend can be long (it's a popular brunch spot), although there's a special line for coffee orders only (but it's hidden at the back by the entrance to the kitchen). Still, grab a beverage and (assuming it's either spring or summer or a warm autumn), hit the bench out front, fire up a cigarette, and enjoy a good conversation with a few friends while drinking the best coffee in the city (or at least below 23rd Street, which is New York to me).

Next time: cappuchino.

Better late than never...

So it took some time for me to write a new entry in my blog. I guess I over estimated my output of articles, but what the hey!

This weekend we went to a friends cabin in the mountains, and brought 250g of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffe. We didn't have a grinder but the ground beans kept well the whole trip and it was great coffee! I've read a lot about Yirgacheffe and had high expectations, and they came through.

Many consider Yirgacheffe to be the finest of Ethiopian coffee, and I can't disagree. It has a rich body and a floral bouquet (I thought I smelled some lavender in there somewhere) and smooth mellowness.

The barista at the coffeebar where I bought the Yirgacheffe also recommended an Ethiopian Harar which had a surprisingly distinct smell of wild berries, but in the end I opted for the Yirgacheffe.

The next time around I'll buy whole beans and grind them per serving (since I have a grinder at home). I think that will make it taste even better.

(I lifted the map above from another website... Hopefully they don't mind.)

Todays coffee

Today I've only managed to down two cups of coffe (so far). They were quite nice, though, with rich crema and nice thick microfoam. I've also started using a new batch of beans I bought from my local roaster (called Java) the other day. The blend is called Crescendo and is quite light roasted being for espresso. I always make ristrettos in my coffee-drinks so it's full of taste, and if I drink it without milk (which I normally do after lunchtime) it's mellow enough not to burn away my tastebuds. (The picture is not of the beans I've been using, it's just an illustration.)

I'll make a note of trying to pry out of my roaster what types of beans they use in the blend.

Hooray! Hooray! My blog is up today!

So this is the very first posting on my weblog. It's a good feeling to finally be able to share with you my thoughts and feelings. I don't know if you feel the same way, but hey, thats ok. You don't have to anyway. I really don't have anything to say, but hooray, hooray my blog is up today! A lot of rhyming, I know, but I do it anyway just because I can!

This isn't the standard as to what the rest of posts are going to be like, though. I'll try to get my act together and punch out some meaningful comments and thoughts.