DRUMMERS NEED COFFEE.

One of the benefits of doing what I do for a living is the extensive travel.  However, it can be extremely taxing and rough emotionally, longing for home and family and the comforts we are all accustomed to when we are stationary.  One of my pacifiers is coffee and espresso.  As some of you may know, I worked in the crazy Seattle coffee world for MANY years before being able to support myself as a drummer.  As a result, I’ve become a coffee addict and a tremendous snob.  Thankfully, in the band Fitz & The Tantrums, I have a partner and enabler in addiction, Mr. Fitz himself.  While he may not have grown up in the Pacific Northwest, or worked in the coffee industry like I have, he has been spoiled by the likes of Intelligentsia and Lamill in Los Angeles, and requires a higher standard just as I do.  It takes a great shot of espresso and/or an amazing cup of coffee to make my “drinkable” list.  So here it begins with some of my hometown favorites and then wonderful discoveries from the road:

Hometown heroes:

ESPRESSO VIVACE  321 Broadway East, Seattle, WA.

I put this one first for a reason.  If there is one thing that myself & the rest of my Seattle brothers & sisters know, it’s coffee.  Vivace started it all.  It is what all others have aspired to be and they set the bar really high YEARS AND YEARS AGO!  While this is one of the few places I did not work at in Seattle, I really wish I had just so I could put it on my resume. www.espressovivace.com

THE CONSERVATORY – 10117 Washington Boulevard Culver City, CA 90232

Yes, I love Intelligentsia, Lamill, etc. in LA but I feel as though I am entering a museum when I go into those places.  They are intimidating.  The Conservatory is really a Seattle cafe/roaster brought to LA.  Their staff is without a doubt the most helpful, knowledgeable, and welcoming of any cafe in LA.  Their espresso and coffee is incredible, and you can watch them roast it right in front of you as you walk in.  Whenever I leave The Conservatory, I feel so good about spending money there, I can’t wait to go through my supply, just to go back and buy more.  Can’t say enough good stuff about it.  www.conservatorycoffeeandtea.com

ABRACO ESPRESSO – 86 East 7th Street New York, NY 10003

O.K., so credit where credit is due.  Fitz turned me on to this treasure of the East Village in NYC.  This the the cafe I’ve wanted to open my entire life, and someday I will do it.  Just don’t tell Jamie, the owner, that I’m ripping him off, ok?  I dream of this place.  The coffee, the pastries, the personalities, the neighborhood vibe, the presentation, everything about it is perfect.  Quite possibly my favorite place on earth to stand and have an espresso.  He even spins old Brazilian funk records!!  I mean, come ON!!  It was built for ME!!! www.abraconyc.com

TOUR STOPS

5/28/11 

STUMPTOWN ESPRESSO – Several Locations in Portland, OR.  Ok, for some reason I didn’t want to like Stumptown.  Perhaps it’s because I’m from Seattle?  Maybe I’m a little jealous?  But the fact of the matter is that these guys are kicking major butt.  The quality of the coffee is unreal.  On this rainy day in May when we toured through there to play the Rose Fest, it was like I was home.  They now have locations in Seattle and New York and many folks are using their beans.  Great stuff.  www.stumptowncoffee.com

6/27/11

CAFE GRUMPY – 224 West 20th Street New York, NY 10011.  So, I couldn’t make it to Abraco Espresso before it closed, so I heard about this place from one of my dear friends, trumpeter Phil Rodriguez who works there.  Phil speaks my two languages, music & coffee very fluently, so I trusted him and it paid off.  This place is amazing and they truly care about the product they are putting out there.  There’s another location out in Brooklyn as well.  Check ‘em out.  www.cafegrumpy.com

6/28/11

BLUE STATE COFFEE – 957 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA.  Located two doors down from The Paradise Rock Club (convenient if you are playing or seeing a show there), this is one of the best lattes I have ever had.  A true work of art and strong as hell.  I followed it with a straight shot and the flavors contained within were so vivid and strong that I forgot that I was drinking espresso.  www.bluestatecoffee.com

6/30/11

DARK HORSE ESPRESSO – 682 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1G9.  I really enjoyed these guy’s espresso on ice.  It reminded me slightly of Caffe Vita’s espresso in Seattle.  Really floral tasting which sometimes i’m in the mood for, and sometimes not.  My only problem with this place is that it closes at 8pm which for me, is a little early.  I know, I have a problem.  www.darkhorseespresso.com

7/1/11

MADCAP COFFEE – 98 Monroe Center, Grand Rapids, MI.  Mad Cap has brought the Hario, “Pour Over” method to Grand Rapids and gives you a choice of what bean & blend they will use for your espresso shot.  I had the espresso machiatto and it was amazing.  www.madcapcoffee.com

7/5/11

CREMA – 15 Hermitage Ave., Nashville, TN 37204.  This is arguably the best coffee in Nashville.  Located in kind of a strange industrial area, the manager of The Mercy Lounge took Fitz & myself their to chase the dragon so to speak.  I could not have been happier.  I had a great pull of espresso, I checked the milk on Fitz’s latte and it was nice and viscus the way you want it.  Great vibe, nice folks, worth seeking it out to avoid Starbucks’ mediocrity.  www.crema-coffee.com

7/7/11

SPYHOUSE COFFEE SHOP – 2404 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55405.  The barista poured a beautiful rosetta similar to the one I was trained to make in Seattle while working for Caffe Vita.  I had the latte cubano which was amazing.  They are using 3 different roasters, Verve (Santa Cruz), Ritual (San Francisco), & Coava (Portland,OR).  They also use the Hario pour-over method which I use at home and am obsessed with.  www.spyhousecoffeeshop.com

11/4/11

OPEN EYE CAFE – 101 South Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC.  OK, so it’s been quite a while since I’ve added anything to this blog, and it certainly was not for lack of travel or consumption of coffee.  It really takes something special to make my list and I’m happy to say that The Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro, NC definitely makes the grade!  This place is truly incredible.  On a rainy day in Carrboro, I had to keep reminding myself that I was not back in Seattle in my early twenties when I could/would spend hours on end drinking prodigious amounts of espresso staring out at the at the weather.  These folks are super knowledgeable about the product the produce, the use locally roasted beans, and the quality is the best Ive had since July in Minneapolis.  I have to go to sound check now, but I’ll be back immediately after for more.  I recommend the breve latte in 8oz or 12 oz size tops.  Perfection.

11/7/11

ESPRESSO A MANO – 3623 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201.  These guys are the real deal.  Quite possibly the best espresso in Pittsburgh, though I hear Tazza D’Oro is great as well.  I went for a double espresso here and was thoroughly impressed.  I think they use Counter Culture beans which I’m usually a fan of.  Fitz had a latte that he thought was great.  At that point, he was in the midst of quitting smoking so it was especially relieving to him to have a great espresso drink, hah!  Love the warehouse, loft feel of the place and it’s in a cool area of Pitt called Lawrenceville.  Go check ‘em out!  www.espressoamano.com

11/8/11

SQUARE ONE COFFEE – 145 N. Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17602.  I just happened upon this place by mistake, or my radar for coffee is just so ridiculously accurate, I was just drawn there.  I ordered a mocha here which I normally don’t do on my first visit to a new cafe.  It’s easy to mask a sub par shot of espresso with some chocolate.  I had a hankering for some chocolate and as soon as you walk up to this place you can smell them roasting their own beans in the back of this little place, so I kinda figured these folks were legit.  I was right, it’s amazing.  Nice folks behind the bar, and they are a socially conscious business.  I went back later to get a double espresso and really give it the test.  The pull I got was extremely floral, not over-roasted.  Great stuff, super great vibe.  Check ‘em out!  http://www.squareonecoffee.com/

11/13/11

Peregrine Espresso – 660 Pennsylvania Ave SE Washington DC 20003 or 1718 14th St NW Washington, DC 20009.  Surprisingly, it’s rather difficult to find quality espresso in D.C.!  I love this place.  I saw that they were serving Ethiopian Yirgacheffe pour over coffee so I went for that and was not disappointed at all.  Our sound man, Jamie always goes for a triple or quad espresso, so I eyed his shots and they were fantastic and Fitz’s latte milk was looking super viscus with a nice rosetta that he seemed stoked with.  These guys are also using Counter Culture beans.  Very cool spot, nice staff.  Hit ‘em up.  Walking distance from the 9:30 Club.  www.peregrineespresso.com

4/30/12

Soma Coffee & Juice Bar – 322 E. Kirkwood Ave, Bloomington, IN

Ok, I was very skeptical of this place as I walked up, but I was desperate for something other than Starbucks so I took my chances.  I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the espresso pull and the viscosity of the milk.  If you find yourself in beautiful Bloomington, go to FARM for breakfast, lunch and dinner and to Soma for your coffee.

 

4/30/12

Contraband Coffee – 1415 Larkin Street  San Francisco, CA 94109

These guys do EVERYTHING right.  They are nice people to boot.  Go there whenever you’re in San Fran.  Fitz & I both had two breve latte’s each!  San Fran has a lot of great coffee but this has been my favorite overall.

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