Chris Bean

I had a preliminary visit to this cafe a few days ago with a friend. I ordered a cappuccino and he had a double espresso. Today I’m having the drip coffee…so that gives me enough experience with their drinks and cafe to give them my unofficial crit. 

Coffee Shop #4: Coffee Emporium–Downtown Cincinnati Location

I really had not planned on visiting this location so early in the process since I reviewed their Hyde Park location as my first stop. But I recently found myself downtown with a friend looking for a good cup of coffee so we stopped here.

As I walked into the cafe, the first thing that caught my attention was the roasterie to the left. It’s always good to find locally roasted coffee. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was tainted with too many flavored coffees on display as you make your way to the bar area. I’m NOT a fan of flavoring the bean. Feel free to add something to your coffee after you brew it…but flavoring coffee is like painting a bright gaudy color over the top of some beautiful piece of hand-made natural wood furniture. Now you know how I really feel! 

Having said that, C.E. does a nice job of roasting their coffee and offering a variety of options. I could choose from Ravens Blend (a dark roast), Guatemalan, Solstice, & a Vanilla flavored decaf some’in-some’in.

Drip Coffee score: 4 out of 5 stars

The cafe itself is spacious and decked out with a nice assortment of tables, couches, soft chairs, etc. Musical ambience is very appropriate but not overpowering. The girl at the register was quite personable while the barista was that perfect combination of intense, aloof, and confident.

There’s a great “third place” vibe and I hear there are some terrific musical events which occasionally provide an even greater allure. And although I usually don’t pay much attention to the food/menu…I will be back to try the Reuben…one of my favorite sandwiches ever. And the chocolate chip cookie is well worth the buck-fifty too.

Hospitality Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

On to the espresso! I could tell by the equipment (a 3-group La Marzoco and a pair of Mazzer grinders) and by watching the barista dose into the portafilter that this would be a quality experience of espresso. Sure enough, it was perfectly extracted shot of espresso with a beautiful crema. I was so excited to taste it that I forgot to take a picture to share with you. My ONLY complaint with this espresso is that it was a little dark and smoky for my taste. I like a little better balance of sweetness and acidity than this particular roast offered.

Espresso Score:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Where most cafes fail, this one excelled. The cappuccino was a perfect 8oz blend of espresso and beautifully steamed/aerated milk. Using my favorite bovine lactation…Snowville Creamery…certainly added to the richness and sweetness of the capp. And not only were all the components there, the drink was aesthetically perfect with a nice heart-shaped foam cap spanning the entire surface of the porcelain cup with a dark outline of the crema surrounding it. Although the “perfect cappuccino” is a very elusive find, I have no choice but to score this beverage as pretty much there.

Capp Score: 5 out of 5 stars.

Overall Score: 18 out of a possible 20

So not only is this cafe worth a visit, it’s probably worth driving downtown from the surrounding villages and burbs of Cincinnati…which is exactly what I did.

As I was sitting in a campus ministry training seminar today with my CCO peers, we were discussing ways in which theology should inform our understanding and application of the Gospel.

Faith & Repentance are the mechanisms by which we grow. Our guest speaker, David Kim from Gotham Fellowship in New York City (out of Redeemer Presbyterian Church w/ Tim Keller) pointed out that sanctification is the process by which we become more like Christ.

For some reason, images of Tony Horton and flashbacks of P90X workouts popped into my head. Tony calls it “muscle confusion.” That’s why those P90X workouts have so much variety and a 90-day rotation system. To make a muscle grow, you must force it to encounter resistance and in every-increasing doses. In addition to that, varying your routine keeps the muscle from becoming comfortable with a particular movement which results in a plateau.

This can certainly happen within the context of our sanctification and spiritual growth. Unless we are continually coming to a place of faith & repentance, the stream of our spiritual life becomes stagnant. Stagnant water stinks. There’s no flow…direction…energy.

Just a couple of evenings ago, I set aside some time for prayer and repentance. Over the past few months, for a variety of reasons, my sense of God’s presence and my own willingness to engage the Scriptures and prayer had become quite weak. This very lesson was being spoken to me by the Spirit and thankfully I responded (this time). The extent to which that time of prayer on Sunday evening restored my soul and transformed my mind continues to surprise me. In describing the experience to a friend, I likened it to the feeling of responding to God at a Thursday night youth camp service…when you walk away from a time of prayer and repentance feeling about 50 lbs lighter!

In order to continue a trajectory of spiritual growth…we must continually engage our faith muscles and do the heavy lifting of repentance.

The Redtree Cafe. Oakley seems to be on my way to several destinations so I’ve passed by this cafe many times. Recently, I’ve been meeting with some friends here on a regular basis to do some collaborating in ministry. The owner, Wendy, has created a nice combination of cafe and gallery. Seems like her passion has been to create a place for local artists to exhibit, connect, and thrive while enjoying the warm third-place vibe of a cafe. I think she has done a great job of developing that environment.

I’ve recently met, Justin, one of the baristas who is also part of a new Christian faith community here in Oakley. You can find more about them at www.legendchurch.com.

The Redtree gets their coffee from Seven Hills here in Cinninnati. I’m not a big fan of Seven Hills because everything I’ve had of theirs in shops seems very similar. The cup of French Sumatra I just had was much more acidic than I would expect of a “dark” Indonesian bean. They also do tons of flavored coffees which, as a purist, doesn’t pair well with my coffee tasting sensibilities. Again, I’m not saying it’s bad  coffee…it’s just not great.

Drip Coffee Score: 3 out of 5 stars

As I’ve already said, the physical space of the cafe along with the hospitality has been one of the big draws for me so far. The music, the art, the cafe design, cleanliness, and barista hospitality all contribute to one of the best ‘third place’ experiences I’ve had in Cincinnati.

Cafe/Third Place Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Although I have visited this cafe several times already, I have yet to order a simple espresso. So Justin pulled a quick double shot…which was indeed quick. There was not a hint of crema anywhere to be found, so that was disappointing. The presentation was good but that’s about all I can say. The shot was underextracted and had that sharp alkaline flavor…like I just tested a 9 volt battery with my tongue. 

Espresso Score: 2 out of 5 stars

Justin and I chatted for a bit before the cappuccino and he is definitely aware that there’s a “miss” in terms of the quality they are getting out of their 2-group Nuova Simonelli and Mazzer grinder. The equipment is certainly capable of producing some great shots/drinks…but there is a gap in training perhaps and I would guess that the espresso culture is just not as important within the cafe as it should be. The cappuccino would have come in a 12 oz version if I had not asked for a smaller for-here option. The shot pulled overly fast again and there was relatively no crema. The milk was steamed into a bubbly concoction that never had a chance for matching the texture of the non-existent crema.

Cappuccino Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Score: 12 out of 20 stars

So the final cafe score is much lower than I would have hoped. Actually, the 12-star mark is where I had planned to cut off in terms of being worth a visit. I’m still going to say that this cafe is worth a trip to Oakley. I love the people, art, and vibe here…and if you’re mainly after drip coffee or some other beverage which doesn’t require the same amount of skill and craft as the cappuccino, then it’s a great coffee destination.

Coffee Shop #2: Luckman Coffee in Mt. Washington

My first experience with Luckman coffee was a couple of years ago at their Clough/8 Mile location. I bumped into Steve Luckman, the owner/roaster, during one of those visits and was impressed with his passion for excellent coffee/espresso/hospitality etc.

So as I do a more intentional survey of the top cafes in Cincinnati, I certainly have to include it in my destinations of choice.

The beverage experience began with a cup of the Peg Leg Jim blend. I immediately knew that it had a majority of Latin American beans as the main component but there was something a little spicy & peppery that I couldn’t identify. Turns out it has some Rwandan produce in the mix. Apparently, this blend has earned some notoriety as a great coffee in Cincinnati. Although the body, aroma, and balance were all pretty good it wasn’t a flavor impression that I would be craving on a regular basis. There are a limited number of African coffees which really appeal to my palate. But this shop definitely places a priority on freshly roasted coffee and had a good selection to choose from.

Drip Coffee score: 4 out of 5 stars

The barista I happened upon today was Amanda. She’s been working in the coffee biz for several years (at least 4 or 5 I think). She was confident about the quality of beans being served and had that welcoming and conversational personality which you always hope to find behind the bar.

The café itself was not a particularly impressive manifestation of ‘third place.’ The seating area is limited and feels a little more like a diner than a café. They’ll soon be busting out a wall and expanding into the next space which could certainly help their front and especially back of house space. Country music doesn’t really do it for me in terms of café audio ambience either.

Hospitality Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

On to the espresso! Amanda let me snap a pic as she was pulling this double shot which poured in 24 seconds. I did notice that the shot blonded a little too soon. But I was actually impressed with the flavor and balance of the espresso. All the right components were there except for a sweet thick crema. The acidity was under control and the sweetness was mostly there. She did pull the shot into a 6 oz capp mug instead of the demitasse I asked for…but I’m finding many baristas don’t necessarily know what a demitasse is even if they have one sitting on top of the machine.

Steve uses Rancilio machines in both of his shops and typically Mazzer grinders.

Espresso Score:  4 out of 5 stars

And now the cappuccino test. Granted, many coffee shops have a variety of definitions and expressions of the “cappuccino.” I was very glad to see that they had the right mugs on hand. The 6 oz mug is what I would call a traditional European capp. In the states we’ve pretty much “biggie sized” everything so usually the smallest capp a shop will serve is a 12 oz version. Amanda pulled another decent shot in the mid-20 second range and then steamed about 16oz of milk (too much) to create a 10 oz capp. Unfortunately she set the pitcher on the drip tray while it was steaming instead of holding it the whole time. That tells you quite a bit about the cappuccino culture of a café. Due to the good espresso being used, the final beverage was pretty tasty…but the texture and milk ratio was off. This drink was what most cafes would probably call a “wet” cappuccino with just about a ¼ inch of foam on the finished drink. The milk and foam separated quite rapidly. Although 75% of the training and technique looked good (grinding, dosing, extraction time, etc)…the treatment of milk was average.

Capp Score: 3 out of 5 stars.

Overall Score: 14.5 out of a possible 20

What does that mean? Well…any café that scores above a 12 is worth a visit. Just as coffee flavor itself is a highly subjective experience, the appeal of a café is difficult to objectify into a graded experience. This café is certainly one that cares about the bean and how it’s delivered in the cup. Although there’s room for improvement in the espresso category, I would recommend this café to anyone who’s within 5 or 10 miles of it to begin with.

For awhile now I’ve been meaning to plot out a tour of coffee shops in Cincinnati. Although I’ve already been to half a dozen or so, I’m going to push the reset button on my live coffee browsing and report on my findings here with a new cafe review once or twice a week.

So cafe #1 in this tour of 20+ shops is Coffee Emporium in Hyde Park. I recently met the owner/roaster of CE, Tony Tausch at a barista jam. I’m not sure how long he has been with the company, but CE has been in Cincinnati since 1973 and has 3 locations. You can find out more about Coffee Emporium here.

The baristas on duty were Micah (manning the La Marzoco) and Amy who were definitely welcoming and conversational. Amy was very patient with my questions about the company, coffee, and food. Micah seemed fairly enthusiastic about being reviewed by some no-name coffee geek like myself.

It was $1.60 for my for-here mug of coffee. I had the Sumatra Aceh first and then got a refill of the French Colombian for $.75. Unfortunately, they don’t have a “bottomless” option. Although food options and quality won’t figure in to my overall scoring of cafes (that tells you I don’t consider food a cafe necessity). The wi-fi was easy to access with my macbook pro and it appears they were using Pandora for the in-house tunes. When it came time for the “capp test” Micah asked a common question. Do I want it “wet” or “dry?” That in itself is a bit of an indication of their espresso quality and culture. At Micah’s suggestion I got a little cinnamon powder, which I don’t usually do but it sounded good at the time and really was a good addition. Although it was a larger cappuccino than I prefer (their smallest size was a 12oz and I prefer a 6 to 8 oz capp), the milk was aerated properly and the espresso flavor was decent…though quite muted by the abundance of milk. The milk/foam was not quite the velvety microfoam I desperately hope for in a capp, but it certainly was better than most other capps I’ve had in the city. I opted not to order a straight espresso for some reason. I should probably do that in the future to evaluate the flavor/balance/smoothness of the house espresso roast. Here are the scores I would give on this experience. I’m sure this system will evolve as I visit other cafes, but somebody had to be my first guinea pig, eh?

The Cappuccino:  3.5 stars (out of 5)

The Brewed Coffee: 4 stars

Food Selection & Quality:   4 stars  (this score won’t be relevant to the composite “grade”)

Customer Service: 4.5 stars

Third Place/Vibe: 4.5 stars

Total Score: 16.5 out of a possible 20 stars. Anything at or above 12 stars will be worth recommending and re-visiting. Under 12…sorry! It was nice knowing you.  

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this cafe visit and will put it on my list to recommend highly to others as well as to re-visit frequently for my own consuming and connecting pleasures.

Having just spent some time in the latest issue of Catalyst’s free online magazine, my passion is definitely stirred as I think about ministering to college students. There’s a good article/interview with Francis Chan who uses the analogy of surfing to talk about how dependent we really are when it comes to whether or not lives are changed.  In any kind of ministry setting, it’s easy to begin believing that “success” and results directly correlate to our efforts, gifts, programs, etc. I notice this in my own weekly and day-to-day schedule. Many times I fail to prioritize time with God or simply time with people (i.e. the students I’m hoping to see transformed). It’s often easier to spend time sending emails, posting on a blog, working on communications, putting together curriculum, studying for a talk, or any other number of things…than to prioritize time in prayer, reading Scripture, or loving on students.

The interview with Dallas Willard was brief but packed with some great points. I’ll on it another day or so before completing this thread on spiritual maturity.

Any thoughts on this topic? Good or bad experiences? Ideas for defining success when it comes to discipleship and spiritual formation?

One of the hats I’ve gotten to wear over the past year is teaching/facilitating as an adjunct professor in the Indiana Wesleyan University Adult & Grad studies program here in Cincinnati. The class I’ve been facilitating for IWU is Philosophy & Christian Thought. I am excited to begin another round of it tonight actually at the Dayton campus.

I was just reading over my end of class survey report and read one of the most encouraging pieces of feedback I’ve ever received from one of these philosophy students:

This response was under the section “What suggestions do you have for faculty improvement:”

THAT is a gift!  It’s often tough to inspire these students much about philosophy, but if I can raise their level of enthusiasm about Christ and the Gospel…success!  

When anyone asks how the ministry is going, I often begin with something like this:

“You know, this first year of being on campus is mainly about learning the culture and context of students here in Cincinnati.”

In some ways, that response is evasive and in other ways it’s completely accurate.

There is a learning curve of some sort involved with any kind of endeavor or career transition. Although there have been many transferable concepts and principles from my first 15 years of ministry, there are also particular lessons and skills to be learned as I position myself on a campus and in the lives of college students.

Today was one of those days that I celebrate and leave campus feeling so affirmed in my calling and my compatibility with this mission to the University of Cincinnati. The particular lesson I learned today was about being lovingly assertive. It really doesn’t take much for a college student to avoid an appointment we’ve made. They suddenly have to prepare for a lab, attend a meeting, study with a friend, take a nap, etc. There is seemingly no limit to the student’s creative capacity when it comes to responsibility evasion. But…there also maybe more room for assertion and compulsion than I had previously thought. My typical response in these situations is something like, “Hey, no problem…let’s try meeting up next week then.” Today I tried something a little different. With two different students today I responded with, “Okay…sounds like you have a lot going on. How ’bout if we just get together for about 10 or 15 minutes? I’d really like to spend a little time with you today and just see how you’re doing.”

Both students agreed and I was able to spend a couple of minutes just checking in, encouraging, and even praying for one student. I certainly believe you could cross the line from being assertive to pushy if you aren’t careful. But I have enough relational equity with these students to know where the line is and have a little cushion. And instead of completely missing the chance to connect I was able to spend at least a few minutes investing a little more life and gospel with both of them. (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

It’s one of those words that comes with its own set of luggage, right?

There are connotations… miscommunication… abuse…baggage.

I have recently set out on the task of engaging the idea (and calling) of holiness. Especially important to me is the need to communicate the truth of holiness and sanctification in ways which get at the real heart of transformation, grace, and discipleship.

Oord and Lodahl do a really nice job of describing the “core notion” of holiness as a response of love to God and others which really flows out of God’s call, God’s purposes, and the nature of God Himself.

Where much of the holiness “baggage” comes from is when peripheral notions (rule keeping, legalism, set apart-ness, consecration, etc) of holiness take the place of that core notion . I have a couple more titles to read on this topic so I’m looking forward to a renewed vision for and emphasis on faithful holy living as I challenge college students to pursue Christ-likeness and God’s mission to love.

I met with a college student for lunch today who has been a friend and someone I have hoped to influence for several years now. As we shared a meal at one of my favorite little spots near campus, I was mindful of how our conversations have deepened over the past few months. We were no longer in that awkward stage of not really knowing how to connect, what topics are safe, how far can I press, etc. The foundation has been laid for me to be able to speak encouragement and guidance into his life while asking the kinds of questions which help sort out issues, values, beliefs, etc.

This “3 x 50 Project” in which we’re engaging for the next 50 days or so will provide the prayer and financial support we need to continue ministry like this with many other students at the University of Cincinnati. Both streams of support are necessary to keep me on campus and effectively serving students. When it comes to fundraising, we are often warned against asking for prayer instead of or at the same time that we ask for financial support. Perhaps it’s easier for someone to offer prayer support rather than the monetary variety. On the other hand, to truly carry a burden of prayer for someone or some ministry can be quite a difficult challenge as well.

I am thoroughly convinced that we need both types of support, but I’d say that the primary need during this 50-day “event” is to find individuals who would answer the call to pray daily for our ministry at UC. God is truly sovereign and more than capable of providing the financial resources that will keep me on campus meeting with students. God is also the source of transformation and salvation that we’re praying to see in the lives of college students. If we have a team of people who are seeking God daily on behalf of our ministry, all these other things will certainly be added to the mix as well (Matthew 6:33, My Paraphrase).