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.

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.

At the Edge House we’ve been hosting a monthly Friday night conversation that we call the “Theology Throwdown.”

Typically, this “throwdown” is just an opportunity to host a conversation and discussion which has some sort of theological or philosophical flavor to it. So far we have tackled such simple issues as…

• The Problem of Evil
• The Two Natures of Christ (humanity/divinity)
• Who needs the Church
• The relationship/tension between faith & science

Last night was probably my favorite conversation to date. In addition to a good topic, we had an interesting mix of students who all contributed fabulous perspectives and experiences. Everyone’s input combined for a really rich mixture of interaction.

A highlight moment for me was when one of the students (coming from a very atheistic/pluralistic worldview) commented on his experience at the Edge House so far. He said something like this,

It’s cool to have someone say, “I’m a Christian…so let’s talk’ instead of ‘I’m a Christian…and you’re going to hell.”

The atmosphere of hospitality and faith discovery we are developing at the Edge House should continue to grow. I hope we’ll have many more conversations take place like that one!

Over at Scott McKnight’s blog…Jesus Creed…I found a fabulous ‘liturgy of espresso’ by Billy Kangas. You can catch up with Billy via his blog here, or Twitter.

I have always considered coffee as a great metophor for many things spiritual, social, etc…but over at Billy’s blog…that consideration is cemented into a beautiful liturgy. Great stuff.

The cappuccino as a representation for the trinity makes a lot of sense to me. The cappuccino is technically 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, and 1/3 silky microfoam…blended artfully into one textured and delicious sip.

Properly brewed espresso has triune qualities as well. The heart, body, and crema (crema is the lighter reddish foam that floats on the surface) make up the “pulled” shot and when a glass is brewed, all three parts should be seen as three different layers.

“While the making of a good espresso drink is a complicated process; enjoyment of a good espresso drink is one of life’s simple pleasures.”

And when the simple pleasure of artfully brewed coffee mixes with the sharing of conversation, story, and friendship…ahhh, an Edenic experience of hospitality ensues.

Just finished a short bike ride around campus. I was hoping to meet up with a student at his frat house but didn’t catch him in.

What I did see, however, was campus life beginning to flicker back on after the summer breaker switch was flipped.

As I pedaled past a couple of students enjoying an evening smoke, one guy held out his hand and yelled “High five me, man!”  As I slapped his hand he yelled to everyone on McMillan…”You da’ man!!”  He had obviously started drinking a little early tonight.

I stumbled across an intense game of cricket down by Sigma Commons. After a few minutes observing, I realized I need to do some research on the game…learn a bit of Hindi and/or Arabic and maybe I can join in next time.

As I road back through Burnette Woods park I contemplated crashing a little Ultimate Frisbee action…but they had an even 5-on-5 so I didn’t stop.

And now I’m back in front of the Edge House…looking forward to the next______.   Maybe the next bike ride…the next conversation…the next latte…the next bible study…the next forum on faith and culture…the next cookout…who knows?!  But it’s a pretty exciting place to be.

One of my favorite spaces in the Edge House is definitely a room we’re calling the “Cloister.” It’s an upstairs study center where we will be housing a book collection and space for conversations regarding faith and the lack thereof.

If you’re a student at the University of Cincinnati… please stop by anytime (3007 clifton ave) especially during Welcome Week.

We’d love to meet you and share a little life at the Edge House.