All posts by Colin Mansfield

About Colin Mansfield

I'm a college student born in Boise, Idaho who loves coffee. BoiseCoffee.org was birthed out of a desire to share my passion for coffee with others through reviews and tips. It has since evolved into a discussion of like-minded individuals. We all seek to make the world a better place through our unique talents and goals. Coffee can help.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving and Coffee

The Coffee Experience,

Happy ThanksgivingThanksgiving: a day friends and family share in a holiday marked with tradition and community. A day when people can come together, share conversations, laughs, and excellent food with each other. A day when, despite Uncle Ernie’s bad odor and Aunt Bertha’s horrendously long and boring stories, family can love on each other.

So, why write about it on a coffee blog?
I have a theory: I think Thanksgiving and coffee are connected in more way’s then one. Let’s examine these similarities.

Thanksgiving- Wake up and turn on the TV to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Coffee- Wake up to turn the coffee pot on and then watch the clock hoping you won’t be late for work.

Thanksgiving- Relax all day long, tell stories, and smell food cooking.
Coffee- Relax during each individual sip, savor the stories each burst of flavor tells your mouth, and smell the aroma.

Thanksgiving- Sit down at a large table with friends, give thanks for life and for the food, and eat like there’s no tomorrow.
Coffee- Take a seat at the local coffee shop, crack the laptop and get on Facebook, thank god there’s free internet, and drink the delicious mocha set before you.

Thanksgiving- All the guys head to the T.V. room while the ladies clean up the kitchen. They turn on the game, and let the good times roll.
Coffee- Leave your empty cup for the barista to clean up, head to your car, start the engine, then weave in and out of traffic with your espresso-buzz to thank.

Thanksgiving- Males: Spend the night reminiscing, growing sleepy as the tryptophan kicks in, and eventually wishing everyone good night.
Females: Spend the night reminiscing, decide to stay up all night because you’ll be getting up at 3am for Black Friday anyways, and stop by your local coffee shop on the way to said shopping.
Coffee- Males: Drink their coffee either extremely black, or extremely sweet (no middle ground), crash due to caffeine overload regardless of what drink they chose, and eventually fall asleep on the couch later that night while watching their favorite episode of Friends.
Females: Stay up all night so they can go shopping at Black Friday. On their way they order their coffee skinny, 3 shots but half calf, an extra shot of syrup, extra hot, double cupped, and with two small black straws.

I hope everybody has a Happy Thanksgiving, and a great Black Friday!

The Coffee Guy

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Bringing the art of coffee to Idaho: Rembrandt’s

Eagle, Idaho,

I’m a local to Idaho. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve slept in the mountains, walked the streets, and made great memories. I’ve spent countless hours hanging out downtown, rafted the river multiple days in a row, and have grown up eating Delsa’s Ice Cream.

But somehow, in all this, I’ve missed Rembrandt’s Coffee House in Eagle.

I’m not sure exactly how this happened – I’m a guru for local gems! How could I have missed a place so integral to the heart of local coffee shops?

Rembrandt’s Coffee House is an extremely unique place. Chances are, if you’re a local to Idaho and are reading this blog, you’ve been there and you know what I mean.
Located in what used to be an old church building, Rembrandt’s is homey to the heart. Walking in, I found myself  confronted not with posters of BUY BUY BUY! but rather with a genuine warmth. The place is lit with the kind of lights that remind one of embers after a fire has died down. The walls are decorated with abstract and beautiful paintings. The place is drenched in history, I could feel it leaking out of the golden colored walls. Walking up to the cash register, I realized that although good coffee is a definite goal here, the real aim of Rembrandt’s is to inspire community among people. This was made even clearer when, after I was done ordering my coffee, I turned around to take a seat. The ‘sanctuary-turned-living-room’ is filled with couches, chairs, coffee tables; and plenty of each. The couches aren’t your run-of-the-mill crapperware either- they’re genuinely comfy cozy sofas! Rembrandt’s is quality from the door to the floor, that none can argue.

Standing in line to grab my coffee, I realized I knew the barista who would be making my coffee! I found this ironic; here I was trying to do an unbiased review of a local coffeehouse when someone I knew would be making the very coffee I would be reviewing. Yet, it seemed appropriate. If the goal of Rembrandt’s is truly to inspire community, how is this better demonstrated then by me knowing the person serving my drink? I found it comforting to know this place is for locals, by locals.

I got a Pumpkin Spice Breve – a favorite since the trees have turned colors and leaves have fallen. The 16oz double-shot brewwas served “for here” in a large ceramic coffee cup. This, again, added to the community, almost family, feel. On top of that, the coffee, which I had ordered “just a little dry,” had beautiful coffee art on the foam! I felt like I would be destroying an incredible painting just by drinking! And yet, I found the true art to be beneath the beautiful froth.

The coffee was truly good. Because I got a flavored drink, I can’t attest to the house blend, but all the same I enjoyed what I did have. The start was smooth and clean – nothing to distract the flavor. As the liquid moved its way to the middle of my mouth, just touching my palette, I found myself enjoying a curious taste- almost as if this was a mysterious fruit I hadn’t tasted before. I wouldn’t call it bad by any count, but it was different. The final decent of the coffee to the back of my mouth was again clean, with a sweet aftertaste similar to what you might find in an apple, or pear. The finish was a little weaker then the start, with a bit of an odd aftertaste. That being said, it did leave me wanting more, and that’s all that really matters in my book. I finished the cup, and really was satisfied with the product.

The truly remarkable thing about Rembrandt’s Coffee House is that the atmosphere yearns for community. Although undoubtedly a rare event, I’d hate to be there on an evening when the seats are empty and the air still. It’s the type of place I’d love to walk in to and order “the usual.”

People talking, working, thinking, reading, and pondering are really what makes Rembrandt’s Coffee house the type of place I will come back to.
And return I will, if only to savor the sweet environment- oh, and a cup of coffee.

But really, how in the world did I miss this for so long?

The Coffee Guy

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“Since 1927: Caffe Reggio”

New York, ,

This is a continuation from my trip to the East Coast. Check here and here for more.

Past all the bars, avoiding the busy New York traffic; all of a sudden there it was.
A friend had led me and my dad to this spot saying that it was a great meeting place. Seeing so many bars on the route didn’t set well with me, but as soon as I saw this place I knew he was right.

Caffe Reggio boasts being around since the ’20’s. Not a bad thing to boast considering most “old” coffee places you’ll find were started in the mid ’70’s. Their awning sign, however, boasted that they serve the “Original Cappuccino.” We’ll have to see about that.

Walking inside, a rustic sight met my eyes. The small building had room for about 20 comfortable people, but was cramming about double that into the sardine-like seating. The awesome thing was that nearly every seat was taken! I noted this before grabbing a seat myself. Unlike the hip, Mac-loving crowd I had seen at Think Coffee, Caffe Reggio was filled with older men and women. The type of people that were there to enjoy a night stroll and a good book. Many had friends with them and were chatting so that the room was filled with a dull roar.
Looking at the menu, a beautiful list of espresso drinks smiled back at me:

That’s right folks, this place is legit. No “kahuna kapow mochas” or “double chocolate artery clogger breves” to be found here. Only straight up, Italian style espresso.
And yet, as promising as the menu looked, I still had to do a review. So, I ordered a hazelnut cappuccino from the barista and sat back to fully admire my surroundings.

The building truly was old- probably hadn’t changed much since the ’20’s. The wallpaper was scratched and faded in most areas. Paintings lined the walls all with Italian feels to them. The chairs were wooden, and the lights had a reddish tint to them. If I ever lived in New York, this would be the place I would come to kick back and do some intellectual thinking or have a stimulating conversation. It had an atmosphere of old brilliance.

My coffee came, and the first thing I noticed was the thick layer of milk foam on the top. And I mean THICK. This baby was fluffy like a cloud, and took up about the top 1/3 of the drink. That’s what I call a cappuccino. After doing some dry slurping, I finally reached the coffee. I expected some kind of raw taste with a hint of hazelnut, but that’s not at all what I actually got. My drink was sweet. Like, really sweet. Like, Dutch Bros. sweet. I was rather surprised, and it took me a second to actually process what I was drinking. After a few more drinks, the initial shock wore off and I was able to judge the coffee. It was smooth and crisp with a note of fruitiness about it. Almost definitely Arabica beans. Asking the barista slipped my mind as I got lost in the conversation with those I was with. Here’s what I do recall from the experience however:

The coffee reminded me of a cherry tree: a rough middle with plenty of sweetness to go around. The coffee wasn’t slap-in-the-face hard stuff, but it had a definite kick to it. I was getting jittery sitting down after about half of my drink. The foam provided a nice solid base to go back to, and I was glad I had gone with the cappuccino because of this. Regardless of the quality of their coffee, whoever had made this drink definitely knew how to handle milk. The espresso really wasn’t anything to write home about, but the style of the drink did make it all worth it.

For any New Yorker’s out there, or for those who are planning on traveling there in the future:
Visit Caffe Reggio. This place is dripping with history. You won’t regret meeting the baristas and taking a look around. If you’ve got friends and something to chat about, this is definitely the place to go.

So, great coffee? Nah. Great cappuccino? Yes. Great conversation? Definitely.

The Coffee Guy

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