Special thanks to DCILY for bringing this video to my attention.
3FE (3rd Floor Espresso) is a Dublin-based coffee company founded by Colin Harmon. His story, featured in the video below, is as wild as it is wonderful and it shows how passion and fulfillment beat money every time. Colin’s enthusiasm is palpable and illustrates how the complete coffee process is equal parts art and science. Check it out.
The Coffee Guy
Lola coffee, located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, was recommended to me by a local friend. He said that Lola “is where you go if you want a great cup of coffee.” That prospect was good enough for me, and I set out with a few family members in tow. Located on the corner of Roosevelt and 3rd Ave, Lola isn’t especially large. It does, however, have a patio area for sitting outside when the Phoenix heat is tolerable.
A few things immediately struck me when I walked inside: the people who run Lola clearly have an eye for design. The small-ish area for sitting is maximized with bars along the back wall and front window. A few leather chairs and a couch decorate the interior, and three large, wooden tables great for using a laptop or (as one couple was doing) completing a crossword puzzle. The back wall is decorated with a massive, somewhat abstract, oil painting on four large canvases. A large glass case stands in front of the espresso machine, filled with baked goods and topped by jars of homemade cookies and croissants. On the front wall hangs an old wooden door with a glass panel – black marker spells out the relatively simple, no-frills coffee menu. Beside the door a metal sheet with “Lola” cut out hangs.
Lola’s menu is comprised of espresso drinks and automatic drip coffee. No manual drip methods are available, but what Lola does do, they do well. I chose a normal latte, which they served in a ceramic mug with simple coffee art on top. My dad ordered a hot chocolate (I didn’t inherit my love of coffee from him) and they asked if he wanted whip cream. My dad said yes, and instead of pulling out a pressurized can of store-bought whip cream, the baristas used their own, homemade, brown sugar whip. I tried some of my dad’s, and it far exceeded my expectations.
The espresso was great, and it’s no wonder considering Lola roasts all their own coffee. I enjoyed my latte immensely – it was creamy and smooth from the well frothed milk, and left a bright finish from the lightly acidic espresso. Along with coffee, my family purchased a “Sal De mar” chocolate chip cookie, sprinkled with Maldon sea salt. The cookie was delicious and went perfectly with our respective cups of coffee.
The baristas at Lola were cheery and helpful, speedily pulling our shots and smiling the whole way through. I could tell they enjoy working there, and their happiness was well represented in our mugs.
Phoenix isn’t exactly known for its coffee scene, but places like Lola make me re-think my preconceived notions about where a great cup can come from. Lola and smaller coffee shops like it are living reminders that you don’t need to be from Seattle, New York, or San Francisco to make great coffee. Dedicated employees, a passion for design, attention to detail about the small things, and a cheerful attitude go a long way in pushing forward quality coffee all around the world.
Next time you’re in Phoenix, don’t hesitate to stop by Lola Coffee. You won’t regret it.
The Coffee Guy
Links:
Lola’s website
Facebook
The Boise Weekly recently posted a great article about pour-over coffee in the Boise area. I’d like to throw in a few thoughts for consideration and thank them for promoting the local coffee scene.
When I started this blog in 2009, I was a high school student with very little experience in coffee. I worked at a local Boise drive-thru coffee shop during my sophomore and junior years of high school, and I trecked around Boise checking out what local coffee had to offer. In those not-so-long-ago days there were two primary methods of brewing coffee in Boise: espresso and drip. My first foray into new coffee territory was when I purchased my Aeropress as a college freshman in 2011. The Aeropress is a unique brewer because it’s not quite pour-over, but it definitely is not espresso and brews a better cup than standard drip machines. I began researching new methods of brewing coffee, and this led me to experimenting with pour-over coffee in 2012, starting with the Clever immersion/pour-over combo device, and eventually the Hario v60.
In my opinion, nothing is quite like coffee brewed using a pour-over technique. Making a great cup of pour-over coffee requires dedication and persistence. The method matters: everything from the type of kettle you use to the style of pour, the length of pour, the temperature of the brewing device and the cup, and especially the grind of the beans. That’s why I’m always thankful when coffee shops with expert baristas offer pour-over coffee. I know that they know what they’re doing, and it’s always impressive to see their experienced hands at work. I’ve had great cups everywhere from Seattle to New York.
But, strangely, my growth into appreciating pour-over coffee has not been matched in Boise. The coffee community is largely stuck in the same place they were when I left town for college: espresso and drip. According to the Boise Weekly article, this may be changing.
The District Coffee House and Neckar Coffee now offer coffee brewed using the pour-over method. The article does a great job of outlining their process and why they believe that pour-over offers something completely absent in the Boise coffee community so far. My hope is that other coffee houses like Dawson’s Downtown and the Flying M will follow this same path – their locally roasted coffee would taste wonderful coming out of a Chemex or a v60.
My call is that the scene is beginning to change and soon pour-over coffee will be in every coffee shop and cafe in the Boise area. This will do wonders for pushing locally-roasted coffee back to the front and will ultimately benefit the community as a whole. The more people experience this unique and delicious style of brewing, the less they will desire to purchase from large chains like Starbucks, Dutch Bros, and Thomas Hammer. And while the huge chains do the service of selling comfortable coffee that meets expectations, when people taste great coffee that blows expectations out of the water they will never want to go back.
Dawson’s Downtown has a bumper sticker in the back of their store behind the counter that says “friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks.” My hope is that the Boise coffee scene will pursue pour-over coffee to give people one less reason to spend their money on bad coffee.
The Coffee Guy
Links:
Boise Weekly Article
The District Coffee House
Neckar Coffee Company
