It’s genius- a cafe called “Gimme! Coffee.”

Located in Ithaca (2 in Ithaca and now in a few other places, including NYC), Gimme! Coffee is one of those small, a bit snotty, and yet very charming independent coffee shops. Their Baristas know what they are doing, are friendly and cool, and they make perfect espresso macchiato with a dollop of heart-shaped milk foam, smooth latte with leafy-decoration and spectacular espresso.

I visited Gimme! Coffee on N. Cayuga St. in the spring of 2006, and I knew I would come back to Ithaca because I always go back to a place where there is a great cafe that I fall in love with. (Williamstown, Lenox, Atlanta to name a few.) Gimme! Coffee was using one of the La Marzzoco machines in 2006. This year they were using a machine named Mirage - a very sturdy, shiny machine that makes very thick, caramel-like, syrupy espresso. (The barista told me that Mirage is made by hand in Denmark.)

The Cayuga St. location has a very narrow space, small tables, and is always packed with Cornell students. It’s not fancy looking but it’s warm and cozy. Highly recommended for anybody need good coffee and decent (not as good as their coffee, but still good enough) baked goods.

* Their espresso blend, “Leftist,” is not my favorite choice for home espresso making (at least with my machine), but it tastes great in their own store.

Octane Coffee Bar and Lounge, Atlanta, GA

Recently I visited Montgomery, AL, to attend a music festival (See www.clefworks.org). Since I had a few extra days after the festival, I took a day trip to Atlanta to visit a few coffee shops in the city. My dear friend Deborah, who is one of the sweetest people I know but directionally challanged almost to the same level as I am, kindly agreed to drive with me. (Her husband Charles got worried and spent considerable amount of time teaching her how to use the GPS machine…)

I did some research through http://www.indiecoffeeshops.com/ and reviews on google and yahoo. After a few days of web-browsing, I came up with a list of 3 coffee shops: Octane Coffee Bar and Lounge, Joe’s East Atlanta Coffee Shop, and Aurora Cafe. (Java Monkey and Dancing Goat looked great but they were more like a smaller “chain” not an independent coffee shop. However the beans from Dancing Goat turned out to be really great, so I am sure I will visit that cafe next time I am in Atlanta.) 

With the GPS shouting out loud, we had almost no problem finding the lovely store, tucked in betwen Jefferson Street and Marietta Street.  (The store is right on the corner, so it’s easy to miss.) As soon as we entered the store, we knew it was going to be good - it was a large space with nice and relaxed atmosphere, high ceiling, and a lot of customers, and a La Marzocco machine!

We ordered a small latte and a double espresso macchiato along with some yogurt+granola and hummus snack plate. At Octane, they call the prepared coffee and the customers go to pick them up. I think this system works better because the time that coffee sits around, making the espresso go rancid, is shorter. Both drinks were prepared with such care and high quality - caramel colored espresso with pleasant aroma, deep and balanced flavor, and golden crema topped with beautiful foam and some art.

Before my visit I contacted them via email, and only the manager from Octane replied. He was not there when I arrived but one of the baristas was happy to help. (Thanks again, John!)

From John Deborah and I learned why La Marzocco machine is good - I always knew I liked espresso coming out of that machine, but did not exactly know why. John told us that it’s because of the separate boiler system that allows the supreme consistency and controll over steaming and extracting. We also learned that they use coffee beans from the Counter Culture - famous roastery in North Carolina. John explained that the baristas are trained with 3 steps - consistency (focusing on the consistency of dosing, extracting, and foaming), 100 Q and A test, and then a mock barista competition! Also they have a latte-art competition that’s purely for the visual pleasure and fun. 

Their granola was a bit too cinammon-y for my taste, and hummus was on the salty side, but for a cafe-food they were good enough. Their main focus is coffee, and they do have one of the best coffees I have tasted.

It is always nice to see people who really care about what they do and who are proud of their work. I will continue my journey to meet more people like the ones at Octane! (more information on this shop at www.octanecoffee.com)  

* I changed my plan and went to the “Tilt” coffee room as John recommended. Tilt was a beautiful looking cafe, but the drinks (latte and macchiato) tasted too bitter. I think I am just not a big fan of Intelligentsia beans.. Joe’s East Atlanta Coffee Shop was very much like the Soma cafe in Bloomington, IN - a bit smelly, not-organized, but comfortable. Their espresso drinks were too mild and lacked the intensity and flavor. Joe’s cafe is one of the oldest independent cafes in Atlanta, and it seems to be still very popular.

Lenox Coffee in Lenox, MA

I love drinking espresso and espresso macchiato. It all started when a guitarist from Argentina at Indiana University told me that he considered dripped coffee as “polluted water.” I tried what he was drinking and loved it instantly. Since then I have been very interested in independent cafes that take pride in making great espresso. Interestingly I always found one or two great coffee shops whenever I was in a music festival or music residency! The first one was in Sarasota, but I will start from the one near Tanglewood as it is one of my favorite places in the world.
I was an instrumental piano fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2004. At TMC fellows get free meals but the meals are cafeteria-style..hence no good coffee. I was craving espresso so much and one morning I decided to explore the small downtown in Lenox, which is in between Tanglewood campus and the dormitory fellows stay. I asked someone randomly, and the person directed me to the “one and only” cafe there. There it was - Lenox Coffee. It was a very small, warm, crowded place with one person writing down orders on a small post-it/ one person making the drinks/ one person handing out the drinks and cleaning up the tables. That’s where I learned about the La Marzcco machine and leaf-art on a cup of latte. Boston Symphony’s driver (I think he drove the conductors), who is an Italian, would come to drink their espresso and say “Bravissimo!.” The service was slow and the guys who worked there were not too friendly but they knew how to make really good coffee. I never cared for milk-based espresso drinks until I ordered a small cappuccino with double shots there - until this moment I cannot forget that wonderfully aromatic cup of cappuccino, with perfect foam, in a brown cup! I went back in 2005 and they were still busy and great.

This year, 2007, I had a house concert in Berkshire at the home of Claudia and Carl Shuster’s. I met them in 2005 during one of the rehearsals for Ligeti Horn Trio. They were so supportive and friendly, and we have kept in touch since then. They host a house concert all year long at their beautiful house in Stockbridge, and this October I was invited to perform. The first thing I did when I arrived from Hartford airport was to visit Lenox Coffee. And…sadly it had changed. The place smelled a bit funny, probably due to careless cleaning, and their machine was Synesso. The person who made my small-double-cappuccino said he preferred it to La Marzocco, but the cappuccino was not as good as I remembered. Still good, but not as good. But still I would visit just for the fond memories I have from 2004 and 2005. That place made me happy and smile.