It is always hard to find a satisfying cup of espresso macchiato in mid-sized towns in the USA. Sometimes one can find small gems like Cafe 116 in Fergus Falls, MN, but usually one gets stuck with big chain cafes or local stores that serve not-so-desirable shots.

I have been living in Tallahassee for about 6 months now, and I almost became serious about opening a cafe myself. This is a college town with a big student/ faculty population, and there is not one good cafe that’s open past 10pm. (Plus there is a perfect location empty right across the street from the music school.) There are 2 cafes that are charming and popular enough, good for occasional visits and spending time with friends (Black Dog Cafe near Lake Ella and Killer Coffee near the New Leaf market). But still, there was no place that served espresso with good body, chocolate color, and golden crema. Or a cafe that would serve pour over. Or even freshly roasted beans. Nothing to provide the “great college town cafe feel” such as Gimme! Coffee in Ithaca or Tunnel City Cafe in Williamstown.

But! The wait is over (and so is my wish to open a coffee shop in Tallahassee) – a man with an ambition and a clear vision opened “Atomic Coffee” on Tennessee as of January 27, 2012. I made my first visit on February 1.

First of all, the equipment. My husband went to check this place out on January 31 as it’s close to his school. He texted me right away saying “hey they have La Marzocco” This is the machine. If you see this or Synesso in any cafe, you can see some seriousness. This is not a cheap machine. This also requires certain skills to use well, as I hear from my barista friends. It’s just a very serious investment. Robert told me that he trained with Counter Culture/ Intelligentsia in Atlanta, and they wouldn’t let someone to open a cafe using their beans unless the cafe is equipped with quality materials.

Atomic La Marzocco

They also have Hario pour over system, which is my (and my husband’s) favorite method for brewing coffee.

Hario stand at Atomic, Tallahassee

And the beans – I was so happy to see bags of Counter Culture beans (mostly single origins) and the red bag of Intelligentsia’s Black Cat!

I ordered Kenya Karatu pour over (12oz) and espresso macchiato. Robert (the owner) used a timer for exact extraction time, and this cup was really yummy. I shared it with a friend visiting from Brazil, and he was very pleased with the quality as well. (he said “even without sugar, I can feel a bit of caramel”

And the macchiato – I just ordered “as is”, not adding a shot.

Macchiato at Atomic, Tallahassee

Ah. The earthy and edgy flavor of the Black Cat. ! I have missed it so much.

Menu and atmosphere: The countertop near coffee station is granite, they use good quality ceramic cups for the “for here” orders. There is not much decoration going on, but a very clean feel to the whole place.

They also have a few selections of sandwich items and baked goods, which they make by hands in their kitchen. Everything is priced reasonably, and I am sure I will try them out soon. There’s a good selection of refrigerator items such as coconut water, smoothies, etc., and even breakfast items.

The service: It was a bit slow when I visited, and a lot of people were waiting for their orders to come out. On my second visit, it took me 13 minutes to get a cup of cappuccino. I think it is mostly the first-week issue. I do hope this will improve. Maybe it’d help if they had 2 baristas working – one for espresso drinks, one for other drinks.

From next week they plan to sell some beans from Intelligentsia and Counter Culture as well. I regularly order my espresso beans from Counter Culture, but I am really excited to get some Black Cat beans through the Atomic Coffee. (Shipping cost from Intelligentsia’s website doesn’t work for an individual consumer.)

Location: 625 West Tennessee Street/ Phone: 850-727-8744

Open: Monday through Friday, 6am till Midnight (might expand during final weeks)/ Saturday and Sunday 8am till Midnight

Caution: Parking is tricky. Students and faculty memebers of FSU can park in the garage and walk here, but I don’t honestly know how non-school population can visit this place.

Update: As of mid-April 2012, this place is still packed. It always seems that half of the campus comes here to hang out, talk, write paper, eat, and drink coffee. I still like their coffee and sandwiches (try the French toastie or smashed and dashed), but there is almost always a long line. (And some of the people who work here are not the most efficient..) However things move faster than when they just opened, and the quality is still good. If you don’t mind waiting or young& loud crowd, this is still the best place for good coffee and some light lunch in town.

I also tried out the All Saints Coffeeshop that a lot of people seem to like. Their espresso was surprisingly good – not the same kind as Counter Culture or Intelligentsia, but with a bit lighter body and more “impact” on the first sip. I really liked it. But! The place itself was a little too “in their own world” for me. (And a bit smelly, too.) Probably a good hang-out place, for a slightly different crowd..

Update as of January 2013: Still the best in Tallahassee. I like their espresso macchiato, and some of the muffins (pistachio) and sandwiches (waffler/ hangover helper). It gets so crowded with college students during the school year; service can be slow; it’s usually loud, but still their espresso beats all the other cafes in Tally. Here’s a better photo of their drinks. Enjoy!

If you want to see a lot of good lo0king young people hanging out, or taste the “it” food for those young people, or hear Korean indie rock bands performing, you need to visit the Hongik University area (aka Hongdae). I have a soft spot in my heart for this area, but it is so far away from where my parents live or anywhere that I visit regularly that I rarely have a chance to go there whenever I am in Seoul.  But this summer I had a mission – visiting the rising star cafe of this area, Chan’s Espresso.

Their machines are very fancy and justly famous among Korean bloggers – Synesso and La Marzzoco espresso machines, the Clover coffee machine, Mazzer grinders, Everpure water filtration system, and even the orange Smeg refrigerator. Instead of roasting their own beans, Chan’s imports beans from the famed Tim Wendleboe of Oslo and Intelligenstia of Chicago. Unfortunately, that means that the beans will never be completely fresh due to the shipping time from Norway and USA to Korea. However, I think it works better than roasting poor quality beans, which happens often in a lot of new roastery-cafes in Korea. Also they don’t do the latest Korean cafe fad of cakes, sandwiches, or waffles – only coffee. I like that.

Let’s get straight to the point: I was highly impressed with the Tim Wendleboe double shot cappuccino! It was a totally new experience for me to enjoy espresso so deep and layered with so much complexity. It also looked much thicker than the regular espresso shot, and had an almost terra cotta-like color. I usually prefer espresso on the sweet side and not too acidic, but this Tim Wendleboe cappuccino had a really pleasant acidity that I enjoyed very much. Also it had a deep sweetness as well as really great body-feel to it. I wish I had been able to compare the Tim Wendelboe espresso to a shot of Intelligentsia, but by then I had already consumed too much coffee and could not handle any more! Oh well – such was my luck.

My husband ordered Tim Wendelbo’s Kenya brewed by Clover. That was not as good as the cappuccino. It was too muddy, had too much sour flavor, and just not good.  It might also have been the Clover machine, which I find myself liking less and less…

Anyways. Chan’s cafe is cultivating a very serious fan base already, which doesn’t surprise me at all given the quality of their coffee. It’s a place that I will definitely go back next time I am in Seoul.

Location: Seogyo-Dong, Mapo-gu, 409-10 (“Parking lot street”, aka “Joochajang georit”)

To find your way: Take subway #6. Get off at the Sangsoo station. Exit #1. Turn back and go toward “Geukdong Electronics” and look for a restaurant called “Yogi” and 7-11 convenience store. Take the small road between those two and walk toward “Donkatsu cham jalhanun-jib” and you will see Chan’s on your right. (It’s a labyrinth kind of area with many little cafes and restaurants, and Chan’s has a big, black steel door and a big glass window at the front.)

Price: Espresso for 5500 won (about $4.8)/ Macchiato, Cortado, Americano for 6000 won/ Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha for 6500 won

Last year I stumbled upon the “Belle” espresso by a micro-roastery in California while browsing the internet. There was a “coffee guru” guy (Kenneth Davids) and his website called “coffeereview.com” and the Belle espresso beans from the Klatch Coffee in CA got the highest ever score (94 points) by him. Davids described the bean as ”

So I ordered just to see how good it was and it turned out to be the best choice for my Ascaso machine. Ever since I bought that machine in 2006, I have used many different kinds of beans – Intelligentsia’s Black Cat, Barrington Coffee Roasting company’s Gold espresso, Peet’s, Gimme! Coffee’s Leftist, Counter Culture’s Toscano and Rustico, Batdorf & Goodman’s, etc. So far the Toscano from Counter Culture was my favorite, but this one provided a bit more depth and body than the Toscano. (Also the price and the shipping method used to be nicer.) It really tastes like chocolate and brandy, with really sweet smell of caramel.

The package used to look like the picture on the right side – now they have changed the packaging and their website outlook. Sure, the bag looks more modernized, and the website has a lot of useful information and cool facts about the company. The sad thing is that the price changed (upward), too. The Belle used to cost $12.95 for 1lb (about 450g), but now 12oz (350g) costs $11.95, which is similar to the Counter Culture Coffee’s pricing. Klatch still ships via USPS, and it’s much better than the usual UPS ground shipping.

Next beans to try are – Stumptown Hair Bender and Terroir.

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.