Coffee Fest Pt. 1, Refuge in Rain, and Bagels
Welcome to the newsletter!
On this week’s newsletter, we’ve got a bunch of haphazardly-taken photos of a very overpriced Coffee Fest.
A quick review: a very inefficient way to waste $90.
To have the opportunity to be able to meet companies and have the opportunity to buy from them. It’s like buying a ticket to be able to buy tickets. I even got a few dirty looks for carrying around a few-too-many sample cups.
For the few shops which were cool, approachable, and interesting, I offered spotlights here (for free). They get positive exposure, and you’ve saved $90.
Unless you were there, too, in which case, I’m sorry.
Hey, to feel better, why don’t you follow me across various social media platforms? I think it’s a great idea!
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This week’s coffee shop spotlight!
Fellini Coffee in NoHo
(Why does such an touristy neighborhood get such good coffee shops?)
Keep hanging in there, Brooklyn, you’re our last bastion against NoHo and their nigh-impending Ceravé X Crocs pop-ups.
Fellini Coffee is a jam-packed tiny place that manages to have a wine bar and a coffee shop—very Italian.
We took some bagels from the nearby (and wonderful) Pop-up Bagels and were allowed in, until they found out we had everything bagels with poppyseeds a’flyin’. Regardless, they let us stay in their beautiful tiny shop.
The coffee is very Italian, so don’t expect any light roasts, and the pastries are quaintly packed in an open wooden cupboard better suited as a bookshelf.
All in all, I’d highly recommend it—especially as refuge in rain.
What’s new, Jude?
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting @coffee_klatsch at WatchHouse! Coffee Klatsch is a social media profile that reports on new cafés and has near-weekly invites to events. Follow their story for updates, and check their website here: https://coffeeklats.ch. I pulled some of the articles from the site for some new openings.
Züri Coffee’s new UWS location, 3/8
Lucienne Coffee takeover today, 3/9 at Villager in Crown Heights
Modcup takeover at Drip Coffee in SoHo
OH MERCY in Greenpoint… soon…
Kinhfolk, before they finish their shop, are doing a pop-up at Bed Stuy’s Dear Friend Books.
(thanks, coffee klatsch!)
Kofee NYC, Brooklyn (They tagged me on instagram for their soft opening, 3/8 in downtown Brooklyn. Looks like a straightforward menu; why not give them a shot?)
Break time!
I just wanted to let you know that you don’t need to read this section.
Oops, too late.
And now…
Coffee news!
We’ve got a lot here, especially from Coffee Fest, but first, we need to talk about this abject abomination:
Sticking a hat on a guy and measuring his coffee reaction via electricity.
We’ve come a long way (from logic) with technology; this measures electricity on the head’s surface, which match to brainwaves/responses when drinking coffee (they measure heart, brain, and nervous system reactions at the head). The researchers say they have significant correlation between taste & reaction, which is the basically just saying “We noticed brain activity when people taste coffee”. Hooray!
They believe they can (1) reduce bias and (2) help consumers pick coffees they like more. SCIENCE TIME! Reducing bias this way is impossible; it doesn’t control for taste buds, previous foods eaten that day, smells, etc. For (2), if consumers need help learning they like what they like, I can’t help them and neither can this.
Moving on…
Automatic Siphon Brewer
Tiger, the second biggest brand for rice cookers (sic), has developed an automatic siphon brewer. I’m really excited for this, as new brewing methods customers might not have had before can be offered. Here’s a video:
Grind+Brew Matcha
We’ve had coffee machines that grind on the spot, but now we’ve got that for matcha, too! It’s a lot trickier to grind good matcha, as traditional processes use a stone mill (skip to 9:53 in this video for a look). I took a picture of the mechanism they use, it’s pretty neat. If you’re a business with a coffee machine and a lot of tea drinkers, consider a matcha machine! Why not?
Straws & Cups
Sustainability!
SOFi is a sustainable cup & straw company that impressed me at the Coffee Fest. Paper foldable cups aren’t a new thing, but their cups and their straws don’t come with a plastic coating inside. And the straws are great; I put a straw [after use] in my dishwasher and it came out usable [albeit wobbly]. I also like how they have boba tea straws, and a very deceptive little cup holder.
Food Delivery Robot
Definitely not the first of its kind, but great at maneuvering in crowds. I think healthcare would be a great fit, but for now, progress heralds little beeps.
That’s all I got today!
The Recipe Section
No syrup+coffee recipe this time. I’m currently in Chicago, relishing some New York Bagels™ with a friend who’s been tragically deprived for too long.
So, for today’s ‘recipe’:
downing a whole bagel before you finish your coffee
While this is definitely a joke, there’s something to be said about transitory dining in the city, letting the pigeons snap up the flighty crumbs as you steam-walk to…well, your next coffee, probably.
How to make:
Order a bagel first
Order a coffee second
Enjoy the first sip of the coffee, then place it down. Prepare your bagel for one hand eating, and finish checking your phone—let this moment be the five minutes of solitude you get today.
I’m leading to a quote from one of my favorite books, hopefully giving you some insight into this recipe’s real importance [not as a joke]:
Sink into
your comfortable armchair ; put your feet on a chair.
[he means “walk aggressively fast”]
Light a cigarette [he means a bagel]…Send a puff of smoke slowly up to the ceiling.
Sniff up the perfume of your coffee.
Close your eyes.
Dream of the second puff [bite], of the second sip. You are fortunate.
From Edouard de Pomiane, in Cooking in ten minutes [page 30].
My point is, a coffee always comes with a phone in the other hand. A pastry always snuck in with the coffee; “just a bite”, “saved for later”—never a priority.
A bagel and a coffee is your entire self given to five minutes, bite by bite.
Thanks for tuning in!
Enjoy your coffee!