February 11th, 2009
I love Waffles
This is from my trip to 21st. street espresso, in Pittsburgh PA. It was a really great shop, I had a good time there. Luke, the owner, was super nice, and had serious, well trained baristas. When I saw this sign, I knew this was my kind of place. If I own a coffee shop, I want it to be basically espresso, with waffles on the side. No sandwiches, probably no soup, no 20 ounce latte. Espresso, perhaps some coffee, and waffles. This would be a good time to talk about what kind of shop I’d like to run, as I would love to run my own shop. I would either want to roast my own, or get the best espresso I possibly could. I want a Synesso, 3 or 4 groups please. I don’t know what kind of grinders I want, but these change often enough that I don’t need to worry about that yet. Capps are capps, no mountain of foam, just a solid wet capp. Espresso will be pulled just under 2 ounces, Synesso 18 gram basket, probably not overdosed too much. No soda, juice perhaps. Tea is a challange. I’ll probably serve tea of some kind, but perhaps not of the calibre of the coffee I wish to serve. I don’t want a huge space, but I want there to be room for seating. At least a dozen seats, comfy ones I hope. Decor would be simple, not over the top. I don’t want this place to be a hipster hangout, I want a coffee shop. When you walk in, you should know that you’re in a shop that is fairly simple, and one that pulls really good shots. I want things fairly transparent, I don’t want you to have to wonder what we’re about. Its about the coffee. Not just my hands in the coffee, but all the hands that have touched it.
Question: What kinds of things do you honestly look for when you walk into a coffee shop? What attracts you to them? What would you want to see in a good coffee shop? Please comment 
