It has been quite a long time since I have posted. My day job has basically made it impossible for me to do or think about anything else...and not in a good way. I have some huge updates to post too.
One thing that I have not stopped doing (despite the abyss of my cubicle) is drinking coffee. One of the shops I visited was Elevate Coffee (elevatecoffee.com).
Elevate Coffee is a place I have been wanting to visit for quite a while, it is just in an area that I don't visit often. The complex was doing an event, so we finally justified driving over so I capitalized on the opportunity.
My first impression of the shop was, "YES!." They do so many things they way that I want to do tings. For example, they have stools in front of the roaster. Roasting should be a show and time for customers who want to learn about your coffee to speak with the expert. They have stools around the bar, which could be done better. The idea is right, but they have so much stuff stacked on the bar that customers wouldn't really be able to engage the barista. My absolute favorite part is that they have a meeting room in the cafe. If you wanted, you could actually rent a spot in the cafe. There are big glass sliding doors that can be closed. I absolutely love this idea.
Now for the coffee...
As I waited in line, I tried to get a good look at everything I could. One feature that stood out to me was a cold brew cooler with bottles of cold brew in it. I really like this idea, because cold brew gives small shops the ability to produce a "grab and go" beverage without all the extra cost of fancy canning or bottling.
The next thing I noticed was that they use Fetco brewers. I'm sure its just a label thing, but I really do think Fetco brews better. It also tells me that they take their coffee serious enough to purchase higher end brewers.
I ordered a Nitro for my wife. They only offer it in light blend and a dark roast, which I thought was interesting. I like that they had options, but it also felt very vague. I went with the light roast. I wanted to take it to go, but they only serve Nitro in a frosty 10oz mug...so we had to stay there and drink it. My wife said it was really good. I thought it was good, but lacked a distinguishable character. I know that's harder to accomplish in cold brew, but I need to have something stand out, be different than every other coffee.
I ordered the house blend. They do single origin, but only had blends brewed when I was there. It was very quiet on the aroma front. It was balanced with a nice acidity to it. One of the better blends I've had.
Overall, I strongly recommend this coffee shop. AZ doesn't have a lot of cool coffee shops, but this Elevate is proof that we are on our way.
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