I’m going to sum up my 6th Ave Coffee District posts with this: Valhalla rules. I love their passion, I love their consistency, I love their latte art, I love everything about them.
I was down there this weekend and picked up a pound of decaf beans, and it is just so good.
So go visit Valhalla – they really are the best. If you go, forget what you usually order at other stores and get an espresso macchiato.
How many Probats can we put on 6th Ave.? As many as it takes, apparently.
If you are not enthusiastic about Bluebeard Coffee Roasters, you will be. Judging by the satisfied patrons I’ve seen in the store and from the coffee I’ve sampled there, I predict that we’ve finally found a worthy and permanent tenant for the space on 6th Ave at State Street next to Jason Lee where so many small businesses have gone before.
Their passion is evident in their product. I’ve sampled their coffee 3 times, and I’m hooked. I’ll be heading over there to buy a pound of coffee today. It will be the third day in 3 that I’ve darkened their doorstep.
<sigh>…I love coffee.
I’m sitting in Metronome Coffee at 6th and Union in Tacoma. The first espresso doppio macchiato was not very good. But I went back and the other barista made the 2nd. I’m very glad I did – it is a sharp contrast to the first. It could be hotter and there was no attempt at art; but man, the flavor is excellent.
I was offered a choice of beans for the shots, so I asked for a different bean the 2nd time. He said the first had been the “savory” bean, and the 2nd would be one of the others. I don’t think the different bean could account for the quality; I think the first cup was pulled too quickly and should have been discarded by the barista. That’s why I had another; everyone has off shots, and if you’re making several orders at once (which she was), there’s a chance you will miss something that should not be served.
The fellow at the register was very nice and made conversation, and the experience overall was very pleasant.
I went for a little visit to what I’m going to call the 6th Avenue Coffee District today.
First stop: Satellite. Have you been there? Their macchiato is truly awesome. I was parked in the liquor store only parking, so I had to slurp and leave.
Next stop, the other end of the coffee district: Valhalla. I had to pick up some beans, so what the hey, I had another macchiato.
So I am here tonight confessing that my previous exaggerated post about 2nd best cup of coffee…hogwash compared to the perfection I tasted today. Recalling from a distance of several hours, I would say there wasn’t much difference between the two – they were both rich and aromatic and nutty and really amazing. But I remember thinking, immediately after having the Valhalla cup, that the Satellite cup was better. Maybe it was just that the barista bothered to provide art on top; Valhalla’s new person – who had a broken arm – didn’t. There was quite a crowd, though and she probably didn’t have time. Speaking of which, I try and try, and the best I get is funny little shapes. I had one recently that looked like a forest creature drawing. See above – I keep thinking beaver, but as I look at it, it’s something like a squirrel, right?
It makes me think how often we are so pleased with our own success that we speak in extremes to describe them. Yeah, my shots are more than acceptable to me, and my family appreciates how good they are. But they are what they are – little candles next to the big lighthouses, where beacons of light show the way through the morning fog.
I want an espresso stand. 