Caffeine Crawl

Yesterday’s Caffeine Crawl in Boulder turned out to be an informative and fun event as we popped in several artisan shops on Pearl street. The crawl which was organized by the Lab and runs in a few cities was designed to give participants an up close and personal look at coffee shops, roasters and artisan chocolate shops with a focus on caffeine. When we arrived we were split up into groups and started the walk to our first destination. The first stop for our group was the Laughing Goat coffee house which served up Americanos using freshly roasted coffee by Kaladi Coffee Roasters. A great first teaser of what’s to come today, glad I didn’t have that first wake up cup at home. Although the coffee was good here, we thought there could have been more explanation or talk about the actual coffee experience and what we were drinking. The ambience and décor was relaxing and easily creates a chill environment ideal for sipping good coffee and taking it all in.

Our next stop was at The Cup which is another coffee shop that proudly serves Fair Trade Organic coffee from Conscious coffee roasters. Here we sampled cold brewed coffee from the Kyoto setup. This fancy aparatus can take up to 12 hours to brew, but well worth the wait. It was served up in an espresso cup with ice and paired with fresh baked goods. So good! The owner also talked quite a bit about Fair Trade, farmers, the overall process from crop to cup and the importance of good brewing techniques. A nice patio area greeted by a large garage door opened up the place and made it feel bright and airy with a good flow. The back of the shop seemed to offer a more intimate seating area for studying or reading while enjoying some socially responsible coffee.

Third stop on the crawl was sponsored by Box Car roasters which roast their own coffee in small batches on a vintage Ideal Rapid roaster. Here we enjoyed fresh coffee that was cold brewed and served from a growler. The ambience was a cool industrial feel with brick walls that made it feel warm. Towards the back was an area where you could sample artisan cheese so we took advantage of the Swiss offerings and was blown away by the knowledge of the staff. Overall this was a great tour because we really got a good feel for what these guys do and the importance of freshness.

Fourth stop was Ozo coffee roasters which also roast their own coffee right down the road. Their shop on Pearl street was a little on the darker side but we were greeted by a happy and eager staff which seemed to brighten up the place. Here we sampled a nice Guatemalan via a pour over, French press and Chemex which left the palate satisfied. It’s always interesting to see how the same coffee can be brewed with different apparatuses and produce unique cups. Good coffee with friendly knowledgeable staff made this a great stop.

Last stop was Piece Love and Chocolate which turned out to be such an amazing experience. The owner was onboard enlightening us about the fascinating process of how chocolate is made. As we sampled a sipping chocolate she explained how cocoa is grown and processed at the farm level and then exported to chefs like her. She makes all her own chocolate from scratch and has many unique flavors to fancy any chocolate lover. A must stop if in the area.

The after crawl party was co-hosted by Boca Java and Boulder Organic coffee at Foolish Craig’s. Although a tad over caffeinated at this point we had to try the Direct Trade offerings by Boca Java which blew us away. The Chemex version of the JavaNica variety is still lingering around in my mouth. Inside we got a free shot of Boulder organic espresso which was great as well. The crawl came to a close with a raffling of many prizes including coffee, shirts, teas, a Toddy, Hand held espresso maker and a Baratza grinder (which would have been a great addition for the house).

So glad we participated and got to see more local artisan shops doing their thing while sampling some truly exceptional coffee and chocolate. Thanks Lab and sponsors, we look forward to the next event!