Coffee!

I love coffee. I actually started drinking it in junior high on a semi-regluar basis (if you don't count the kid coffee I was occasionally allowed). Back then, I'd get it at the McDonald's by my junior high. In high school, I drank my first good coffee, a Sumatran, from the Java City downtown, and I was soon drinking cafe mochas at the Village Express coffee and doughnut shop by my house.

 In college, I had an espresso machine, and I would basically make four shots and call it a cup of coffee. I soon realized I needed to cut back, and by my late twenties, it was an occasional thing, but I didn't have a coffee habit. I had actually moved back to my old neighborhood and was still grabbing a cup at the Village Express a couple mornings a week.

Then I met Sweetie. He is a coffee guy, and sometimes I would wake up at his house to the smell of bacon (what can I say, even some vegetarians can understand the appeal of that smell) and toast and coffee. I've been a regular drinker since with a brief caffeine-free interlude while I was pregnant.

We used to use a French press, and then we got an AeroPress. It's a little tricker, but faster, too, and it makes great coffee. Our regular beans are from Naked Coffee, a roaster in Oak Park. I used to buy the beans at a coffee shop called Tupelo, and one day I saw a sign indicating that their coffee was half off on Mondays at the roasters. Ever since, I've tried to make it a point to get a few pounds when I have time on a Monday. It used to be $6 a pound, and now it's $7. They're nice guys, and pre-baby, I sometimes took a book, let them make me an Americano, and read outside on a dingy thrifted couch.

We've always gotten occasional bags from elsewhere, including Temple, which is highly regarded for their beans. But Naked Coffee is our staple coffee. The owner also owns a cafe called Orphan, and there, they have a couple different coffees on the menu. I'd read the descriptions and tend to go for ones that said things like "warm and nutty with hints of chocolate." But I never liked them as much as the ones that said "citrusy and bright." I decided I'd set myself a taste test: I'd try coffee from every local roaster, and to keep the comparisons among fairly similar coffees, I'd try to pick South American ones with "citrusy" in the description.

I began with Capricorn Coffee, which actually isn't that local -- it's from San Francisco. But they sell it two blocks away from here, so ya know... It was $11 a pound, and I found it very smooth and tasty. We were off to a good start. They only sold half-pound bags, so it didn't last long.

I bought a bag of Naked Coffee, at $7/lb. It is perhaps my ideal coffee. It has a rich aroma, is a little citrusy without being at all acidic, and tastes like I think coffee should taste.

Then we went to Insight and tried their Guatemala. It was very acidic and fruity. It had a great flavor, but it was so overpoweringly acidic that I thought it would be a better occasional weekend coffee than an everyday brew. Sweetie noted that it wasn't a good match for his preferred cup -- which is white with half-and-half.

Then we tried the Orphan Columbia. I loved this one. I found it both citrusy and bright without being acidic or bitter.

Next up was Chocolate Fish. I got their Panama, and it was one of the more expensive ones we tried, at $14.95 for 12 oz. I find that 12 oz bag thing to be a little deceptive, even though it's clearly labeled. I mean, usually a BAG is a pound. So it takes a little math to discover that a pound of their coffee is actually about $19.95. OUCH. I wrote in my notes, "very tasty, light citrus, not at all acidic. Great flavor." Sweetie disagreed. He was on about week three of coffees that he thought practically curdled his cream.

I then picked up a bag of Old Soul Guatemala. I thought it had good flavor and a nice balance. Sweetie thought it very acidic, but I was shocked. Acidic? This one? No. But the next day, I had to agree. It was quite acidic. I wondered what the difference could have been and realized that on the first day, I drank it while it was still hot, and on the second, it had cooled off. Sweetie always drinks his cooler. So I mentioned it to him and the next day, he drank his before it cooled too much and had to agree -- the acidity was much more pronounced when the coffee was cool. For whatever that's worth.

Next up was Temple's Brazil. Temple makes a delicious coffee. I haven't had a bad one from there. They're expensive, too, but good. It's $14.50 for 12 ounces, too, and they have even more expensive roasts than that.

Finally, I went to Coffeeworks. I go there a lot for a cup on my way to work if I have some spare time, $2, and it's a second-cup day. I actually don't like a good number of their coffees: I think they're over-roasted. The French and Italian are right out, and their signature blends, like Dark Star and Jump Start aren't my favorites either. On the other hand, I've enjoyed an Ethiopian Sidamo from there, and I always look forward to the day they have Nicaragua brewed up. I was hoping to buy a pound of the Nicaragua, but they were out, so I opted for Honduras. They don't have descriptions of the coffee up there, but I'd venture a guess that this'd be on the "warm and nutty" side. I thought overall that it didn't have much character. It was... just fine.

I made a few other observations: Chocolate Fish, though I probably wouldn't buy their beans regularly, seemed like a really pleasant place to sit. Old Soul had GREAT food and terrific people-watching, too. They also sold coffee in Mason jars, and you could re-use the jar for a discount. Temple was crowded and was the only place they didn't ask how I wanted my beans ground (that's not to say that every other place offered to grind my beans, just that if they did, they asked how fine). Insight offered me a free shot of espresso with my beans, which I took them up on. I like the decor, but their furniture seems like they went to Intentionally-Uncomfortable-R-Us. I really like Orphan's breakfast and lunch food, so it's worth it to go there for a meal and pick up some coffee, since their deal is that if you buy a pound, your cups of coffee are free (well, two cups).

I als
There was no need, really, for me to declare a winner. I was on an exploration more than anything. And yet, there was a clear winner. Not only was their coffee good, not acidic, full of character and great for every day, it was the cheapest by far -- half as much or less than almost every other place. Naked Coffee, Monday at the roasters. The taste test is over, and I bought two bags today. Can't wait for my cup in the morning. It will feel like an old friend.