Thursday, May 8, 2008

Catching up: Day 3.5 Dripolater in Asheville






Alright, so we went to Izzy's. Maybe it works for them, but just a little too much attitude for me. I'm probably just not counter-culture enough. Oh well. Fortunately, Liz, the nice barista from last night, recommended a place just about a mile away, the Dripolater.


Well, we got there, and I have to admit, I was a little burned-0ut from Izzy's. That changed right away, however, when I introduced myself to Jay, the owner and one of many baristas (or baristi, for my Italian friends reading this blog). Jay was extremely nice and welcoming, and started me off with a great double espresso. Strangely enough, I am learning through this tour that, at least when visiting good shops, espresso tastes more alike than different. This shot was not Tuscano (finally non-counter culture), instead, Dripolater sourced Larry's Beans, a roaster also in the Raleigh/Durham area.


After downing the shot, and chatting a little more, I fetched the vaccuum pot to do some demonstrations. I brewed a pot of the Washed Yirgacheffe Misty Valley from Crema Roasters, and then a pot of Papau New Guinea Kuta. Both coffees came out really well and were quite a hit for Dripolater employees and customers alike. I had a good time briefly explaining the history and science behind vac pot coffee.


After vaccuum brewing, we had a great lunch, prepared by a full-on chef on location. I had a tempah reuben samwich, and my mom had the special, a salad with poached salmon. Delicious. Dripolater has managed to serve both the interests of food and coffee, without sacrifice in either. We left Dripolater full, happy, and well-caffeinated. On my way out, I decided to make peace with Dripolater's wire guardian.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

great pics of coffee shops. nice to see the babe from day 1 is still hanging with you. she seems real happy about the salmon (if not the coffee)BAP

sys-ex said...

Ha, I work at Izzy's and heard about you coming in the shop. I wonder what kind of response you expected from bringing in your own coffee and coffee maker to a coffee shop???
I think the owner assumed that you were trying to sell something(with good reason I think :) and was skeptical. We are actually really nice and not coffee snobbish at all. Hope the rest of your trip goes well.
Dean