All along 14th St
It’s kind of a long street, but along its entire stretch there are only two coffee shops, and they’re next door to each other in the block between Pearl and Walnut: Belvedere Belgian Chocolate Shop (website) and Tee & Cakes. We’ve written about Tee & Cakes a few times, but have missed Belvedere, both in its new location here and its previous location at the same latitude but on 15th. Belvedere we’ve probably ignored because it sells itself primarily as a chocolate shop that also sells espresso. In a city saturated with good coffee, that doesn’t work well. People are spoiled and know that a shop doing espresso as an add-on is very rarely worth the trouble.
I decided to confirm or refute directly. I mean, they’re right next door to each other, how hard can the comparison be? So I finally visited Belvedere for the first time and T&C for the 20th. Results? It’s like the over-run clip of Dennis Green flipping out about losing to da Bears.
Yep, Belvedere is what I thought they were. They serve Novo Coffee (out of Denver), but not well. Wasn’t the worst coffee I’ve ever had, certainly wasn’t the best, somewhere just about slightly below average. They shop isn’t something you want to work from frequently. You can do it in a pinch, but it just doesn’t feel right as a work space. And you’re going to be relying on Pearl St. Mall wireless because they don’t have their own.
Tee & Cakes is also who I thought they were, mostly because I’ve been there a bunch. I don’t like their choice of roasters (Boulder Organic, just a half step above Allegro), but they make it well enough (read: better than Espressoria pulls it off). My bone to pick today is how they confuse — like many — latte with cappuccino. Here’s my rule of thumb: a cappuccino is espresso with a bit of milk flavoring. A latte is hot milk with some coffee flavor. You should NEVER be searching for the coffee in the cappuccino because the coffee should be by far the dominant component. For most coffee shops, even most in Boulder, when you order a cap you’re still getting a latte, and there is very, very little difference between how a shop makes the two. There should be a huge difference, but for most there is not.
Rant aside, we still love T&C’s cupcake line up and the place is worth visiting for that alone. Belvedere? Go there if you need chocolate.
good for the owner, bad for morale?
As in all things, balance is good. The owner wants money. The patron wants a nice quiet, mellow coffee shop to sit back, relax, and maybe throw down a few sets of power law computations on the ol’ laptop over a warm sippy sippy. Lots of money means lots of patrons and by that measure, Saxy’s should be very, very happy. Their rent is undoubtedly being paid. But seriously, I think it’s coming at the expense of patron comfort. The patron (generally) wants quiet-to-moderate-quiet, which means few people. Somehow Saxy’s became flypaper to Boulder’s laptop-toting community. I couldn’t hear myself think in there today, much less feel comfortable at my seat wedged in elbow-to-elbow with two strangers on my right and left. A decision was then made. [Insert thought balloon over my head] “I bet Espressoria is totally empty….”
And it was.
in the hinterlands, there’s this place….
I don’t get Espressoria. One day you’ll get there at 9 or 10 and the place will be fire-marshal-concern-worthy packed. By 1p the same day the place will be like Death Valley Junction in July. The next day will be reversed: two patrons and a barista looking lonely at 9am, then a line out of the door by 2pm. What gives? They don’t even know.
The tagline for Espressoria is ragtag. Maybe not in a bad way, depending on your preferences. Most of the chairs are plastic or vinyl and come straight from the SPCA thrift store. Tables a random assortment of big and small, round and square, packed in tight. Big windows on the north wall let a lot of light in and the outdoor area in the back is awesome in the warm weather, provided some fucktärd isn’t smoking next to you. (Who the hell smokes anymore?) Coffee is decent but the tea selection is wide and great (this author likes Rishi teas a lot). Best part, though, are the pastries, which are damn good and come out fresh all day.
How far out are the hinterlands? Only 22nd and Pearl. Folsom St. is further, but this place just feels like the hinterlands because it’s set back from Pearl and there’s just a big brick wall across the street.
