Brewing Mkt out on 95th
I had posted some reviews and news about The Curious Cup, most recent being that they died. While praising CC, I was basting their 95th and Arapahoe competition, Brewing Market. Well Brewing Market is still in business and CC isn’t, so I decided that I should probably suck it up and go work there for an afternoon.
Since I now live out that direction and I don’t want to come into Boulder every day, I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by Brewing Market on 95th so I could use it as a reliable satellite office. I was and I wasn’t.
First the good: the layout I like. Tables on one end with ample elbow room between them and a mix of table sizes. On the other end is a U-shaped couch and plush chair area that works well. You can work there, but it is more a comfortable meeting spot, and there were two different groups of people having coffee meetings while I was there. The entire east wall and much of the north wall is floor-to-ceiling glass which I think is a good orientation since you don’t get afternoon sun barreling down on you and your laptop.
Now the bad: Brewing Market is still Brewing Market. The coffee sucks and the chai is even worse (hard to think that’s possible, but I confirmed that it is). The internet policy is that you get access for two hours per order. I can see the business logic behind it, but it’s shortsighted. Unless your shop is packed to the gills with laptop zombies all day (ie., Saxy’s), you don’t need to worry about the occasional person who orders one drink and works for 6 hours. To the rest of the people it’s a turn-off.
It’s too bad that CC went down the loser and Brewing Market stayed around the winner, but for a workspace it is decent. Just don’t plan on loving your coffee. If you live in the vicinity, it works.
Curiosity is dead
Long live the Curious Cup, subject of a couple favorable recent posts (although let’s admit it, nothing much has been recent lately on this blog … that’s ok, judging by the stats you’re still reading). An email went out today announcing the immediate closing of The Curious Cup.
This reviewer is devastated. Having recently moved closer to Lafayette than Boulder (although still with a Boulder mailing address somehow), Curious had become my new office. Now I have to go to Brewing Market on 95th and Arap? No thanks! Guess I’ll be hitting Ozo more often now.
Ozo and Curious switching roasters
First, Ozo. We knew about this a month or two ago but didn’t want to leak it. But since Greg from Ozo just posted this as a comment on another post, it deserves a full entry:
Hey there coffee fans-
This is just an update for all the coffee lovers out there…. Ozo Coffee Co. is proud to announce that we are now roasting our own beans! Yep, we have phased out our Allegro roasts and are quickly depleting our Conscious Coffee stock so that we brew 100% of our own roasts! They taste great and we are excited to continue bringing superior organic, locally-roasted coffee to our customers. Come have a taste now! Peace, love, and coffee.
-Greg
Barista, Ozo Coffee Co.
Can’t wait to try it!
In other news, recently lauded Curious Cup has decided to switch from Unseen Bean to Conscious Coffees. (One major hooray from me!)
You’re lucky you live here (a Curious Cup review)
Ok, most sanctimonious Boulderites already feel that title like Born Agains feel the Presence. But allow me to add some color. We very highly doubt that any city in this country has the coffee shop density (defined as: # of shops per resident? // # of coffee shop chairs per resident? // saturation density of wireless radio energy per square mile? // whatever you choose, doesn’t matter) that has Boulder. Consider that for a town of roughly 100,000 people, there are over 30 — perhaps more than 40 — unique coffee shop companies, most independent, and many more actual shops (probably close to ~100) when you consider that many companies own multiple shops. Consider further that there are at least 5 different independent roasters in town, and likely more we don’t know about. Roughly one coffee shop for every 100 residents, and an independent blog dedicated solely to talking about those shops? Does that exist anywhere else? Doubtful. Personally I’ve lived in four other college towns and their coffee shops scenes don’t even come close.
The interest in coffee and the competition to produce awesome results spills over, beyond the immediate borders of Boulder, and that’s why you’re lucky you live here. Because in an environment like this, places like The Curious Cup are born. The Curious Cup is on the corner of 95th and Arapahoe, just beyond the “official” city limits of Boulder and into Lafayette. Ozo was (ok, still is) the best “eastern outpost” shop in Boulder, but Curious Cup, while not supplanting Ozo’s quality, has supplanted Ozo’s status as “quality of shop as a function of eastern milage from city center.”
The Curious Cup would be killing it anywhere closer to Boulder’s core. That it is doing well despite its outpost location at 95th and Arapahoe (people do live out here, of course, but population density is far, far lower than in Boulder’s core) is a function of — I think — three main factors:
- The shop is laid out well. It is open and airy with perfect views out the south windows (all grass and trees in an expansive park — in any other shop in Boulder you’re looking at a wall or a parking lot). Ample seating for relaxers and laptop workers alike, including outdoor seating on the park.
- A kiddie play area that draws in the stroller set. Normally that would probably be a problem, but the layout has the “work area” on the south side of the shop, the kiddie area on the north wall, and the barista area in between the two. A good 40 or 50 feet separates the two areas, and it turns out to be enough.
- High quality coffee and pastries. Coffee roasted by The Unseen Bean (which we haven’t reviewed yet, but it has appeared in the comments on a few posts). On this front I’d give the coffee a “passing grade” by Boulder standards. Not knock-your-socks-off, but well within the Boulder norm, which is high quality by default. I had one strong cappuccino (“strong” is my tag — not dry, but very little milk) and the coffee flavor was robust if not a tad burnt, but also not sour. As a one-off, below Ozo, Cup or Goat standards, but above Folsom St., Brewing Market, etc. Subsequent visits (and there will be many) will give the true indication. They serve Morning Fresh Dairy in the coffee, also used by a few Boulder shops.
Who should come out here? Everybody. Who will? Hopefully more than just the locals.
