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Moer, It’s Coffee! In New York

Apr 5, 2012 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

When Die Antwoord played in New York a couple of weeks ago, Neville Ross was trying to get them to pay a visit to the coffee shop that he has opened with Nick Carnavale. Nothing would be cooler than to have a South African group that everyone’s talking about hanging out in a half-South African’s coffee shop that people are talking about. Die Antwoord didn’t come, in the end, but Gasoline Alley doesn’t really need the publicity. It’s cool and hip already, right at the crossroads of NoHo and SoHo.

coffee shop new york

Carnavale and Ross On Duty

The location has an extra meaning for Ross, whose family has had a tire and car repair business in Cape Town and George since 1946. The coffee shop is situated on a part of Lafayette Street that used to be known as Gasoline Alley because it was crowded with car-service shops.

“I missed having a small business,” says Ross, wearing one of the bike caps the shop now sells with Intelligentsia coffee beans, “and wanted to open something that I was passionate about.”

That ‘passion’ would, of course, be coffee. Together with Carnavale, a British expat, they waited for the perfect site for their business. Both owners are into cycling, and a racing bike has pride of place hanging from the ceiling above the till. The market they have entered is a tough one – with well-known new-wave coffee shops like Blue Spoon and Toby’s Estate also recently opening in New York – but already they are drawing the numbers. So stop by for a doubleshot.

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: coffee, die antwoord, neville ross, soho

An Italian Takes on NY (or Rather, American) Coffee

Aug 25, 2010 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

In Ted’s Ongoing Pursuit of the Great Cup of Coffee, I followed illy’s master barista, Giorgia Milos,  around New York recently (prior to my two days at illy’s University of Coffee). We took in four coffee shops of my choosing, and after we had glugged our espressos he gave his assessment of where coffee in New York (and America in general) is today. And, as you will see from the article I wrote for www.salon.com, it’s not in a very good place. The article, posted today, has already drawn a hefty number of comments from around the country. As I say, Americans take their coffee seriously!

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: coffee, controversy, illy, salon.com

The illy Factor

Jul 23, 2010 by Ted Botha 1 Comment

This week I spent two days at the University of Coffee. Yes, believe it or not, there is such a thing. Actually it’s called Universitá del Caffé, which, you might have guessed, is Italian. And if it’s Italian and it’s about coffee, chances are illy will be in the picture. Yes, that’s illy with a small i. And it’s illy that runs the UDC.

For $125, Coffee (by Capsule) at Home

For $125, Coffee (by Capsule) at Home

In brief, we learned some coffee history, what elements an espresso should consist of, how to single out the tastes in a good espresso (a bit bitter, sweet, salty, sour), some of the world’s major bean-growing regions (who knew that India is becoming a major coffee producer?), the myths (coffee doesn’t make your heart go faster, coffee is not bad for you – talk to the scientists!), the politics of coffee (direct trade vs. fair trade), the inner workings of an espresso machine (Question: What is that silver screwtop coffee maker we put on the stove called? Answer at the end), and we got to drink various types of espresso to gauge whether we could tell the difference between caf and decaf (no, we couldn’t) or over- and underextracted espressos (yes, we could). And if you don’t know what it means to ‘extract’ coffee, get thee to your nearest Universitá (or just Google it) to find out more. And of course, we got to pull espressos and try to make as good a cappuccino as you can in two days.

I used to be a cynic about illy. For me the distinctive red label was a bit like Coca-Cola. You saw the sign everywhere, which was both good and bad. Good because it meant that If you were in a place where there weren’t many coffeeshops, an illy sign promised at least a decent enough brew and perhaps someone who knew what an espresso was. But if there were other options – which there are increasingly today, as specialty coffeeshops proliferate – you would pass illy by.

The X7 iperespresso - a New Generation

The X7 iperEspresso - a New Generation

But turns out that illy not only makes serious coffee – and has been plugging away at it since 1933, when Francesco Illy started the company in Trieste – but has also been doing some pretty darn innovative things.

Take direct trade (forget fair trade, that’s passé), where roasters deal directly with the farmers, often also teaching them how to grow better beans and get more bang for their beans. Today lots of roasters, especially in America, wear it as a badge of distinction that they work in tandem with farmers in Colombia or Rwanda, but illy has quietly been doing this for a long time without blowing its own horn.

At the company’s Universitás in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Bangalore, India – there are 10 UDCs around the world, with courses for professionals and consumers – illy schools local farmers in new techniques and technology. Agronomists pay visits to farms to see where they can offer help and suggest ways to improve crops.  Because illy buys its coffee from 9 countries – and from that intake it concocts a signature blend that it tries to keep as constant as possible every year – it pays the company to make sure that the beans it gets are of the best quality.

A Moka

A Moka

Then there’s the coffee-making equipment, an area where illy has been no slouch either. Check out the X7 iperEspresso, part of what illy calls ‘the next generation of espresso’, which uses a nifty-looking, specially designed and crafted capsule to give you an espresso or a lungo or a cappuccino. It might be a bit too Jetsons and space-agey for some, but if illy’s doing it, it’s the future. And you can bet it tastes good.

(Answer: It’s called  a moka.)


Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: brazil, coffee, espresso, illy, india, iperespresso, moka, udc, x7

The Coffee Saga

Apr 5, 2010 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

At Superette, Purveyors of Deluxe Coffee

At Superette, Purveyors of Deluxe Coffee

There’s always something new going on in South Africa, every time I visit, but one thing that has always lagged for me, a coffee lover, is great coffee. Don’t get me wrong – the coffee at the average restaurant has always been better than the drip you find in America, but the focus on roasting great beans and making the perfect macchiato has been missing. People judged the excellence of a brew on whether it was Illy or Lavazza beans being used. There was nothing else to measure goodness by. Until now, that is.

In Cape Town it started with Origin. When Origin opened a couple of years ago, it was a big deal. The Soviet-style logo turned out to be not inappropriate because, at least for a while, Origin ruled. It had a huge warehouse in De Waterkant, big bags of beans stylishly placed around the premises, a bustling stall in the Old Biscuit Mill, and it even started selling its produce in hotels and restaurants. Less auspiciously, the service too was, in many people’s view, very Communist – that is to say, not particularly good. But that didn’t seem to bother people stopping by in droves. The word was getting out: Someone local was at last roasting coffee! Small guys had been doing this for ages, but no one was as professional or as in your face as Origin.

Bean There Buys Only African Beans

Bean There Buys Only African Beans

In Johannesburg a similar venture, Bean There, at 44 Stanley in Milner Park, has also been roasting beans – African beans only, mind you – to growing acclaim. Now, all of a sudden, there are numerous places opening up around the country that either roast and sell beans and coffee or coffee only, but the emphasis is on quality. Even Plettenberg Bay has the excellent Doubleshot. There are regular coffee-shop roundups in magazines and coffee klatsches gathering every Saturday at a new venue (Capetonians can check out Ernst Kuschke’s group).

Coffee Now Comes with Latte Art, Not Just Froth

Macchiatos Now Come with Latte Art, Not Just Froth

The mover behind Origin, or the name people got to know, was David Donde. Until a couple months ago, that is, when there was a rift between him and the owner that apparently was the gossip of Cape Town’s klatsches. Donde went off on his own, and has now started Truth Coffee Cult, which, though it has a strange name in an even stranger location (a place called the Prestwich Memorial at the corner of  Buitengracht and Somerset streets), has Donde’s reputation. That should guarantee it success.

At the same time another former employee at Origin, New Zealander Judd Francis, has opened Deluxe Coffeeworks, where he and his partners are not only roasting beans but selling some of the best coffee around. Within only a few months of opening, there is often a line out the door. They are selling their beans and coffee in funky new restaurants like Superette, in Woodstock. And now there’s talk of Deluxe taking over the Origin stand at the Old Biscuit Mill.

The coffee battles are on!

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: cape town, coffee, eating, restaurants

What’s Hot in Cape Town

Feb 23, 2010 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

15 on Orange

15 on Orange

Work has brought me to the Mother City – and, as always, I ain’t unhappy about that! Any reason to visit South Africa is good. Cape Town is still hopping from the Christmas visitors, and the city is lookin’ better than ever. The Mount Nelson is getting fierce competition from some new hotels in town, namely 15 on Orange, a fabulous, high-tech place with a spa to beat on the top floor. In the old properties of the Reserve Bank and the BOE at the top of Adderly Street, The Taj Cape Town has added, almost out of view, a 17-story tower behind. It’s modern, but a bit colonial. Around the corner is the best new coffeeshop in town (comparable with anything in America), Deluxe Coffeeworks, at 25 Church Street. It’s part of a move back into the city. And what with the new walkway being added down Somerset Road to the Soccer Stadium, with the new Cape Quarter along the way – with tons of great shops, restaurants, and Lazari’s new eatery/bar – you can almost walk to Sea Point now, with attractions, shopping and eateries all the way.

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: 15 on orange, cape quarter, coffee, soccer, taj, tourism

The Alternative to Starbucks

Oct 2, 2009 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

Macchiatos at 9th Street Espresso

Macchiatos at 9th Street Espresso

I won’t go so far as to say boycott Starbucks.  Give credit where credit is due. The chain store made people pay attention to coffee, taught us how to say latte and cappuccino. But now, after growing too big too fast, they are just this side of McDonalds & Co., using automated machines to make your ‘specialty’ drink (how’s a machine special?). And, from this week, they will be selling their own version of instant coffee. Yes, folks, the company that took the world away from instant is taking it straight back to that hellhole. You might as well just bring your own bottle of Nescafe Gold with you. Many foreigners who come to America think Starbucks is an excellent, sought-after brand. Well, it just ain’t. The good news is that there are plenty of alternative coffee shops in whatever city you are going to that do what Starbucks once aspired to do – make good, real, individualized coffee. And the attitude and ambiance is usually a whole lot better too.

Stumptown Coffee

Stumptown Coffee

Whatever city I go to, I try find the non-Starbucks places to go to.  If you are in New York, here are some tried and tested, excellent alternatives: 9th Street Espresso, Joe, Jack’s, Gimme, Abraco, Third Rail Coffee, Stumptown. Some of them have several locations. Go ahead, find out what real coffee should taste like!

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: 9th street espresso, abraco, coffee, gimme, jack's, joe, stumptown, third rail coffee

About Ted

Ted was born in New York and grew up in Japan, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. He has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Outside. His books include Apartheid in my Rucksack, a personal account of discovering Africa as a white African; Mongo, Adventures in Trash, where he follows the people in New York City who collect what others consider garbage; and, with Jenni Baxter, The Expat Confessions, about South Africans abroad. His latest book, a nonfiction thriller about a forensic sculptor titled The Girl with the Crooked Nose, comes out in January 2012. His novel, The Animal Lover, is on Kindle. He is a swimmer and a runner, and has done his share of triathlons as well as long-distance swims in South Africa and New York’s Hudson River.

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Ted’s Blog

coffee shop new york

Moer, It’s Coffee! In New York

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Safe House

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