I just returned from a trip to the Denver/Golden area. I stayed with my former podcast co-host Evan at his pretty rad new house in Golden near North Table. This post briefly summarizes the coffee on my trip, along with some recommendations and thoughts.
I’m obsessed with Coffee, so I visited several different coffee places while I was in the area. We also visited several different places throughout the trip.
Surprisingly Good
Verb Coffee Roasters in Boulder, Colorado, was my number one find on the trip. This place is awesome. They roast and cup their coffee. I got a One and One (which I didn’t know was on the menu at the time) with natural coffee. It was perfectly light and fruity and served well. It even worked well with the milk. Overall, I give it a 5/5 rating.
Cafe 13 in Golden, Colorado, was also pretty awesome. The space is rustic. The coffee was good, but not at the same level as Verb. Still, their pastry game was at the next level, and the environment made it a place I would like to return to. Overall, I give it a 4/5 rating.
Mango Tree Coffee in Englewood was also very special. The place was clean and hip and very busy at 7 a.m. They had several beans to choose from, and I was able to get a very nice iced pour-over of a super light and fruity blend. Like Verb, this place is both a roaster and a shop, and I was very impressed. Overall, I give it a 5/5 rating.
Good but not Great
Red Silo in Golden was an exciting spot and had several different roasts, but the coffee wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be. I didn’t get any of the flavor notes they mentioned in their descriptions. Overall 2.5/5 rating.
Harbinger Coffee in Fort Collins was also an exciting spot. The shop was very cool. The design was really pretty, and it seemed to have a ton of potential. There were several issues. I tried to order an iced pour-over of the Honduras. I was told that the owners don’t allow iced pour-overs. The coffee is billed as having a citrus flavor note, but I got none of it. The coffee was actually pretty bad, and I poured part of it out. Overall, I give it a 2.5/5 rating.
Conclusion
The Denver area coffee scene is amazing, and I have to visit a bunch of places, but I have some recommendations for other places to try the next time I’m out there.