Lots of coffee updates since my last time writing.

Middle State Coffee

Rating: 4/5 Location: Denver, CO

This place was great. They do mostly light roasts, which I love. I’m annoyed this was the last new coffee spot I visited in Colorado before I left. I wish I’d had time to try their main location and more of their coffee. The coffee was a bit bitter for a light roast, but I still enjoyed the flavor.

Horizon Line Coffee

Rating: 4.5/5
Location: Des Moines, IA

I got a 1:1. It was delicious. It was washed coffee, but it still had flavor. I did this on my drive across country, which was two weeks ago at this point, so I don’t trust the flavors I’m imagining, but it was great. Worth checking out if you are ever in the area.

Simple Merchant Coffee

Rating: 4/5 Location: Newport, RI

This is my home shop, and it was good to be home. This place has the best vibe and some really strong coffees. The owner is cool and friendly, and the staff is generally great. Excited to get back and have a birthday Salted Caramel Latte.

Very Good Coffee

Rating: 3.5/5 Location: Pawtucket, RI

My friend Chad told me about this place, it’s a pop-up in The Guy and His Pie pizza restaurant on weekends, and it is pretty darn good. They have a relationship with Hydrangia, whom I tried very hard to reach last year about the coffee box, and I got to drink it this past weekend. The artist, as I’ll call him, is a craftsman and really cares about the coffee he prepares.

Small note: My first cortado during the 1:1 was fantastic. The second was a bit soupy with more warm milk than microfoam, likely because the barista was swamped and had to rush. It’s best to go early and avoid the rush.

Bucket and the Bean

Rating: 2.5/5 Location: North Kingstown, RI

Note: They’ve only been open two weeks. This review may change.

This is the newest coffee place I know in Rhode Island, and I was excited to try it out. I came in hoping to get a cortado or cappuccino to test them out, but when they mentioned they normally use Five Points but were on Lighthouse coffee because they ran out, I went for an Enjoy Coffee Roasters pour-over, Juan Puerta - Araza, highlighted as a co-ferment. (I do miss naturals—everyone’s on co-ferment these days, but I want more light roast naturals.) I got an iced pour-over since they said it was no problem.

They skipped the math for the pour-over, used the usual recipe, then poured it over ice without adding extra. It was cool, but it didn’t have enough ice.

I stayed to watch them steam milk, but it was cold out, so most ordered iced drinks, and I didn’t get to see their technique.

This place feels more like a vibe spot than a coffee shop—more like Custom House than Simple Merchant. That’s fine, but it doesn’t feel like a higher-end shop.

Updates on review formatting for Coffee

I feel pressured to leave five-star reviews or none at all. I don’t want to negatively affect a business, and I worry that anything below 5 stars could hurt their discoverability on mapping sites.

Honestly, I blame Uber. If you give a driver 4 stars, they always ask what’s wrong. It’s like you must give them 5 stars, or else something is wrong.

This is not how reviews should be done. There’s nothing wrong with not always getting the top rating. It shows you’re genuine, not artificial, and lets us tell places apart. Four out of five stars is fine. Even two out of five can be good when the alternative is one star.

Anyway, I’m working toward normalizing things. I just left a 4-star Google review for Bucket & the Bean, though I really wanted to give them a 3, or perhaps even a 2. Still, I share feedback closer to my true opinion here.

This leads me to a bigger issue, that every rating site has its own format for reviews. There is no standard. I did a little looking around, and there is h-review, though it is being added to h-entry on microformats. I want to start changing the way I do my reviews so they can be better cataloged, and maybe someday we can return to a world where more information is individually hosted rather than controlled by sites like Google, Apple, and Yelp.

Probably more to come on this in the future.

Work Updates

• I am back to working with Rollin Renovations. We still have a lot of work to do on this website and with record keeping, but we are getting there.
• I did a bit of work on Authentic Auctions to clean up the mobile navigation. I am also working on updating the quality of the videos we upload to YouTube. I’m finally learning FCP after years of resisting (also, Apple made it more affordable, thank you).
• I have been interviewing for a couple of mobile jobs. I really want to get back to doing that more regularly. More to come on that later.
• After a couple of strong weeks working on features for Sacred Space, I’m considering a new direction—more on that soon. Last week, I paused feature work except for a discussion about setting up Coinflow as our payment processor.
• A new parent project will include several child projects. Details are vague, but I will share more soon.

Moments

Coco in Matt’s Jacket

Sardellas Pizza pizza reviews comming soon

Zack working

My favorite wine in the wild “Glou Glou” by Las Jaras

This week was packed with trying many different coffees.

• Subjective Coffee - Westminster - This place was rad. It has a very retro, almost Fallout-style, coffee vibe. Like an old diner with great coffee. They had two coffees available on espresso, which is rare, and one of them was partially natural. It wasn’t my personal favorite, but it was interesting enough to warrant a second visit.
• SOGO Boards And Beans - This place was also Rad, but it had a more artistic vibe than the old diner one for me. I got overwhelmed by their speciality drinks and did the Toasted Marshmallow latte, and it was out of this world. I did this before my friend said they are supposed to be very particular about their beans and light roasts. So I ordered a light roast espresso that was not a light roast espresso. Or if it was, the shot was pulled way too long. Bottom line, this place is cool. I would do a sweet drink, go here for a treat, not for super high-quality coffee.
• Navah Coffee House - Westminster - I went here for a coffee and to meet up to sell a backpack. It is super close to where I’m staying, and there is plenty of space to work if you want to work outside the house. The woman serving the coffee was incredibly nice. I ordered a Latte, but what I got was not a Latte. It was a coffee with some sort of warmed, somewhat spiced milk. It actually tasted pretty special for a latte, but not what I ordered. Cute spot, great staff, sub-par coffee.
• Novo Coffee - Downtown - We ended up here after Little Owl was closed downtown on weekends. The shop is cute, with a few pour-over options, including one meant to be light and fruity, but it wasn’t. They also wouldn’t do an iced pour-over, which annoys me—it’s just math; you account for the ice’s weight. Overall, the place was okay. The company was great, the staff was nice, and it’s a good spot to work, but the coffee wasn’t special.
• Dillon Coffee Lab - Dillon, CO - This place was out in the mountains, and my friend Stephanie had recommended it to me. When I talked to them about joining HCB last year, they said they don’t do light roasts because of the altitude at which they roast. I can confirm that they don’t do light roasts after visiting. Still, they did an iced pour over that was very fruity and tasted of grapes. I enjoyed it, and I would recommend giving this place a try.
• Red Buffalo - Silverthorn, CO - This place was very busy. It is downtown, and there were a lot of people in there. They have a very homey vibe. They had high-end pastries and offered an espresso flight (espresso prepared three ways: regular, con panna, and cubana, I believe). They also had some light roasts for purchase. I’m drinking a Costa Rican from them this morning. They gave every indication of being serious about their coffee, but when I went to make it this morning, the bag wasn’t sealed; it was just rolled and twisted. Big red flag for me. The coffee this morning is unique and bright, though, so maybe I’m being too picky.
• Steep Brewing + Coffee Company - Dillon, CO - This place is a brewery that also serves coffee, but it’s clear they focus more on the beer. They just pour Breckenridge Coffee Roasters rather than their own, and when I asked about a light roast, the answer was simply “no.” I walked out after that. The beer selection looked interesting, but for good coffee, there are better nearby options.

Also related to coffee this week, I found CoffeeBeaned, which is supposed to be a list of roasters around the country, but the site is terribly out of date. This is the same thing that happened with Acromaps and something I’m working on for that site; maybe I’ll make something for all the coffee roasters I’m checking out.

Tech Updates

• Sacred Space - Exciting updates to share! We have added a version page at the bottom of the site, allowing you to track new features and functionalities as they are released. Last week, I implemented versioning and event filtering on the events page. I also added new event properties, such as type and payment method. These properties are the key filters I recommend for event searches.
• Your Contacts App is Broken – I wrote this to introduce a new project where I’m building a tool to solve the contact management issues I’ve been experiencing, and to share my approach to fixing them.
• Python Qt App - I began connecting the nesting feature in this project, but encountered several bugs that I plan to resolve before completing this integration. My time spent on it was limited due to uncertainty about the best approach for upcoming changes.
• I continue to work on an incredibly custom web project.
• Claude Code -> I’m continuing to use Claude and Claude code throughout my development and personal communications process. The problem is that some of the stuff I feel like I’ve been producing isn’t as much me as I want. Claude makes decisions I don’t love, but aren’t bad enough for me to change, so I start with Claude’s suggestion and keep refining it over time. I endeavor to write more code my way in the next couple of weeks and use Claude for more guidance.
• Starting work on a Culture Corner Project
• Started on designs for the 2025 Citywide Sticker Font of the Year.

Life Updates

• Talked with my friend Mitch, an extremely smart, capable, and experienced iOS developer who is looking for his next opportunity. If you need someone, you should reach out. I predict he won’t be available long.
• Continued with some sewing projects. Did you know they ask you to show your license when buying a Bic Lighter in certain parts of Colorado? That was a new one for me.
• Had a 24-hour bug that really got me for a day or two.
• Talked to a bunch of former coworkers this week.
• Got to take a friend to an Acro class at Movement.

Moments

Beautiful sunset over the mountains

Citywide Sticker Font Award Sketches

Toasted Marshmallow Latte from SOGO, was soo good.

Red Buffalo Coffee

This was a light week for coffee because I was working pretty hard at home and mostly brewed Chemex.

• Sweet Bloom Coffee - Arvada, CO - Despite their reluctance to produce more natural coffees, this place is just awesome. I was able to get a 1:1 with the Gesha from weeks past at the Arvada location, even though it’s no longer available on the website.
• Olympia Coffee Roasters - Doing their Little Buddy as a Chemex. I’ve found that I use a 1:16 ratio for hot coffee and a 1:10 ratio when pouring it over ice. This remains my most consistent coffee over the past two years.
• Coffee Ride - Pouring over some of their coffees. I finished the Nicaragua La Bastilla Natural, and as I got to the end of the bag, it really began to grow on me. I have a little bit left of Colombia Finca Villa Betulia Honey Caturron, which still isn’t my favorite. It is a little too funky, even for me.
• Blue Sparrow - RiNo - I love this place because they do a bunch of different cold brews, including a Japanese-style flash brew, which is really nice. Got a cortado that was okay. It was with their house. Am I the only one who wishes more shops would always have a backup espresso for trying?

Life Updates

• Finally got my Subaru back with the replacement charge port cover. Now I can do that again. I’m excited to save a little more on gas.
• Got to do brunch with my good friend Tim, who was in the area skiing on vacation. Tim and I have a very antagonistic relationship, which I thoroughly appreciate, and he hasn’t gotten rid of me yet. It’s good to have friends that you can joke around with.
• Finally did some sewing with the Sailrite on this trip. I made a grocery bag with my friends, but it was too big, so I had to make a smaller one. I learned a bit about sewing binding with the needle position on the LSZ Sailrite.
• Made 3 dinners last week; one was California burritos, but the challenge is not overfilling them. I failed at that. Another note, chicken thighs marinated in Bachans overnight are really great with rice and broccoli.

Tech Updates

• Continue working on the laser cutting program. There will be some pretty cool updates to that soon. Working with Qt and Python is a challenge, but we are pushing through.
• • Side note: I hate that Python doesn’t support true visibility and protects private variables and methods until I start writing tests, and then I like that I can take shortcuts to manipulate objects quickly to test exactly the part I want.
• Sacred Space is starting to fill out as a site with some real events. Last week was a little blower in use because of Envision, a major festival at which we are most prevalent.
• I’m playing around with Plausible.io instead of Google Analytics, and loving it. It shows me traffic across all my websites on a single page, with a better dashboard.
• Continued work on Authentic Auctions has resulted in the listing and selling of several cars in the past couple of weeks. I’ve also been working on a new format for van information as we move further into that market.
• Continued working on my research around the CNContact from Apple and running into some interesting notes. I will be posting more notes on it here over the next couple of weeks as I investigate doing something significant here.
• Incredibly custom web project coming online soon.

Moments

Brunch at Blackbird in Evergreen with Tim:

Sewn bag for Evan, its too big:

Sweet Bloom Cortado:

Blue Sparrow Cortado:

Coffee

I realized that I have missed a few places along the way and will continue to bring them out in future weeks.

• Corvus Coffee - This place is awesome. Okay, I don’t know that, but their coffee is awesome. They have a Hacienda Senora Natural that is tickled me and I can’t stop going and getting it. It is exceptional in all the ways I like a natural. From Costa Rica, really great cherry taste.
• Sweet Bloom - Again coming in strong. I had them twice. I had an espresso when I needed a quick boost, and even with the house washed it hit. I then found out the other location still had some of the natural gesha that is no longer on the website, this was also great.
• Atlas Coffee - They carry corvus, but I walked into the location and walked out without ordering. Just didn’t feel like a place I was going to get somethings special.
• Onto - I may have made the mistake on walking into this place right around chinese new years and the place was packed. Their logo is super cute and I couldn’t resist buying stickers (also their stickers don’t have words, just art, which is the best type of sticker for me). This is not a place where I would expect a great cup of black coffee, but their Vienna was good I got the Black Sesame in the same visit.
• Queen City Collective Coffee - This place was the find of the week. They had a great natural Ethiopian on espresso and it was just fantastic. They are a bigger shop but when I asked them about wholesale, they said there orders didn’t require large quantities so they could be a good candidate for next years Hanukkah Coffee Box.
• Coffee Ride - Boulder - I’m going back on my previous statements here. The Nicaragua has really grown on me. I have figured out how to make it in a way that really works. I drink it iced after doing pour over with a 1:10 ratio and I get much better notes.

Tech Projects Updates

• Create a new van template at Authentic Auctions for this van. It made it through auction without sale, but you are getting a lot of van for the asking price, and I wanted a way to show this better.
• Sacred Space
  • Facilitators have a new view that allows them to create a landing page for them and their events.
  • Wrote a whole TDD (exercise I did for an interview) on how we are going to update the Event object to be more searchable as we keep expanding the number of events we have.
  • We have a lot more events, but that was my business partner, not me.
• Untitled Multi-Genre Game - This project is still in its infancy and I can’t talk to much about only to say that I download Godot and started looking at how this game engine works. I’m more interested in this from a building and story telling perspective, but I also have some friends who would be people would play with it.
• Culture Corner - This is an independent initiative I’ve started to connect with old coworkers. The goal is to create a small zoom meeting twice a month for friends to hang out and catch up. Attendance is not required, but if you are interested on getting on the mailing list, fill out this form.
• Top Secret Project -> This is a project to fix what is wrong with Contacts and CRMs. I have some plans, but it’s still early and I’m ready to share a bunch about it yet, though maybe I’ll write some posts on the parts of the system I think are currently broken this week.
• Python Qt-App -> This is a project I’m working on as a consultant. I’m helping build out an app that is used for industrial purposes. The current code base was written in Python and Qt with AI and doesn’t have a structure or tests. I’m working on both of those things.

There are a couple of other projects on the list that I haven’t enough time to really develop, but I’ll talk more about them in upcoming weeks.

Pictures and Other Updates

Someone on facebook asked for the first picture of me doing acro from 2017:

I ate too many donuts last week:

Met with my younger brothers best friend and a great blast from the past Kevin:

I also cooked way too much fried chicken when making my Chicken Katsu Curry:

Went on a hike with some amazing Great Swiss Mountain Dogs:

Had some amazing coffee drinks:

Coffees

I’m in the Denver area and still hunting for coffee that works for me. Because this is my first weekly review, I’m going to include a couple from a couple of weeks back.

• Lima Coffee Roasters - Fort Collins - Vibe was great, but my coffee was pretty poor for the cost. Didn’t have many naturals
• Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters - Lakewood/Westminster - I love it when they do naturals, but until last week, they have had only six washed coffees and blends. Last week, they released a Gesha, but it looks like it is already off their site.
• Coffee Ride - Boulder - I love everything about this place and mission, except the coffee was a bit of a miss for me; it could also have been the coffee I picked. I tried the Colombia Finca Villa Betulia Honey Caturron, and it smells like Ginger. First time I have ever had a coffee smell like ginger, but the taste is very Cardamom for me. I also tried the Nicaragua La Bastilla Natural, and while it is a natural, brewed at 16:1, it still feels like a darker roast to me. I wanted more fruit. Despite all of this, I will go back and try another coffee there before too long. The shop is too cool. They started by delivering coffee on Bicycles!
• Huckleberry Roasters - Denver - This place has the same issue for me as Sweet Bloom. ALL OF THEIR COFFEES WERE WASHED. I got a 1:1; the barista was cool enough to make me one even though it wasn’t on the menu. The macchiato had no art. This doesn’t by default mean it is bad, but this one was bad, and the coffee tasted a bit burnt.
• Verb Coffee Roasters - Boulder - Saving the best of the week for last. This place has been on my radar before. Two years ago, we found it by accident while trying to go to another coffee shop in Boulder. It was hands down the best cup of coffee I had that year. Last year, I came back, and my coffee wasn’t anything special. I thought I had heard about them changing management or something, but apparently that was all in my head. Talking to coffee people at Sweet Bloom, I was encouraged to check them out again. So glad I did. Since I went a couple of weeks ago with family, I have been twice more and can’t wait to go again. I had a great YEMEN - WADI JANNAT - NATURAL SL34. I also had the RWANDA - NOVA WASHING STATION - ANAEROBICNATURAL RED BOURBON

Achievements

• Did a really deep dive on the process of the Hanukkah Coffee Box and have some big learnings for next year.
• Added Ruff to a project I’m working on in Python thanks to a recommendation from Ethan Hunt.
• Made some big changes to the ways event locations are handled for [Sacred Space]https://www.findsacred.space]. This allows users to specify directions at their convenience, rather than an address. It also allows users to keep their address private until people sign up for the event.
• Font Awards for 2025 has finished, with Citywide as the winner, and I have set up the website to start accepting nominations for 2026. Any font created or redesigned in 2026 is eligible for the award.
• I am working on some of my leather crafting. I made a cover for my leather notebook with rivets.
• Started work on a new project that has the potential to change the way we deal with people through our technology.
• Discovered Post Oak BBQ and tried the Ron Swanson Sandwich Texas-style.
• I decided to start doing these weekly posts again.

Photos

Just a fun gorgeous day, hiking in boulder.

This is from my two trips to Post Oak in one week.

I was sent on an errand to find swim trunks for a friend in Colorado in February. After 3 stores, we found options at Target!

When I reached out to Nick at Reprise, he provided me with some valuable advice. Don’t focus on small 1-pound bags of beans and try to achieve the right taste. It might take you a whole bag to dial in the flavor you want, and then you will have to recalibrate with the next bag.

Taking Nick’s advice, I ordered 2 lbs of Olympia Coffee Roasters Little Buddy, or HCB day 5, which was my favorite from the series last year.

So far, the experience is going well. I do love the taste of this particular espresso, and I am very much enjoying the process.

In typical Zack fashion, I decided that meant it was time for me to make one. To make this happen, I’m trying to gauge interest. My goal is to make between 10 and 20 calendars this year. They will be essential, as I don’t have time to make them overly elaborate. Hanukkah starts December 25th (yes, on Xmas this year), so I have limited time to get this to people.

If you are interested in ordering the coffee calendar, complete the form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMlY1IxxEpdwshl2aifOK3pRdzm1QzIbGAjzJOd3wj62PYtw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Updates will happen when and if we have enough interest to make this a reality.

As a coffee enthusiast who has savored about two cups of coffee daily for the past 15 years, I’m still on a journey of discovery. The coffee process is a complex web of factors, and this post delves into one small yet significant aspect: the role of roasting companies and how coffee shops make their selection.

Roasters take green coffee beans and roast them to the point where they can be ground and used in the coffee process. Many companies roast beans, and some are big enough to roast at several different locations (think Starbucks).

I need to familiarize myself with the roasting process. However, I know that some people roast at home with an oven or even an old popcorn machine. Turning the bean so that the entire bean is roasted evenly is part of the challenge.

Most coffee shops are tied to a single roaster. Think of Starbucks stores serving Starbucks coffee. The same goes for Blue Bottle, which serves Blue Bottle coffee.

Here in Newport, Springline serves Springline Coffee beans. Empire Tea and Coffee serves beans roasted by Empire. Custom House serves beans roasted by Custom House. Hill Market serves La Colombe Coffee.

While some roasters are big enough to produce multiple varieties of Espresso beans, they often have a standard for their espresso, and when you serve one roaster, you are stuck with a very standard espresso experience from that brand.

On the West Coast and in more significant markets, it is expected to find coffee shops that serve from multiple roasters and switch between what they serve. In smaller markets, this is much less common. Here in Rhode Island, I only know one shop that carries multiple roasters and switches between what they serve: Simple Merchant. At Simple Merchant I have had coffee from the following roasters to name a few:

• Bolt
• Brandywine
• Dak
• Dayglow
• Enjoy
• Ilse
• Little Wolf
• Metric
• No Vacancy
• Onyx

Different roasters are known for different flavors. Some prefer a dark, strong coffee flavor, while others tend to have a light, fruity taste. While the processing method affects this, some roasters are better at one type. The variety of roasters allows you to try many different flavors. The next time you go into your local coffee shop, check to see who the shop serves and evaluate the coffee’s taste before adding milk and sweetener.

Simple Merchant

https://www.simplemerchantcoffee.com

513 Broadway, Newport, RI
M-Sat 7am-5pm (food to 2:30)
Sun 9am-2pm

This is the best coffee shop in town. They have up to five different coffees available for order at any one time:

1. House Drip
2. Rotating Drip
3. House Espresso
4. Rotating Espresso
5. Flash Brew (not cold brew, but a brewed coffee served cold)

The shop is fantastic, the owner is rad, and the food is vegetarian, with many options being served vegan. The milk is done right, and you get good Latté Art.

Milk Options:

• Whole Milk
• Nonfat
• Oat (usually Minor Figures)

Hill Market

https://www.hotelviking.com/dining/hill-market/

One Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI
Daily 7am-2pm

This coffee location is in the Newport Viking Hotel. Don’t let that fool you; it has top-of-the-line espresso machines and grinders. Service can be a little hit or miss, but it is way more often hit than miss. They have some fun drink options on the menu as well. I’ve had an espresso in a cookie cup.

Their coffee is La Colombe, which isn’t my favorite but could be better. They also have pastries and other options.

This place is often overlooked; take notice of it.

Empire Tea and Coffee

https://empireteaandcoffee.com

Locations

22 Broadway, Newport
Daily 6am-5pm

112 William Street, Newport
Daily 6am-5pm

251 Thames St, Bristol
Daily 6am-6pm

Information

Empire Tea and Coffee was one of the first higher-end coffee shops to open in town. Where they really shine is on the tea side. Other shops have a small smattering of tea, but Empire offers a far more diverse selection.

From a coffee perspective, they roast their own beans; honestly, I’m not a massive fan of their coffee. I have also seen issues with their training. Their milk never comes with latte art and is often served too hot or with too much foam.

Of note, even though they are using the same beans, different locations will have different tastes, even with things like Cold Brew which is all made at Broadway. This code be due to the quality of the ice served with it, but the Broadway cold brew tastes much worse than the William Street location.

Coffee Grinder

337 Thames Street, Newport
M-F 7:30am-6pm
Sat 7:30am-7pm
Sun 7:30am-6pm

This is the new location of The Coffee Grinder. The previous location is now Spring Line Coffee. I have yet to go to the new location, but the old location was a very traditional Italian-style espresso. It has a very dark and heavy flavor, but not for me.

Still, the location is great, and if you need a coffee downtown, this might be where I would head.

Mozz

https://www.mozznewport.com

181 Bellevue Ave, Newport
W-Sat 8am-6pm
Sun 8am-3pm

This is more of a cheese shop and a fantastic Italian-style bakery. In addition, they are pretty particular about their coffee. They use custom-made pods to produce their coffee, not ground. Still, it delivers an authentic traditional Italian-style espresso. They even have an espresso bar facing the sidewalk (in the shopping center). I have not tried their coffee, but their food is pretty great.

Nitro Bar

Locations

404 Thames Street
Newport, RI
7am-5pm Daily

2 Pond Ave
Newport, RI
7am-5pm Daily

Information

The Nitro bar gets a lot of hype. It is featured in local guides (even though, technically, they started in Providence). Their specialty is Nitro Cold Brew Coffee. As someone who thinks Nitro takes away from the flavor of the coffee, I’m not a fan of their coffee. They label their beans but don’t put roasting or origin information on their bags. Their espresso drinks are hit or miss based on the baristas. Some have decent training (Owen comes from SMC), others have very little training, and what comes out is pretty horrible. I’ve burnt my tongue on their stuff before.

They also have a kitchen and food. They talk about how good their food is, but I’ve always found it very overpriced. I’ve gotten an English muffin-sized sandwich for 12 bucks. It was good, but not worth the price.

My general feeling is that the vibe of this place is pretentious, and I don’t feel comfortable going there.

Springline Coffee

33 Banisters Wharf
Newport, RI
Sun-Wed 7am-5pm
Thurs-Sat 7am-7pm

Springline entered the old location for [[#Coffee Grinder]] past the Black Pearl. The spot is excellent, but I have roughly the same problem with the Coffee Grinder: the coffee tastes very burnt. The staff running it seems pretty young and not super well trained, but I’ve only been once. They have a single-shot espresso, so you can get half of what you usually get at other places, which is nice if you want a little less caffeine.

They roast, but I need to find out where. Their beans have the same problem of being pretty dark and classic coffee over the newer flavors I’m more interested in. I would not recommend it if you like third-wave coffee. If you like traditional dark coffee, this might be okay with you. The view is excellent.

More to Come

I’ll work on an updated list with even more coffee places locally. I’m considering the following list; please let me know if I miss yours.

• Custom House
• The Coffee Guy
• Mission Mornings
• Beaucoup

My path through coffee started with Peet’s Iced Mochas. I would get one most afternoons and became slowly addicted. Over time, I began to appreciate the taste of coffee better. At the time, I was in California, surrounded by some serious coffee roasters and shops.

Like many other interests, I became heavily invested in learning and understanding coffee. I slowly became a real coffee snob. I stopped adding chocolate, then even sugar or milk. I started drinking espresso. When traveling, I would try different coffee shops to find the best. In Portland, I discovered Coava and started drinking straight Espresso.

In Bozeman, MT, I had the most amazing Yirgacheffe coffee at Rockford Coffee, which had the most fruity flavor I had tried up to that point.

As I tried different coffees and regions, my knowledge grew. This is similar to how someone who drinks wine learns about the different grapes, regions, and wineries. Various regions of coffee beans have different tastes.

I have found that the process by which the bean is prepared for roasting seems to have the greatest impact on whether I will like the coffee, more than just the region.

There are three different processes these days for coffee (though one is a bit of a catch-all)

• Washed
• Natural
• Anaerobic

This was a very lengthy setup to talk briefly about these processes.

Washed Process

Coffee is grown on a tree. The beans we use are seeds in a fruit that grows on the tree. Before beans are roasted, they are both removed and dried. The process refers to how this is done.

In a washed process, once the fruit is harvested, the beans are removed and washed from the fruit with water (hence washed) before they are dried.

Because the fruit is removed, the flavor of this process tends to be very traditional coffee—a little more chocolate to me. Traditionally, these coffees have a higher acidity.

Natural Process

In the natural process, coffee is allowed to dry with the fruit still on it before the fruit is removed. This process extracts more of the fruit flavor from the bean.

Natural coffees tend to have a more robust fruit flavor. Less traditional coffee flavor.

Anaerobic Process

In an anaerobic process, the coffee is put in an oxygen-deprived environment with additives to mix with different flavors. These coffees tend to gain a lot of flavor from the flavors they are put in contact with. They can have very strong flavors in addition to the coffee. Because there are many different things you can use to flavor the bean, the flavor of this coffee can vary quite a bit.

My Preference

I’m a very strong fan of Natural or Anaerobic coffees. I love fruit in my coffee. I have had some great naturals and even some watermelon anaerobic coffees.

My favorite local coffee shop, Simple Merchant, introduces me to many different coffees through its rotating espresso. I have consistently found that their Naturals are a much bigger hit for me than their Washed (and Jordan loves washed).

Many people do not like natural coffees. If you like traditional coffee flavor, you probably prefer washed coffee. Pay attention to the method the next time you purchase coffee to make at home.