Brennen's

Brennen's Cafe
High St. and 15th
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Brenen's is just across from the OSU campus. They offer food and a study space¹ in a two room, Olive-Gardenesque atmosphere. While the food descriptions looked delicious, the coffee itself was terrible. The details about how it was made are largely limited to what we could hear as we could not see behind the bar. However, many times one can decipher whether or not the barista knows what they are doing just by listening.

Espresso

Machine: Rancilio
Beans: Caruso's

At least 4oz of undrinkable bitterness.

Positive:
Served in ceramic cup.

Negative:
Shot was way too fast which, in turn, results in a watery, bitter shot.
No crema.
Rubbery taste.

Cappuccino

Brennen's offers what they call a Cappuccino and a Euro Cappuccino. Neither drink matches up with any accepted standards. The Euro Cappuccino is made with "equal parts espresso and foam" while the Cappuccino is "one part espresso to steamed milk topped with foam." A true cappuccino, Euro or otherwise, is one third espresso, one third steamed milk, and one third fine milk foam in a 1:1:1 ratio. This is easy for properly trained baristi² to eyeball and, besides, precision is always valued over accuracy. The palate measures by taste. The variations presented by Brennen's create enough slack in the industry standards that precision is irrelevant. These just aren't cappuccinos.

We ordered the Euro Cappuccino and the drink we received did not match up with even Brennen's standards. We were given a double shot of espresso with twelve ounces of bubbly milk foam, like an exaggerated macchiato.

Negative:
No ceramic cup; served in 16 ounce styrofoam cup.
Incorrect ratio of espresso, milk, and foam.
Transparent bubble bath foam.
Undrinkably bitter, tire fire rubber taste.
Loud milk frothing, looked like barista was shaking a baby.

¹ The study space was a separate room without the music that played in the main dining area. It shares a wall with the kitchen at the neighboring Jimmy John's, so all the classic rock on their radio and clatter pans were plainly audible.

² Many times the baristi working behind the counter are doing the best with what they're given. This is likely the case with Brennen's, since the owners decided to go rogue with their cappuccino stylings. Although the role of barista has been heightened lately in the Specialty industry, employees are only as good as their training. It would be like a car repair shop that spends thousands of dollars on tools and marketing and then expects the first Tom, Dick, or Harry off the street to be able to work miracles on broken vehicles by doing nothing more than handing them a $50 wrench. In general, the best shops are those that understand training and education as an important aspect of quality-in-the-cup and belong to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (scaa.org). You can also check out the 2009 WBC competition standards for cappuccinos (§2.1.2) here.

Kafe Kerouac

Kafe Kerouac
2250 N High St
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Kafe Kerouac is a little shop selling books, cds and vinyl, alcohol and coffee to the college kids of Columbus. Located on North High Street on the corner of Northwood, this campus hangout holds various events including cigar and poetry nights (held separately), and offers a quiet space to study while drinking, unfortunately, not so great coffee.

Espresso

Machine: Faema Due
Beans: Chief Cooker

Overall, a thin, bitter shot that was undrinkable.

Negative:
Watery
Shot came way too fast
Did not preheat cup
No saucer or spoon
Tan crema that dissipated quickly

Positive:
Cleaned portafilter between shots (with micropore towel!)
Purged between shots
Ground per shot

Cappuccino

A bubble bath foam with watery espresso. They only had two percent milk, but the barista offered to make whole for me by mixing half and half and two percent (thanks, lady!). Unfortunately, while this was a very nice offer that we appreciate and took advantage of, it did not enhance the beverage by much.

Negative:
Bubble bath foam

Did not have proper size, but the barista did make a smaller cappuccino because we asked, so thank you!

Same sad espresso as above
Inappropriate ratio

Pulled shots before steaming milk, leaving our shots to spoil before they even had a chance to prove themselves

Drip

They feature a "Private Reserve" blended especially for KK. It was pretty good but did not stand out in any particular area.

Espresso Cafe

Espresso Cafe
250 Civic Center Dr.
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Espresso Cafe is a little shop on the Riverfront in Downtown Columbus. It features not only coffee and espresso beverages but also breakfast and lunch food. The patio has very nice chairs and a great view of the river. Two computers and a printer are available for the office worker that has neither laptop nor coffee. While Damion tried to score a view of the barista's activity, he missed the action as much of the machine is obscured because of how it is situated on the counter. This did not matter much, as the product told us everything. They also offer a soda fountain and a "French vailla latte" machine like one might find at a gas station.

Espresso

Overall, a pretty terrible shot. It was served in a styrofoam cup...a 16 ounce styrofoam cup full a good third of way with espresso. It was extremely bitter. Let's review: a 5-6 ounce "double shot" in a 16 ounce STYROFOAM cup.

Positive:
They use Ohio's own Caruso's Coffee, Volare blend, for their espresso.

Negative:
Served in styrofoam cup (they have no "for here" cups whatsoever).
Thin; very watery.
Tan, dissipating crema.
Very bitter.
Beans were not ground per shot.

Shots had body like they were brewed in a French press. Which is fine (if it were brewed in a French press).
Before our drinks were started there was dried, crusty milk left on the steam wand from a previous customer's order. On that basis, it is safe to conclude that the machine is not cleaned or wiped down at all between uses.

Cappuccino

The cappuccino had some surprisingly well-steamed milk but, when coupled with the terrible espresso, it was undrinkable. The ratio was way off (it was quite heavy), not to mention the volume. There were only 16 or 20 ounce sizes available.

Positive:
Well-steamed and foamed milk.

Negative:
Incorrect ratio
Same terrible shots as above
Used 2% milk
Wrong size (again, the smallest possible option is 16 ounces).
Served with grounds on the lip of the styrofoam cup.
Tasted like a Cafe au Lait. Which is fine, if what we ordered was a Cafe au Lait.

Drip

They said they had Caruso's Awaken blend brewed but none of the signs on the self-serve airpots said anything about that. I got the last bit of what was marked as "100% Colombian" and filled the rest of the cup with "House Blend." It was flat, weak, and cool.

Global Gallery

Global Gallery
3535 N. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43214

Global Gallery is a local set of shops that sell hand-made jewelry and household items using a "trade not aid" business model that benefits people in developing countries. To this end they also sell small organic and "ethical" food items like chocolate bars and, most importantly, coffee. Global Gallery now has its own cafe in Clintonville in a building that has also been used as a garden store and a locksmith shop. Its eclectic history is reflected in various architectural idiosyncrasies, nooks, and crannies which make it a very interesting place to enjoy a coffee.

Espresso

Machine: Three-group La Pavoni

Positive:
Ground per shot.
Barista knew ristretto terminology.

Negative:
The crema dissipated quickly.
Body was too thin.
Volume of liquid in the cup was too great for a ristretto.
Did not purge group prior to or after the shot was pulled.
The espresso tasted sour and too fruity (like cough syrup, almost).

Cappuccino

Positive:
Used whole milk, so the froth held up well.
Well proportioned foam:milk:espresso.

Negative:
The serving size was too large. They have no cups smaller than 20 ounces.
Tasted sour, like the solo espresso shots.

The drink was served too hot. Damion took a regular first sip and used all the normal precautions one takes when unsure of a given drink's temperature and was still so overwhelmed by the heat that he spat it out immediately. It was pretty rough. A lot of cursing was involved.

Drip

The drip coffee (a blend called Justice) was served out of an airpot and tasted fresh, with positive grainy and sesame flavors and a slippery mouth-feel. This and the ambiance were the best part of the whole experience.

Upheaval

There is a lot of coffee in Columbus but none of it grew here. This is another installment in our continuing series of producer-country profiles intended to get a sense of what a massive undertaking it is to get coffee from there to here. While this is not a profile as such it will, I hope, expand our perspectives as consumers of coffee.

There have been two major revolts in Latin America recently:

Honduras

The president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, has been exiled to Costa Rica by members of the military. He attempted to add a third term to his presidency. This was ruled unconsitutional and the Honduran Supreme Court gave an order allowing the military to detain Zelaya.

WSJ, NYT, (via).

Peru

Indigenous Peruvians blocked roads and cut pipelines to resist corporate and governmental incursions into areas they claim rights to. At least thirty-five people died in the clash over proposals to open large areas of rain forest for oil drilling, logging, and hydroelectric dams.

NYT, (via).

More reviews of local coffee shops will be up after the weekend. Have a happy Fourth!