back! after a month and a half hiatus! finally we got together again for a few shots and good ole’ yappin’.

The coffee served here is very far from a traditional italian style espresso, though. A blend of local beans is used, and brewed to produce a syrupy concentrate with none of the crema we are used to seeing today. This concentrate is served in a regular glass and gallantly topped with milk to taste.

A family dispute split the business into two locales, and the original name and machines moved a few blocks away. While the original cafe changed it’s name to Cafe Portales and acquired new Victoria Arduino machines which are sadly now only used for steaming milk.

Regardless of these feuds, both are delightful places to stop for coffee during a visit to Veracruz, and each one has a distinctive characteristic to their coffee preparation. Check out the flickr set of my visit to both places to see the more pics of both places.

Oh, and we never listen to music here!!!!

Well, I’m out of Gimme! coffee’s Leftist espresso blend. It didn’t last long, but it was wonderful while it lasted…

I love grumpy’s. I just love it. The espresso is always great, and the guys there are awesome. And they always have some interesting new blends or single origins for me to try out. I wish I lived in Chelsea just so this could be my every-morning coffee stop on my way to work…

Another one of my espresso stops in Manhattan was 9th street espresso. Located at… well, 9th street. I had heard about this place before, but then the barista at Gimme! coffee mentioned them, and I had to hunt them down and give them a try.

They use Stumptown coffee. Hairbender’s in particular, for espresso. A wise choice IMHO. the latte I ordered was perfect, and the service was great. Another 5 star experience and a must-taste in the manhattan espresso tour.

check ‘em out here.

I had 10 full days to roam around during my visit to New York City this time around. So that gave me plenty of time to explore all the espresso joints we dig here at godshots. The first stop I made was to Gimme! coffee’s recently opened spot in the village. It’s a “on-the-go” type of place. No seats, no tables… Only a small bar at one end, and a couple of benches outside. It feels cozy and inviting, though.

I ordered the standard latte, which they make with their special leftist blend. It was a delicious tasting shot, and the rosetta on it was as pretty as they come. All in all an excellent experience. One I would recommend to any coffee lover as a must-visit!

Visit them at this Mott St location, or check out their webpage for other locations, ordering blends, and learning about coffee culture in general.

My recent trip to NYC neted me the following loot: 2 bags of Gimme coffee’s Leftist espresso blend, 2 bags of Grumpy’s Heartbreaker espresso blend, and 2 bags of stumptown’s Hairbender espresso blend. The black bag is a Rwandan single origin from Grumpy’s just for yucks. This saturday’s godshots will be a cornucopia of awesomeness!!!

Two of my favorite things in the world are video games and coffee. But this guy totally took that to the next level. An Arduino based wii nunchuck controller mod for a Rancillio Silvia.

That’s insane! Check out the rest of his blog for other DIY projects, and the coffeetronics section of the Arduino Wiki for more goodies.

(found via hackaday)