Tuesday, October 28, 2008

octane

so after spending four and a half days in the middle of nowhere, GA. i was craving some good coffee. hell, i was craving anything that wasn't folgers.

i left the family at the airport, headed home to merry ol' england, and i jumped on the marta headed for 5points.


the little sister and i on the way to the airport

subway map understood? check. checked into hotel? errr... check. know where i'm going? check. and i was off to octane.

apparently i'm not particularly good at judging distances. because what i thought would be a 20min walk ended up being closer to an hour. through some neighborhoods i wouldn't walk at night.
but non-the-less i arrive at octane. a little later than i'd have liked, but who cares. i'm here. bring on the coffee!

i have to make a confession. i actually walked past the store initially, and had to double back about a block. the exterior is absolutely not what i was expecting. the "b" in the address made me think it'd be a basement dive-bar type deal, which would have been just fine by me. but no.... turns out its the joint corner unit of a strip-mall type deal. the interior is super dark with a long red brick exterior wall. there are separate stations on the bar, one dedicated to espresso and one to beer and wine. ben is the barista on tonight, he's stood in front of the three group lm linea as i walk in. he also happens to be the SE chapter rep for the bga, a seasoned usbc competitor, and a really nice guy.

the first order of business is my introduction to counter culture's espresso. served in a classic, plain white nuova point demitasse, i was excited. kinda peppery in the aroma and the initial taste, followed up with bittersweet bakers chocolate. so so good.
next up was a cappuccino. this time served in sweet black ceramic. i've gotta say i was kinda surprised. it was super wet, honestly more like a 5oz latte than a cap. and it was a little hot.... but looking past those things it as still super sweet and creamy, with a load of espresso flavor coming through. counter cultures' spro really cuts through milk!

goodbyes were said. coffee was purchased, to prolong the geeking out at home. and that was it. octane is a truly awesome coffee bar, and thoroughly deserves the reputation they've achieved recently.

back to milwaukee tomorrow. back to my bar. back to the cold. grrrrr

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