I'm going to be visiting my sister and her family in Santaquin during Easter. This town is a few miles south of Provo. Does anyone know of a good place to get a cup of coffee or espresso around there? Thanks.
wasatch100 Senior Member Joined: 3 Dec 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Salt Lake City Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Epoca s1 tank Grinder: La Cimbali Jr Roaster: popcorn popper
Posted Sat Mar 4, 2006, 9:01am Subject: Re: Utah Coffee (No, really!)
The RoCo (Salt Lake Roasting Company) is by far your best bet. However I doubt if they sell anything south of the border, ie Salt Lake County. Coffee is probably illegal in Utah county :) I would suggest you take your coffee with you, it is likely that your own reheated 3 day old coffee will be better than anything you can find down there. If you go to the RoCo, post your impressions if you don't mind. I used to love it, but as I have moved to espresso and fresher coffee, I have not been as happy. They do roast fresh on the premises and do a pretty good business, but I think it is very possible to get stale coffee (no raost dates or schedules). Also, espresso is not their strong point.
I don't think it's possible to get beans that are not stale at Salt Lake Roasting Company. Obviously they do roast some nice beans there, but it's really difficult to know what beans are fresh just by looking at whats in dozens of bins. They will not tell you when a particular bean is roasted. They also have no clue about espresso. I've finally given up on Millcreek roasters. It was just too hard making enough of a stink for them to get pull fresh beans from the back. Now, I buy mail order from Stumptown and will be getting some beans from Cafe D'Bolla.
I always plug Cafe D'bolla. They are now doing custom roasts for people too. It's great coffee and espresso.
I have to believe there is a second store in Utah that makes good espresso, but I've not found it yet. I live in Utah Valley, and I've not found good coffee there.
Keep America Beautiful: Grow a Beard, Take a Bath, Burn a Billboard. (Edward Abbey)
I got to know the owners and the roaster when I lived there and could always score beans done that day. They used to have fairly fast turnover and I do not recall any stale beans. Maybe my luck (1993-95). There was a Cafe Heaven in Provo that used their beans, I think.
Anyway, get in early and chat with the roaster and find out what they did earlier that day.
A bookstore, The Golden Braid (in SLC), also had a small roaster and sold fairly good beans. Again, that was then. I keep thinking there was a third, but cannot recall.
If Millcreek was in operation in 93-95, then that is the third roasting operation I remember. I do not think it was Rimini, but the years have blurred that a bit, but that name is not as familiar as is Millcreek. Hmmmm.
don't think it's possible to get beans that are not stale at Salt Lake Roasting Company. Obviously they do roast some nice beans there, but it's really difficult to know what beans are fresh just by looking at whats in dozens of bins. They will not tell you when a particular bean is roasted. They also have no clue about espresso. I've finally given up on Millcreek roasters. It was just too hard making enough of a stink for them to get pull fresh beans from the back.
yes i agree. i got suspicious of the "freshness" when they told me that they dont know.
--they just put todays date on it no matter what. i put it in sealed jars to see it it off gasses still. usually does for a couple of days , when i found out the "system"
one really snoty brat working there will get offended if you ask to look at the beans or ask any questions. bean nazi with no skill to back it up. IMO
they have no clue about espresso which i will explain later.
i had so much trouble with the brat mentioned above that after months of buying a pound a week and every single time this person was snobby and rude to me, i emailed the owner. NICE GUY> REALLY NICE..saved me from never walking in there ever again. he called me about an hour after i sent the email we spoke for 30 minutes about averything. he will answer questions about aanything, very open. he doesnt drink espresso, often. usually FP...so theres why not good espresso. i saw someone tamp in the air not even on the table just in mid air...:D
so anyway heres how the owner explained it to me about the freshness and such. there are 2 sizes of bins. large and small. large bins get roasted everyday. these are the more popular varieties/blends. so the turn around faster and such. smaller bins are the one that arent as popular but he says they toss it after 7 days. i usually will look at how much is in the bin of the kind i want and if its almost gone its probably older.
anyway, i hated that place and went to millcreek which also does a fantastic job. super nice people working there. but lacking in varieties. but i really like their espresso blend. at the time the fiasco at SLRC i bough prescription of CBX from coffeeemergency. as that ended i was getting the millcreek espresso. it tastes just like the CBX and i dont have to pay shipping. millcreek stamps the date on the bins so you know when its roasted. i go in the back my self, i asked one time and the girl goes oh you can go get it.
have never run into john at d'bolla. the setup looks nice and he seems nice on here.
Coffee garden rocks, all default douple ristrettos. nice usually consistent.
probably best to just make it at home.
nice to see other CG'ers in town. we should meet up for a puck toss at liberty park. :D
My only suggestion: Beware of places that sell beans with of expiration date of 3-6 months out. IMHO establishments that try to pawn these kinds of beans on the public are suspect at best.
StarrL Senior Member Joined: 28 May 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun May 28, 2006, 7:50pm Subject: Re: Utah Coffee (No, really!)
Hey guys,
Sorry to resurrect the old post, but I'm now in the SLC area, and I'm considering my first espresso machine purchase. I'd like to get the QM Vetrano, or something similar, but I'd like to be able to see some comparable machines in person. I'd like to hear the noise differences in a rotary vs. the vibrator pump, HX vs. Dual boiler, Grinders, etc.
Are there any retail places I can go to check some of these machines out in person? I realize I may not be able to see the QM Vetrano specifically, but this will be my first machine purchase, and although I've read quite a bit about them, I'd still like to see some of the features etc. in person.
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