Home @ 21 Dec 2007 06:35 pm by Christina Waters
When Joseph Schultz tells you, “this place has the best coffee in town,” you tend to pay attention. The founding chef/ethno-gastronomer for the late, great India Joze Restaurant was referring to the new Lulu Carpenter’s housed in the new/old Octagon across from Gravago in downtown Santa Cruz. And frankly he could be right.
At least that’s how my deep, rich, dark-roast coffee tasted yesterday morning. And that was nothing compared to Joze’ incredible triple espresso with a float of whipped cream. I took a sip. It should have been acidic at that wattage, but it wasn’t. Not the least bit bitter. Incredible. The secret to all of this might just lie in Felton, at Coffee Cat, where Lulu’s beans are custom roasted.
I am about to make a field trip up to the mountains to find out. Stay tuned.
The Coffee Cat is in Scotts Valley in the Safeway Plaza on Mount Hermon Road. So you won’t have to trek to the mountains. Nothing beats Peet’s coffee for truly delicious roast. Manthri has a way to go before he can match that taste.
Thanks for the commentary, Christina. I’d like to concur with your last reader that Peet’s Coffee and Tea has a good product. It’s important to note however, that our roasting style derives from a Northern Italian tradition of lighter roasted coffees and espresso cuisine. Peet’s roasting style as practiced today is hardly something that we aspire to, or are trying to “match”. The late great Alfred Peet, with whom I had the privilege of spending quality time in the 90’s, was himself no fan of Peet’s Coffee (he sold the company to the one of the founders of Starbucks in the early 80’s), commenting that it all tasted the same, and was much too carbony. I would also point out that Peet’s doesn’t put roast dates on the coffee they sell, and in a disturbing recent development, they have taken to pre-grinding (big no-no!) their coffee at their new plant in Alameda. This is the road Starbucks went down many years ago.
That said, while we never sell coffee beans that are more than 4 days off the roast, and we NEVER pre-grind coffee, Peet’s is a fine product, and we share your reader’s respect for them. We’re doing something different, and I think that’s good for the consumer.