Coffee and Bluegrass

Coffee culture in Chicago is pretty evenly divided between Metropolis Coffee and Intelligentsia, which can also be found in LA and New York. And while the Starbucks dream has achieved an above average cup of coffee, to-go in record time, there has been a recent movement to slow down and enjoy the process of brewing a great cup of coffee. This is where Coffee Lab, a new not-for-profit establishment on Evanston's Noyes St., finds its niche.

For the longest time I was just a tea person, but then I met Jacob. As a Starbucks barista, he knows all about Starbucks's strengths and shortcomings, but most importantly he knows how to drink coffee and taught me to like it. With cream, no sugar. To those coffee purists out there, there is one cup of coffee he will drink black and that is the Intelligentsia single source from Coffee Lab.

Coffee Lab grinds the beans when you order and uses a single cup pour-over method of brewing which drips into a beaker. The friendly seminary gents bring your coffee to you. They usually have four or five varieties of coffee beans available at a time. Single source is pretty much what it sounds like: the beans all come from the same region, but that region varies based on the batch. Intelligentsia is a company big enough to make a difference globally and small enough to deliver consistently good results.



You can read all about Coffee Lab's mission and Garrett seminary affiliation at their Facebook page.

Everything about the Coffee Lab experience is amazing. The space is well-lit and inviting. You check out on an iPad. The baristas are knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to educate you on why they do things the way they do. The coffee is delicious, but so is the tea, served loose-leaf in a small glass tea-pot. Their chai tea latte is one of the best you can get in Evanston. And they recently started doing latte art! It might depend on who is working at the time, but Alden got the best looking caramel latte (pictured below).



I'm all for slowing down and stopping to smell the coffee, if you will, so I definitely recommend stopping by one afternoon. While you're at it, bring your headphones and take a listen to the new Alison Krauss & Union Station album that's streaming on NPR's First Listen until it's release on April 12th.

I've always thought Alison Krauss's voice is just a little too sweet...borderline nauseating. BUT, it's a good thing she sings some killer bluegrass, because if it were any other genre I probably wouldn't like it. If you're in Nickel Creek withdrawal, then you'll enjoy this album. I heard somewhere that it is impossible to not be happy when listening to bluegrass and I think that's pretty true. There must be some scientific psychological phenomenon associated with the sound of a banjo that makes us smile. Examples in popular music: the Shins - Australia and Feist - 1, 2, 3, 4. A few well placed plucks are all we need.