Tuesday, April 12, 2016

J is for Java

Cleveland is Cooler Than You Think!
All over the media, in tv and movies, Cleveland gets made fun of. In this year's A-Z Challenge, I'm here to show you everything Cleveland has to offer!

J is for Java

Everywhere you go you can always find a Starbucks, but what about those cute little independent coffee houses, pouring a cup that is just as good if not better than Starbucks? Travel and Leisure Magazine actually rated Cleveland the 16th best coffee city in America in 2014 (New York City only ranked 14!). Here are just a few of the great choices in the Cleveland area.

Early morning at Erie Island Coffee on 4th Street
Erie Island Coffee- began in 2009 on Kelleys Island in the Lake Erie Islands. Voted best coffee in Cleveland by Cleveland Magazine. Serves great espresso!


Phoenix Coffee- A small batch artisan roaster with four cafes around Cleveland. Many of the local restaurants serve their coffee as well. Phoenix also does private coffee and espresso catering. Highlighted in the Travel and Leisure article.



Ryan excited by his find!
Loop- This is a totally new kind of coffee shop. They serve coffee, tea, and some pastries but upstairs they have bins filled with vinyl records and a real record player that you can actually use. You can search through the records and put one on while enjoying your latte. Ryan had never seen a record player before and was thrilled by the sight of it!




Pour Cleveland- is a multi-roaster pour over and espresso bar shop. Pour over coffee takes a bit longer to make but it seems to be much more smooth an have fewer bitter notes. I haven't been to this one yet, but it's on my list.


Rising Star Coffee- Also highlighted in the Travel and Leisure article, they work directly with the farmers to roast the beans perfectly to impart the distinct qualities the farmers have tried to bring out in their product.  They have four locations in the Cleveland area.  Their website is pretty cool too, there is a tutorial on how to make a great pour over cup of coffee.  



Doggy Style (It's really not what you think!)

My three kids have taken up the habit of naming all the different positions our beagle Rory gets himself into.  Most of the time even I can't quite figure out why they chose the names they did but I thought it might put a smile on everyone's face to share in this silliness!


J is for Jupiter Spot

Rory's fur on his back is completely black except for one special white spot...his Jupiter Spot. 



Do you have a favorite specialty coffee house? I think I need a couple more cups so I can stay up all night tonight and catch up on the Challenge, I'm so behind in visiting people!  Hopefully I can get it together today!

I hope you are all having a great week!

Kathy :)

5 comments:

  1. I miss Erie Island, I used to go there all the time when I worked on 4th Street!

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  2. You would love Europe and especially, Germany, Austria, France and Italy. They are known for their unique cafe's. Of course, we have Starbucks here too, at least in Germany, but they have not managed to destroy the unique atmosphere of the coffee houses here. Coffee time is a hit here in Europe. Everybody goes to a cafe for a coffe.

    As for Rory, it is interesting that he has only that one tiny white spot. Sweet.

    Shalom,
    Patricia @ EverythingMustChange

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  3. Jupiter spot - funny.
    Since I don't drink coffee, I don't have to worry about finding the Java spots.

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  4. What a cute little dog, love the Jupiter spot :) I'm quite a big Starbucks fan so I don't really have to worry much about where to go for coffee
    Debbie

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  5. Megan- Wish I could spend more time on 4th Street!

    Pat-Yes, I would love Europe! I was lucky enough to spend some time in France but I desperately want to get back there sometime.

    Alex-I only just started drinking coffee a couple of years ago and now I'm addicted!

    Random-I like Starbucks too, but I enjoy checking out the smaller places as well.

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