When I was researching Wifi options at the convention center, I saw rumors in the forums of a coffee shop across the street. Unfortunately, the forums said the place had closed over the years. In my few trips into downtown Indianapolis, I rarely had a reason to go by Lucas Oil Stadium or the Convention Center. At least, if I had, I never bothered to look around at the neighborhood. It was a part of town I would shoot through while I looked around for a decent parking garage.
Since this time, we were able and encouraged to walk around to find reasonably priced food, I spied a coffee shop right where it should be. Luckily, up and down the block, there were some of the best food trucks in town. I cannot say I ate anything terrible this weekend. Tacos, Italian beef sandwiches, cupcakes, brownies, pizza, and so many other wonderful things were enjoyed and consumed.
Now, once the itch finally hit, I avoided the two Starbucks that were in the neighborhood, and went to this coffee shop. I was glad I did.
Bee Coffee Roasters is the real deal. They seemed to be missing two options for coffee: French Press and Regular Machine Drip. I cannot say I missed the sitting vats of drip coffee. However, I was surprised about the missing French Presses.
However, they have traditional espresso, milk drinks, Aeropresses, and Chemexes ready to go. They also have smoothies that Delle enjoyed, and wonderfully crafted teas. At their main location in another part of Indy, they roast their own coffees. On their board, they have recommendations for each method of preparation.
Since I was excited to see someone else use a Chemex, especially someone who uses one all day, I had to have one. The largest size is a 16 oz coffee. I respect that, I like it. As the cup sizes grow, I feel like I am racing through a bucket of hot liquid, and not savoring perfection.
At Bee Roasters, every coffee is made to order, and you will have to wait for the preparation. This attention to detail, even when it is as manic as a Convention, is wonderful. The coffee blend they used in the Chemex was great.
Later on in the day, I went back for an espresso shot for comparison. I would like to say that was entirely for this blog entry, but it was also the monkey on my back demanding its tribute. Surprising, the slow craft, locally roasted espresso double shot was cheaper than the one inside of the Convention hall. I understand the reason for the markup for a captive audience inside, but for the price they need to step up the coffee.
Bee Roasters espresso had a wonderful crema. It also had a slight tang and flavor. I really did not get a chance to really savor the flavor profiles since I was also geeking out on other things. I was enamored and still am regarding their coffees. Next time I am downtown, I will be stopping in.
I recommend checking out their Facebook page, since that seems to pass for a website right now. Their pictures are great, and I remember seeing all those costumes. I appreciate how they got into the spirit, and were both supreme baristas and geeks.
Another cool thing I saw there, every cappuccino and latte they make gets latte art. I think that each variation they made, when they use syrup has its own design. I wish I had gotten pictures, and I wish I had gotten to ask them some questions. Unfortunately, there was just no time for it given the lines.
No comments:
Post a Comment