Cafe Ladro Kirkland, Wa

So it's been a while. And I've been super lazy and haven't wanted to leave my happy place (Voxx). But yesterday I decided since I was in Kirkland getting my oil changed I'd get crazy and try Cafe Ladro. I walked in, it wasn't busy at all. The girl was super friendly, which is always a huge plus. I've noticed that some people that work in coffee shops tend to be a little snobby. Off my rant, so I asked her if I could have a soy macchiato and she responded what size would you like? I looked at her kind of funny before I answered and she goes oh you want like a real real macchiato. (Insert HUGE smile here) I was pumped when she said that. Soooo, long story short I get my mach and I add 1 1/2 packets of sugar in the raw. Take a stir stick and proceed to mix it in. I'm soo bummed. I blew my own coffee....too.much.sugar. FML I'm such a dumb dumb.

But here's my thoughts...

The coffee didn't taste like much. Usually I can even taste a hint of coffee but maybe she put a lot of soy in there and then while I added the sugar the coffee disappeared.

Analysis: I must try this place again. I totally blew it. But my experience, two thumbs up :)

Slow and steady wins the race?

So I must admit I haven't been very good at this whole blog thing. Perhaps I should start doing videos or something. Or maybe even just have followers so I feel obligated to do what I say I'm gonna do. Hmmm, what an idea. Anywhoo, so today my journey was to Peets....I know, I know it was on the agenda but I couldn't find anywhere else...greenlake! Must. Move. To. The. City. WTF

Moving on, this nice boy helps and I ask for a soy macchiato, he somewhat looks at me confused then it registered. I then proceeded to ask him if he could put some milk in there to since there he said "oh shots with foam" and to that he replies "do you want like whole milk?" Umm no thanks I'm lactose could you just use the soy that you are gonna make my foam with and put some of the remnants of the soy in there? (Course I did not say this but really?) Onto me receiving my drink, LOTS of foam, whatever I'll get over it. I add one packet of Sugar in the Raw and pray to god it was nothing like my last experience.

Verdict: GOOD!

Holy batman I'm impressed. A chain that actually has legit, non-acidic tasting coffee! Yum. It also doesn't leave that yucky feeling of coffee all up in my grill, and you know what I'm ok with that.

Will I return?: If I'm in the area, sure why not that was pretty fantastic except for the foam.

Little Bit of this and that.

Soo I'm starting to compile a list of shops :) Get excited.

Espresso Vivace Roasteria

227 Yale Ave. N.
Seattle WA 98109
206.860.5869

Victrola Coffee

310 E. Pike OR 411 15th Ave. E.
Seattle WA 98122
206.325.6520

Bauhaus

301 E. Pine St.
Seattle WA 98122
206.625.1600

Fuel Coffee (Heard about this one I'm excited to try it, love the design)

Capital Hill 610 19th Ave. E. Seattle WA 98112 206.329.4700 Mr. Spots Chai House 5463 Leary Ave. N.W. Seattle WA 98107 206.297.2424 Java Bean 5819 24th Ave. N.W. Seattle WA 98107 206.788.9677 Icon Coffee - Caffe Vita 4301 Fremont Ave. N. Seattle WA 98103 206.632.3535 Zeitgeist 71 S. Jackson St. Seattle WA 98104 206.583.0497 Cafe Solstice 4116 University Way N.E. Seattle WA 98105 206.675.0850 Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company 2200 N. 56th St. Seattle WA 98103 206.545.4277 Verite 1111 E Pike St btw 11th & 12th Ave Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 328-6544 Cafe Ladro Upper Queen Anne 2205 Queen Anne Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 (206) 282-5313 The original Ladro where it all started.

Diva Espresso

Greenlake 4615 Stone Ave. North (206) 632-7019 Muse Coffee Co 1907 10th Ave W Seattle, Wa Bedlam 2231 2nd Ave (Blanchard Street) Seattle, WA 98121 Here's a couple to start with. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me! Sooo excited!

Oops, sorry sugar.

So I have to admit today I was really gonna do it and branch out past Voxx. But then I realized, I really shouldn't just wing it and head to the first coffee shop I see, I should do some research. I figured I could do that but then I could just find myself highly caffeinated with a bunch of shit coffee. Never a good thing. So back to Voxx I am, I think I'm addicted.

While waiting for my Mach, I looked at what I thought was sugar in the raw the whole time (for the past five months) and I realized that it says evaporated cane juice. Now I thought to myself could this be the answer to my question? Is this why Voxx has me hooked like a meth addict? I'm not sure but I'm gonna find out.

So I did a little research to find out what the difference between evaporated cane juice and sugar in the raw..

Check this out:

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/ild/2009/sweet/sugar.html#axzz1FVF5gFge

"Evaporated cane juice is crystallized sugar, minus the final refining stages, which allows it to retain a small amount of molasses and gives the crystals their light tan color."

"It is interesting to note that raw sugar is already refined. Only evaporated cane juice is truly "raw" sugar (of the cane variety - sugars can come from other sources as well, such as beets and fruit). Once the cane juice crystals are harvested, they are washed, boiled, centrifuged, filtered, and dried. The purpose of this is to remove all of the original plant materials (stalk, fiber, etc.) to produce the pure sugar. This process removes most of the fiber and nutrients that existed in the original crystals. The sugar then becomes refined, and is now a food high in calories with little nutritional value."

(http://www.formerfatguy.com/articles/sugar-coated-truth.asp)

So now that I found out about this little mystery, I may have solved the my own mystery as to why I love Voxx coffee so much! Oh life. I will keep you posted and I promise that I will actually start going to other places to keep this blog interesting :)

Ahhh Back Home

After a nightmare of an experience yesterday. I am back on home turf at Voxx. Nothing like a little pick-me-up...literally. After my wonderful Mach, I felt a small little spark inside of me. I couldn't help myself but to get every part of that drink. I would have licked the inside but come on that's a little obsessive. Maybe I'll just get another one. I've noticed that if I do that I tend to sweat. For most people coffee just gives them super human powers. Me, on the other hand, it just makes me sweat like a fat kid in gym class. Picture that. Anyways, tomorrow I am going to see what trouble I can get into in another cafe. :)

Visit 1 Borders Cafe Redmond, Wa

Me: Hello, can I get a soy macchiato with no foam.

"Barista": well the drink macchiato is all foam, would you like a latte?

Me: No, I would like two shots with a splash of hot soy

"Barista": Ok well that is then a doppio espresso with soy, I can do that.

Me: K, Thanks. (Thought: this is already going to be a terrible drink. And not to be a snob but I worked at Starbucks for 3 years I know what a f-ing macchiato is.)

Coffee Brewed: Seattle's Best

Soy: Not quite sure, looking into that

Sugar: 1 Sugar in the Raw

Bitter and yucky, just like the "Barista" but at least I could make my drink disappear.

Rating: ** out of 5 Stars

Addicted?

I have decided that I'm going to blog about the best....and worse....coffee in the Seattle area. The name half pint comes from my roomie who named me that because of my large stature. :) This idea stems from the fact that I'm literally OBSESSED with Voxx Coffee on Eastlake in Seattle. No one has yet to make a better soy macchiato than them. Not only is it bomb.com but they also don't look at me like I'm crazy when I order it or ask me if I'd like a latte. Hello, I want soy macchiato with no foam.

"Caffè macchiato (Italian pronunciation: [kafˈfɛ mmakˈkjaːto]), sometimes called espresso macchiato, is a coffee drink, made out of espresso with a small amount of milk.

"Macchiato" simply means "marked" or "stained," and in the case of caffè macchiato, this means literally "espresso stained/marked with milk." Traditionally it is made with one shot of espresso, and the small amount of added milk was the "stain." However, later the "mark" or "stain" came to refer to the foamed milk that was put on top to indicate the beverage has a little milk in it, usually about a teaspoon. In fact, the Portuguese word for a macchiato is "pingo," which means "drop"^{[citation needed]}.

The reason this coffee drink got its name was that the baristas needed to show the serving waiters the difference between an espresso and an espresso with a tiny bit of milk in it; the latter was marked.

In the United States, "macchiato" is more likely to describe this variant (in contrast to latte macchiato), and thus arises the common confusion that "macchiato" literally means "foam," or that a macchiato must necessarily have foam. (As the term "macchiato" to describe this type of coffee predates the common usage of foam in coffee by centuries, the staining "agent," the additive that lightens the dark espresso, is traditionally the milk, not the foam.)"

Now with that said, let's try it again. I would like a soy macchiato NO FOAM, Thanks.

So long story short. I am in search to see if VOXX is the only cafe that can make a bomb coffee por moi :)