Coffee lab
The folks at Rising Star Coffee take coffee seriously. But at least they smile while they're doing it.
We stopped in at their new coffee shop inside the old fire station on W.29th and Church Avenue, the very same fire station that used to wake us up at 3 a.m. with their exterior siren.
Around 1973 Joanne and I lived just a block away, and I swear they used that siren just to annoy us (not like at 3 a.m. they needed to warn the cars zooming by on the street).
Brewed with care
But back to the coffee. No big thermos pump containers on the counter at Rising Star. Each cup is ground fresh and lovingly brewed either with a filter-type funnel like you see here, or the more exotic gizmo below. It takes a few minutes. Our barista poured a small amount of water into the filter, just enough to wet the grounds, then waited a few moments. This let the grounds "bloom" for full flavor. Here's a detailed description of the process. You need to be patient.
This glass contraption reminded me of chemistry lab in high school (but in a good way). It even has a small burner underneath to heat the liquid.
Neither of us sampled coffee made this way, but Joanne liked her filter-method coffee, and my cappuccino was delicious.
Glad to have this new small business in the neighborhood. They roast small batches of coffee right in the firehouse.
Their arrival makes up for the loss of Van Rooy, the coffee roasters that used to scent the neighborhood's air with a smokey coffee aroma from their headquarters just a block away on Detroit Avenue.
