Coffee-Milk

Coffee milk... what could this mean? Coffee flavored milk - no.. Milk that you put in your coffee.. - no. Flavored milk that is made especially for coffee.. - NO. 

Coffee milk is a coffee drink creation concocted by my roommate, morgan. 

Here is how it goes:

1. I wake up and make a pot of french press coffee. Since I am the only person in my house who drinks coffee regularly, I seldom finish the pot, leaving less than a cup left over. The french press takes some time to clean, and I typically clean it at the end of the day, so the leftover coffee sits in the pot. 

2. Morgan wakes up (or comes home from dance, depending on the day/time), and pours the rest of the coffee (about a quarter of a cup) into a large mug. Obviously there is not much in there, and she needs to fill the mug. What does she do? 

3. She then fills the remaining three quarters with low-fat Simply Start milk. Ok so now you get the concept... but wait there is more!

4. After this, morgan mixes the coffee and milk, she adds one packet of sweet 'n low sugar to her concoction. 

Stir. Drink. and Enjoy. 

So there you have it - the recipe for Coffee Milk, the coffee drink for non coffee drinkers who want to not drink coffee at home.  voila!

Sitting in 2nd Cup

Espresso con panna? What is this? The owner of 2nd Cup Cafe in Allston was perplexed when I made my request. Also known as a double espresso with a dollop of whipped cream on top, the espresso con panna is quite delicious. I thought it was a common order, but apparently not. As my roommate, Marielle, and I sit and ponder in one of our favorite coffee shops, I am sipping on my espresso and she has decided to indulge in a Ghirardelli hot chocolate (sans the whipped cream). The 2nd cup is homey, and I'm pretty sure they only employ 4 people: the owner, his daughter, an Emerson student, and another very nice lady. 

They make more than coffee (surprised?) and have a lovely selection of food that they make there. The scones are amazing, and I hear that the honey-mustard is unbeatable. One of my favorite moments at 2nd Cup was when I had a craving for a meatball sandwich, but didn't want to travel far for lunch. Marielle and I went to 2nd cup for lunch and the special sandwich was MEATBALL! How awesome is that? It was delicious too (although not as delicious as the meatballs that I make). The 2nd Cup is busy most of the day, they offer free wifi, and friendly service. 

I think the best part of 2nd Cup is that they serve George Howell coffee. I go in with a small coffee tin, and have them grind me a half pound to get me through the week. The owner is great, and allows me to only buy a half pound at a time. After all, he knows the importance of fresh coffee. 

Getting to the 2nd cup is easy: walk. No crazy bus rides, no busy T, just a stroll down the street!

Francesca's Espresso Bar

Oh how I love Francesca's. This is one of the first cafes I went to when I moved to boston and finally started exploring coffee shops. Francesca's is located in the South End and has all of the lovelyness of the South End. Every time I go there I feel as though I should wear my glasses, bring my laptop (free wifi) and have a handsome gay man by my side. Francesca's, as with many coffee shops also has a great selection of lunch items and cold coffee drinks. My favorite sandwich is the turkey club with pesto (you have to request the pesto)... yummy! Pair that with an iced chai and you are in for a treat for lunch or dinner. 

This was the friday spot to go for lunch last year. We would take the 15 minute walk, and it was nice. Although in the bitter cold, the Silver Line bus is rather convenient. Just get off at the boylston T stop and wait for the silver line on tremont street. The best part? It tells you at the stop how long until the next bus comes! A bus that is reliable. Believe it.

Favorite activity to do in Francesca's: 

Grab a metro paper and do the goofy crossword puzzle! The best part about this is that the Metro crossword has a mistake almost every week. Then you have to just randomly fill in answers. Good times. 

How I Came to Love Coffee

Coffee? Ugh, no thanks. This will be the response of the majority of people under the age of 16, as it was for me. I didn't see why people drank something (by choice) that tasted so bitter. Instead, the majority of my early "coffee" drinking days involved the creamy and delicious Espresso Smoothie from Crowfoot Valley Coffee in Castle Rock, CO. Whether or not there is actually espresso in this is debatable, but it was my first step. I was introduced to this soon after my very first Caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks. I walked into crowfoot (feeling indignant and uncomfortable) and asked for something like a Caramel Frappuccino. 

The Espresso Smoothie was addicting (despite the lack of caffeine), but it didn't compare to the addicting atmosphere of an actual coffee shop. I was hooked: the smells, the comfy purple chairs, and the people. Mark, Luke, Chris, and Parker. My four favorite people. I rarely socialized with them outside of the coffee shop, but that didn't stop me from seeing them nearly every day for my junior and senior years of high school. They slowly eased my progression from Espresso Smoothie to The Trio, to Vanilla Latte to Soy Latte, to Latte, to Parker's special (and still my favorite) Trio Americano, to Americano, to straight up coffee, and finally straight up espresso. 

Coffee, it seemed, could be delicious from the most basic cup o' joe, to a fancy and expensive espresso drink. I was hooked, and soon considered a regular... ya know when you walk in the door, are greeted by name, and handed the drink that you would have ordered? Yea, that was me. Honestly, you don't just become a regular. In fact, it took me a while before I got up the guts to actually introduce myself the the owner, Jason. Once I did that, the whole being a regular thing really fell into place. When it was time to leave high school and go to college in Boston, I was excited... think of all the possibilities to become a regular!

Preface

As a college student and a coffee addict, I have decided to share my coffee experiences in Traveling for Coffee. At least once a week my roommate and I travel around boston to go to new and delicious coffee shops to fulfill our craving for caffeine and culture. Stay tuned...