Aviano Coffee, 9th & Lincoln, Denver, CO

My best friend just moved into a new place near 9th and Lincoln. So after spending the night there & celebrating her new place, we were both in need of a strong cup of coffee. Using my handy dandy iphone, I looked up coffee shops near her apartment. Of about 5, Aviano Coffee was the closest and had the most supercilious website. I knew I had to check it out. Walking in, I was immediately impressed with the design - very elaborate and grand while still maintaining a homey cozy feel... not sure how they achieved that one.

Anyway, the website boasts about their use of latte art as "a regular part of the coffee experience." So instead of getting a plain cup of coffee, I sprung for a skim latte and bought the coffee for my friend. I told the baristo (who was very nice and kind of a punk/hipster) that I saw on the website about latte art and had to see it for myself. He chuckled & responded "I haven't really tried that yet." OK, I really don't care about latte art, but the website was so adamant about the "experience" that I was taken aback to hear he hadn't done this. Anyway he tried and honestly the latte was delicious and looked like a decent attempt. Side note - we have an espresso machine at my work, and I attempted latte art and couldn't even figure out how to make the froth creamy enough to make art out of it. My latte was "dry" with a stiff foam, and some pretty crappy espresso. - So I was grateful to have such a creamy latte even though the artwork could use improvement.

The coffee was damn good. Intelligenstia Coffee oh how I love you! It is right up there with Novo for me, and that is saying something. My friend had the dark El Diablo roast which, according to the Intelligenstia website has "delicious dark chocolate notes softened by a delicious buttery sweetness and accented with mild floral flavors... [with a] sweet, elegant, and crystal clean finish." Oh yea, couldn't have said it better myself. An amazing dark roast brewed perfectly, no doubt about it.

There is plenty of space to sit in Aviano and you should really come here to sit down and enjoy your drink. They do have wifi and a computer open to public use. They serve pastries and Breggo breakfast calzones (which are absurdly expensive but very well made and tasty). I was there at 8 on saturday morning and the pastry selection was slim so I just had the coffee. Aviano is definitely a coffee shop that you should go to when you need a break. You can sit on one of the modern but comfortable leather couches, take in the mystical local artwork, and listen to the drone of the espresso machine while sipping a supurb drink. Yea... it's that good.