BlueBox Coffee

Drink Ordered: Small Cappuccino
Coffee Roaster: Ground Control – Roasted on location
Other Beverages: Teas, Wines and Beers
Stamp Card: Yes
Pricing Comparison: $$$$

Website: groundxcontrol.com

This week’s coffee shop is Ground Control in Goodyear. I’m pleased to say this is another hidden gem. While not immediately obvious from the street, it’s worth spending a minute or two in the parking lot to locate this shop. I visited Ground Control on a Sunday morning. As would be expected, there weren’t any long lines and almost all of the tables were free. Even though the shop did not appear to be busy, there was still a fairly regular flow of customers in and out of the shop during my visit.

Ground control has a few tables outside, but other than that looks just like every other storefront in the shopping center. The inside, however, is a much different story. Anything but plain, the classic contemporary look begins with the oval espresso bar area in the center of the shop, rather than the more traditional placement at the back or side wall. Another, smaller, bar is located at teh back of the shop, next to the roaster where Ground Control roasts their beans twice a week. A selection of jazz, indie and soft rock music was playing at a pleasant volume – not so quiet that you would need to strain to hear it, but not loud enough to be overpowering. The large tropical aquarium is a nice finishing touch.

On display around the shop is a large selection of wines and beers. With their great food menu, and wide selection of beverages, Ground Control is perfect for any time of day. Whether stopping in for your morning latte, or going out for drinks or dinner after work, Ground Control has what you are looking for.

The young barista who helped me was very energetic and upbeat. I knew I was in good hands when he thanked me for ordering a cappuccino, because not enough people order them this time of year. While a considerably wetter cappuccino than I like, it was what I would consider to be a perfect American cappuccino.  I have no doubt that if I had asked for a proper cappuccino, that is exactly what I would have received. The froth was thick and creamy, and had not turned back into liquid by the time I finished the cappuccino.

The espresso itself smelled of cedar, but also a bit sweet. The taste had tones of honey, pecans and cedar. This is one of the better espresso’s I have tasted, which can partially be attributed to the in-house roasting, and partially to using high quality beans, and perfecting the roast. What I found interesting about this roast was how light it was. Many coffee roasters take their espresso right up to the point of being burnt, or beyond. This espresso tasted closer to a full city roast, which made for a much more complex and enjoyable flavor.

Ground Control’s dedication to quality showed in everything I saw during my visit. Not only were the cafe and bar area spotless, I overheard several of the employees engaging in conversations about cleanliness and proper drink preparation throughout my visit. It would seem that quality is not only an expectation, but a way of life at Ground Control.

I walked into the local Starbucks Tea shop this morning, for my morning Darjeeling Latte. As is usual in the morning, the line was long, so I had a few minutes to let my mind wander while I waited for my turn to order. As I waited, I didn’t really think about much, I just started noticing my surroundings.

Some of the pastries in the pastry case looked pretty good, maybe I should get one this morning. Why the siren for the logo, and why did they decide to put a ring around her with the words “Starbucks Tea”? Maybe I should just get a cup of the tea of the day, and cut out all the calories from the milk. These were the thoughts running through my head, and before I new it, I had made it to the front of the line.

I ordered my Darjeeling Latte as always, but decided to be adventurous and have the barista add a couple of pumps of vanilla this time. On the way out the door, I noticed that the line had grown even longer than when I had come in. I was glad I didn’t have to wait any longer for my tea, and felt sorry for the people at the back of the line.

Here in the United States, we have all heard about the Boston Tea Party. It’s required study for any primary school student, and usually repeated in Jr. High and High School. This is considered to be the most successful protest in North American history. We all know it as a protest against the British government, and the East India Company. At the time, there was no single name for the event, people referred to it more by descriptions like “the destruction of the tea” or other similar descriptions. The event wasn’t even named or celebrated as it is now for half a century.

While the Boston Tea Party may have had significant political effects, the social and historical effects go beyond what we study in school. Tea has been a popular beverage for a much longer time than coffee. As I’m sure you will learn if you keep reading this blog, coffee wasn’t even available to most of the world’s population until relatively recent history. What if the Boston Tea Party had never happened? Maybe the story I told at the beginning of this post would be an accurate depiction of life today.

Coffee was first introduced into North America, when traders brought it to New Amsterdam, modern day New York City, in the mid 1600′s. A little more than a century later, tea was still the dominant drink. All that changed with a simple protest destroying a shipment of tea. As the situation escalated, eventually leading to the American Revolutionary War, coffee began to take a much stronger hold as the hot beverage of choice among consumers. By the time of the American Civil War, coffee had firmly taken its place as we know it today.

In a way, you could sat that the Boston Tea Party should actually be called the Boston Coffee Party, because coffee would not be as popular as it is today if this protest had never happened. When the protesters were destroying the crates of tea, they thought they were simply protesting unfair taxation. Little did they know the other impacts their little protest would have on the course of society, especially the change from tea to coffee as a primary beverage.

For more information on the history of coffee, there are a great number of resources available, including National Geographic, CoffeeResearch.org, and the National Coffee Association.

http://blog.blueboxcoffee.com/?page_id=15

Drink Ordered: Short Nonfat Iced Latte
Coffee Roaster: Allann Bros.
Tea Brand: Republic of Tea
Chai Brand: Big Train
Stamp Card: Yes
Pricing Comparison: $$$

Website: goldbarespresso.org

For my first review, I visited a coffee shop in Tempe, tucked away in the back of a strip mall, across from what used to be a Bashas’. With a Starbucks right on the corner, one would think that this tucked away little shop would go completely unnoticed. I’ve driven past it a number of times myself, and had never really noticed it before. What I found most remarkable about this coffee shop was that despite the circumstances of its location, it appeared to be the spot to be.

At first glance, Gold Bar looks like just another of the many dive bars in the area. It’s a seemingly small storefront in a run-down strip mall, with a few tables outside. The only reason to believe it’s anything else from the outside is a couple of small coffee related signs. I was quite surprised with what I saw when I went through the front door. This hidden shop, in a bad location, was crowded. Not overly crowded, mind you, but busy. Almost every table had customers at it. It was immediately apparent that this is an excellent place to get some work done. Almost everyone had laptops out, and were enjoying any array of beverages that this shop offers. The only thing that didn’t surprise me inside was the decor. The tables and chairs were all mismatched, and showed signs of wear. Somehow, this worked for Gold Bar, adding to the charm, rather than distracting from it.

The barista behind the counter was a Hawaiian shirt clad older gentleman, very full of life. He was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and patient. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy his job. Even when my 2-year-old spilled his drink, or when another customer spilled hers, he seemed more than happy to be serving each customer who entered the shop. During my visit, the flow of customers never stopped, and each of them was a welcome addition. Occasionally, the line got two or three customers deep, but no one had to wait long for their drinks, and each one was more than a customer. The barista went out of his way to make sure each customer was treated more like a visitor to his home.

Gold Bar offers a large selection of beverages, as well as pastries, cakes and pie. They offer the best selection of chai teas that I’ve seen at any coffee shop, ranging from a classic spiced chai, to a green tea chai and even a chocolate chai. Of course, the most important thing for a coffee shop to get right, is the coffee. And get it right they did. Normally, I would try a cappuccino to determine the quality of a coffee shop, but a hot drink just wasn’t going to happen on a 110 degree day. Instead, I ordered a nonfat iced latte. This may not tell me how good the froth is, but it still tells me the standards used in preparing the drinks, and the quality of the coffee itself.

The espresso was roasted to exactly the right darkness. Some coffee shops claim that the “smokiness” of their espresso means that it’s a perfectly roasted bean. I tend to think that “smoky” can be translated “burnt”. The perfect espresso roast is brought right up to the point of becoming smoky, without crossing the line into actually tasting smoky. And that’s right where this espresso was at: dark and sultry, complex with a Brazil nut flavor, and hints of spice and buttery caramel.

Gold Bar is also very active. A quick visit to their website, and you will see that they know how to keep busy, and keep you entertained. They have regular activities, ranging from the classic live jazz music to game nights where they pull out a bunch of card and board games. On the game nights, you are even welcome to bring your own games to play and share. With everything this coffee shop does to make the experience enjoyable, it’s no small wonder why there was a constant flow of customers into the shop on a Wednesday afternoon. This is a place you just want to be.

Overall, I highly recommend Gold Bar. In a world overrun with chain coffee shops and small shops that don’t know how to make coffee, I am glad that the first shop I reviewed turned out to be a diamond in the rough. If you ever find yourself looking for coffee at McClintock and Southern in Tempe, AZ, pass by the Starbucks on the corner, and head to Gold Bar at the back of the parking lot.

So what do coffee and Doctor Who have to do with each other? Almost nothing. Nonetheless, they are both obsessions of mine. Most of what I post on here will be related to coffee, but I can’t promise that the occasional Doctor Who related post won’t pop up from time to time. These occurrences may even be in the same post when the opportunity presents itself.

My goal with this blog is to educate the world about coffee, review coffee shops and coffee beverages, and share any exciting Doctor Who news that comes my way. When I review a coffee shop, I will review the quality of the beverages, the atmosphere and the service. I will also do a price comparison. Because most people are familiar with the pricing at Starbucks, I will use Starbucks as a baseline comparison for price, indicating with dollar signs whether it is more expensive ($$$), less expensive ($$$) or the same price ($$$) as Starbucks. For more or less expensive, the number of dollar signs will indicate how much of a difference there is, with four dollar signs indicating a difference of a dollar or more.

I will make every effort to post a review every Wednesday, and do one other post each week. Some weeks I may get crazy and post every day, others I may get busy and not get the chance to post at all. For the most part though, expect at least two posts a week. For this week, I have two posts planned, in addition to this one. I will be reviewing a coffee shop tomorrow, and plan to start my series on the history of coffee on Thursday. I hope you enjoy this blog, and find yourself both entertained and enlightened.