Here’s further proof that Denver’s Five Points neighborhood is moving along in the gentrification process – there is finally a real coffeehouse to go along with the architecture firms and bars that are slowly renovating the former industrial buildings.
Crema Coffee House serves Denver’s best locally roasted coffee, Novo, and they are the second coffeehouse in the city to offer coffee brewed in a French Press. Look closely at the picture – their logo is a French Press! It’s a beacon calling coffee lovers to this location. If you want a real cup of coffee, you don’t even have the option of having it brewed in a flavor robbing machine with a paper filter, thus giving Crema an edge over Pablo’s, who only offer French Press as an option with one refill (Crema has unlimited refills). When you consider how delicate the arabica bean is, and how many things can go wrong from harvest to, shipping, roasting and storing, why would you ruin it at the end with improper brewing?
I applaud Crema for getting the coffee right and for the ambiance. Australians in Colorado will rejoice knowing that Vegemite is an option on the toast bar. Also I have never seen a laptop open at Crema, which means no wifi, or their customers are smart enough to cherish some time away from their digital leashes. Considering that McDonald’s plans to roll out free wifi, their next strike in the war with Starbucks after McCafe, in my dream coffeehouses will follow Crema’s lead and move in the opposite direction. Let McDonald’s and Starbucks fight over control of the liquid coffee flavored candy bar market. This is perhaps the only time you will see me defend the green monster. The average McDonald’s is about as inviting as the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York – why would anyone stay there longer than absolutely necessary? Think of the hard formica tables, the smell of the grease and the screams of children if you picked one of the locations with an indoor playland. Sugary milkshakes aside, at least Starbucks is inviting, and the vast majority of their staff not only finished high school, but thanks to their inane menu, know a few words of Italian.
Unlike Starbucks, Novo coffee isn’t roasted too dark, which robs the bean of acidity and flavor. Coffee that is over roasted has too much bitterness, which explains why people drown it with milk and sugar. There are a few locations to get Novo coffee in Denver, but Crema is the only place to experience it brewed in a French Press, which is cheaper and just as flavorful as having it brewed in a Clover.
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