A wood carved sign - no wonder why their coffee is expensive
Coffee: Cuveé
Hardware: Drip – French Press only Espresso – La Marzocco FB70
Mac to PC Ratio: 2-1
Austin is the Boulder of Texas. Both cities have a better than average selection of bike lanes, share an affinity for Whole Foods and are enclaves of liberalism in otherwise conservative states. However unlike Boulder, Austin can boast ethnic diversity, single family homes for less than a million dollars and having more tolerance for homeless people. As far as this blog is concerned, the biggest advantage Austin has is the sheer quantity of coffeehouses that brew real coffee per order, and one of the best is Caffé Medici.
Each morning at Caffé Medici there are three varieties of single origin coffee from Cuveé, a nearby Texas roaster that not only has exceptional coffee, they also have their priorities straight by promoting quality coffee over politics. At Medici, they take the time to grind and steep the beans per order on a french press. While you wait for your coffee, you can eavesdrop on the baristas talking with some of the regulars about biking to work, or if it’s slow scan the room and churn this around in your head while you wait: Why do most of the men in Austin have beards? Doesn’t it hit 80 here in November?
Will you find an abudance of soccer moms drinking huge vats of coffee flavored milk at Medici? Yes, but that is the price you pay for visiting the Clarksville neighborhood. Medici offers a discount for cash, and they compost their used coffee grounds. There is outdoor seating, and while there is usually a good crowd here, at least it’s never mobbed like Jo’s on South Congress. Talk to any tourist and they will mention Jo’s, which is more of a scene than a place to get good coffee, and where every ironic piece of decor appeals to hipsters to open their vintage thrift store wallets. Medici has far better coffee, and no fixed gear bikes in sight.
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