Denver, Colorado — I can’t think of a better way to kick off Drink! than with a review of my favorite coffee on the planet. I’ve sampled some of the best coffee in the best cafes in dozens of cities on three continents, and I have not run across a cup as soul-shakingly good as at Kaladi Brothers in Denver, Colorado.
A large portion of the cafe is taken up by huge sacks of unnroasted coffee beans. All the coffee is roasted on-site. This means that you can also buy the beans green, and roast them yourself. It also means that the coffee that goes into your espresso was probably roasted yesterday. Believe me, freshness does matter.
The owner, Mark Overly is fanatic about coffee. In addition to running the cafe, he also runs the Kaladi Coffee Academy. From bean to grind to tamp, you’ll learn to make the perfect espresso. If you are lucky enough to catch Mark in the store, he’ll happily discuss the art of fine coffee.
Personally, I am addicted to the Trieste Caffe, the blend Kaladi uses for their espresso. Let me get a bit geeky and technical here, to show just how seriously they take coffee. The Trieste blend is a blend of two beans, Colombia and Java. But it is actually a blend of three different roasts. Batches of Colombia are roasted at two temperatures, and Java at yet another. The roasted beans are then mixed together in just the right proportion to make the blend. The temperatures of the roasts are constantly being tweaked to account for variances in shipments of beans.
If Trieste were a woman, I would marry her. No, really!
There are more interesting locations (by far), with cooler atmospheres, maybe hipper clientele, but for producing the perfect cup, I haven’t found better than Kaladi. I’m working hard on it though.
Kaladi Brothers Coffee
1730 E. Evans Ave.
Denver, CO 80210
Geoffrey hails from the U.S., but has lived in Germany, Sweden, India and China. In his many travels he has sought out the best drinks to be found. He's burned his fingers on cups of Madras filter coffee in India, and discovered the effects of Baijiu on body and soul in China. He has tended bar at both a pub and Biergarten in Germany. He is co-author of a forthcoming publication on Udipi Restaurants.