Russell's: Best Espresso in Austin
Just went to the second location of Russell's Bakery, on Kerbey Lane next door to Anderson's (I think Vin Bistro was there before). The folks at Anderson's told me they were serving their coffee, and in fact, they were using Anderson's Italian Roast for their espresso (the type of roast every coffee shop worth their salt should use). This yielded what I deem the only cup of espresso you can find in town that tastes anything like what you'd find in a cafe in Italy, France or Spain.
Upper Crust stopped using Anderson's (inexplicably) some years back--that *was* the only place 7 years ago you could find something of this caliber.
Don't get me wrong--Little City and Ruta Maya also serves great espresso, coming close to this quality. They have the added advantage of roasting their own beans. Freshness is part of the key here, and, especially, in these dumbed-down Starbucks days, using a good dark roast.
Too many places in town use a medium or light roast, usually approximating a Viennese roast. Personally, I find that good for coffee, not espresso. Coffee shops should offer both dark and a lighter roast at the very least when it comes to espresso. Italians invented espresso, and every shot I've had there was using a dark roast.
Then, let's be honest, many coffee shops cut corners and get their coffee from a local roaster who then freezes their beans for weeks or more than a month before passing it on to the local shop, and really, most of clientele are not that discerning, they just want a buzz, and are having it in a latte or something. The coffee shops would rather save five cents a pound on the wholesale price than get Anderson's or something similar (not sure what Trianon is up to these days). If these places simply would rather save money than get the good stuff, they might as well just buy their coffee from Costco. Seriously. I know of several big name ones that do.
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Do you guys have a favorite spot for Turkish coffee in Austin? Google search gave me La Tazza Fresca, Ararat, and Phara's. Didn't find a thing about Turkish coffee on the Austin Chowhound board. My husband has been on an espresso kick and wants to try Turkish. I'd rather him get it out somewhere than buy the equipment.
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re: stephanieh
Flying Falafel on Guadalupe has the best Turkish coffee-prepared-by-a-Jordanian grandmother -displaced by Katrina-in Austin.The rest of the menu straddles the line between Louisiana-Jordanian cuisine quite adeptly too.The Wednesday special is Lamb Dynamite,a homey riff on the classic dish from the region.Family run,good prices,great coffee,there are plenty reasons to eat at this little cafe.Have a nice meal on the patio, a breath off busy Guadalupe then head on upstairs to the Dobie for a movie.Live it up Austin style with a smuggled 24 of Tecate' while you're at it.
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A few comments on your post: Anderson's is, indeed, the best roaster in Austin. They've been at it for nearly 40 years, and that's about 38 more than most others in town....however, they are not as well schooled in espresso as they should be, they've concentrated on other brewing methods. For example, when I first started toying with "real" espresso machines, they said their espresso grind was set at slightly more coarse than a Melitta grind. That is wrong. It should be finer than Melitta, and as I educated myself and bought a "semi-pro" burr grinder from Italy, I learned that the stuff should only be ground a few moments before grinding and that the grinder's adjustment needed attention depending on the age of the bean, the weather, etc., moving it finer or coarser depending. Now, their pricing is far more reasonable than any other roaster around as well. So the average Joe pays only slightly more than their commercial accounts, so for most of us, it only makes sense to buy the best coffee, and pay the lowest price in town. Duhhhhh.
As for darker vs lighter: I don't know where you went in Italy, but there is a fairly well known profile shift from N. Italy to S. Italy---lighter to darker. Napoli likes its coffee almost burnt, Milan enjoys a much lighter roast. Since most Americans hover around the north, I will wager that the coffee you've had only seems dark compared to American coffees. I also now roast my own beans and have learned that lighter roasts are always much more flavorful since, after a certain point in roasting, the flavors lean more toward charcoal and less toward the sweet, fruity, chocolate that a lighter northern roast offers. In the early days I used Anderson's espresso roast. Later I gravitated to their normal roast, but created my own espresso blend from Mocha Java and Colombian or Peruvian. Far better, tastier and less of the burnt flavors darker roasts create. Read some of Mr Illy's writings on this...he's pretty much the demi-god of espresso theory and practice.
So, that Viennese roast profile (full city) or just a hair darker, is really better if you want more taste of the bean/coffee, and less of the carbon.
Just my two "lire" (oh, for the good old days)
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re: sambamaster
Interesting note on how Anderson's grind their coffee. I wouldn't know. I think its been something like 22 years since I had them grind coffee for me. Obviously, I grind my own beans at home right before the water's ready (I use a french press).
As to Italy, I only know about Venice. Every shot I had there was very dark roasted. The best shot of espresso (or cup of coffee for that matter) I've had in my life (and the most expensive) was served to me in the cafe attached to the Doge's Palace. Quite fitting.
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re: taliesin15
Anderson's is just a great, great store. We are very lucky to have Mr. Anderson and his store here. I love walking into that little shop to buy beans. Great, fresh quality coffee beans at the best price with excellent and knowledgeable customer service. There's no place better!
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re: pinotho
the french press is what I use at home, and does not make espresso--different grind altogether (though I always use a dark roast)--this is why when I get coffee outside my kitchen I'm always looking for espresso, though the paucity of acceptable quality espresso (save for places like Russell's that does it right) means I hardly ever get any, which is good for my high blood pressure I suppose
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