If there is one place proving that specialty coffee is on a new wave of popularity, it is Blue Bottle Coffee. This location has definitely been my favorite stop in New York City thus far. Located in Williamsburg, the surrounding area is over flowing with all different origins of restaurants, skateboarders cutting off taxi’s and creative influences to surely set the mood to grab a cup. Blue Bottle, just a few blocks off the Bedford Ave stop on the “L” train, invites you in with a large garage type door and a decent amount of seating and chill space. Any true coffee lover will be instantly impressed with their full roasting facility and training center located alongside of the shop area inside of Blue Bottle. I’ve already visited this shop numerous times over the past month or so, and there has always been some sort of taste tasting or practicing going on. This great attention to detail has not been overlooked in the community. Lines stretching out the door and onto the street is not an uncommon trait of Blue Bottle, and it is great to see people taking the time to visit a shop who concentrate on their craft day and night.  The “Retrofit” espresso is an original blend of coffees from Brazil, Guatemala, Sumatra and Ethiopia. This seems like an eclectic blend of origins with my experience, but it all came together in this quick pick me up. My order came just in time as a new barista was being transitioned onto the bar, which normally means some dialing in to do on the espresso machine. I was in no rush, and always have the time for the barista to pull that perfectly timed shot. Great flavor takes precision, and it was hard to not want to take this shot down all at once. I finished the shot in 3 sips and chased it with the provided sparkling water. Each sip was a different experience in itself, balancing a mild sweet red fruit and finishing with a bright citrus bite.  According to their “Retrofit” blend description online, this pull calls for 20g of coffee at a 32 second extraction time to yield 1.25 oz of espresso. I’d like to make it a habit of mine to look further into different techniques and recipes specialty shops are using for their espresso. It is obviously a foundation for a wide range of items on the menu and these type of shops concentrate very closely on the flavor details. I definitely look forward to trying more of their original blends from Blue Bottle. If for some reason you live in the area and have never had the chance to stop in to this location yet, you need to make it your next priority. Cheers.

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