(Yes, yes, I know. It's been a few months -- all summer, really -- and I have a lot to tell you about. And I will in another post. I promise. The reunion was fine. Solid Sound Festival was amazing. School is off to a rollicking start. I'll do all that next week, but I need to get this off my chest now.)
If you know me very well (or at all), you know that I have something of an obsession with espresso. Remember when my last little humble machine died? The tears? The move to the moka? For you old-timers, the month of cappuccino experiments? Good times, good times.
When we moved from San Francisco to DC, one of the most difficult things was trying to find good coffee beans. Luckily, at that time, we lived right
across from a
Quartermaine. But then Starbucks moved in and
Quartermaine closed the store and...well. Sigh. But then
Peet's started their delivery program and all was right again with my world -- I could have good California coffee at home. And Trader Joe's moved into the DC area. No need to move back to California. Phew.
I've been pretty faithful to Peet's over the years. My three-pound boxes from Peet's come every month, and one of my favorite things in the world is opening that box and burying my face in its caffeinated bags. Happy. Happy. Happy. Of course I've ordered many a iced venti americano, extra shot, no room at Starbucks (who doesn't?) but I've kept true. I've heard about the local coffee scene (Murky and the rest), but I have been true to Peet's.
Until this summer, that is. First, it was
intelligentsia at Solid Sound. The best espresso I'd ever had in my life. Fantastic. Amazing. Charles thought it was a little strong. Not me. Life affirming, that's what I say. Life. Affirming. I was an addict. Can't even count how many shots (and iced coffees) I had over the two days that intelligentsia was open. I even kept my last little paper cup. And I nearly shed a tear when the
barrista poured the last of the coffee down the drain as the festival closed. He understood. He talked me down. (Actually, in retrospect, that was a little embarrassing.) We came back home. I made my iced espresso with
Peet's and it was...okay. But I'd tasted something more. The bloom? Off the rose.
And then yesterday, I found my new love.
Peregrine Espresso. I'd read a lot about Peregrine and was jealous of my hipster friends who actually get to visit espresso bars (two kids ruin my cred). But with the onset of the school year... We went for a late brunch (and homemade
poptarts) at
Ted's Bulletin on H
Street, NW. Then we walked up Pennsylvania Avenue and, after a little searching, found my new home. The staff at Peregrine is very knowledgeable and extremely nice. The
barristas are fantastic. I had an amazing shot of their Apollo. We came home with a pound of that and a pound of Espresso
Aficionado. I've made the
Aficionado as straight shots and as an iced
americano now, and I couldn't be more pleased. Really. It is that good.
I just thought you might like to know. Also? I'm having an iced americano and a couple of squares of a Hershey's bar for breakfast. I'm nutritionally complete.
660 Pennsylvania Ave SE Washington DC 20003
t.202-629-4381f.202-747-5861
Hours Mon-Sat. 7am-9pm Sun. 8am-8pm (We should go for an espresso.)
The next three weeks are crazy. Crazy I tell you! Spring break is over for the kids and there are only a five weeks left before summer, and I'm fairly certain that every minute is going to be a whirlwind...
