Ninth Street Espresso is to Starbucks as punk rock is to disco. It's coffee in recovery from the excesses and sellouts of the mainstream, pared down to its purest forms, and served up with attitude.

At Ninth Street Espresso's outposts in the East Village and at Chelsea Market, that attitude combines intense true love for evoking the fullest potential from every shot of espresso, with a chaser of green values. 

The cafe's menu consists of exactly seven drinks.  And aside from the brewed coffee to go, each comes in one size only -- no small or large, venti or grande.  "We consider ourselves purists," said Christina Harlow, a barista behind the big granite counter at Chelsea Market, who seemed happy to chat with me about the nuances of the company's approach to artisanal coffee.  "Espresso has enough variables as it is.  [So] no syrups, no sizes." 

To coax the best flavor out of their coffee, Ninth Street's baristas pull shots on finely made espresso machines that are themselves virtually one-off works of steam-fueled art. These allow perfect control of both the temperature and the pressure of the water -- two essential factors in creating the best espresso. 

Another is the quality of the beans, of course.  Ninth Street Espresso gets its supply from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a boutique roaster based in Portland, Ore. that goes straight to the growers to buy coffee, rather than buying through brokers.  This practice, called "direct trade,"  pays farmers better for their coffee beans than even the international Fair Trade system.  Stumptown visits the farms to check that the beans are being grown and processed with environmentally sound practices, and that workers are being treated and paid fairly. 

And finally, the milk.  Ninth Street uses Organic Valley milk, which Harlow said tasted better than competitor Stonyfield Farm.  The cafe would love to get milk from a local farmer, she added, if one could be found to supply the volume the cafe needs.

On the day I visited the cafe at Chelsea Market, all of these ingredients were combined by a Ninth Street barista into one of the most delicious lattes I've ever sipped. The espresso flavor was smooth and rich, with no acrid back bite or burnt notes.  The milk was creamy, not too hot and not too much, and the rich brown crema (that thick, delicious foam that floats atop a well-pulled shot of espresso) was etched through the surface froth in an intricate fern design. 

It was almost too pretty to drink...almost.

Ninth Street Espresso
www.ninthstreetespresso.com
700 East 9th Street, between Ave. C and Ave. D, 7 am to 8 pm every day
75 9th Ave., in Chelsea Market, between 15th Street and 16th Street, 7 am - 7 pm M-F, 9 am - 7 pm Sat., 10 am - 7 pm Sun.


 

Growing up, I always knew a holiday or special occasion was coming up when I saw a huge bag of fresh green beans in the fridge. That meant that my mom would soon be snapping off their ends and simmering them on the stove for hours. She got the recipe from her mom and she got it from her mom … it has been in the family longer than anyone can remember. During a recent visit, she taught me a great shortcut - use canned beans!

Read More »

Elf Café, located at 2135 West Sunset, sits in the most relentlessly hip area of Los Angeles. But get ready to slap on your pork pie hat and ironic eyewear, because it also offers some of the most delectable vegetarian fare in the city.

Read More »