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A sign outside Koffee? in New Haven. (Staff photo / September 7, 2012) |
For some, a cup of coffee in the morning is part of a habitual routine, like brushing your teeth or checking Facebook. With the first sip comes satisfaction and the self-assurance that, with this mighty beverage, you can manage to tackle whatever life throws your way that day.
In New Haven, there's no shortage of cool local cafe hangouts for students, business professionals, locals and visitors who venture out in Elm City everyday for work or play.
But there's more to coffee, "the a.m. savior," than you think. For a cup of it to be truly great, a long list of criteria must be met in a chain of steps to produce the perfect brew.
"It's a combination of several variables," says Duncan Goodall, owner and manager of Koffee? located at 104 Audubon St. "Coffee's a finicky product and every variable of every step must be correct."
Goodall says it all starts with the type of beans selected and how those beans are roasted, stored, and ground. Even the water temperature during the brewing process must be perfect (202 degrees F, to be exact, give or take a degree or two). At Koffee? much thought is paid to how long the coffee is kept after grinding as well as the equipment used to hold the finished product.
Process aside, Goodall knows coffee's complex tastes and stimulating qualities don't suit all palates and temperaments, but its benefits are greater than just its flavor and energy-boosting properties.
"Coffee is an acquired taste, and some people don't like the taste or its effect," says Goodall. "There are numerous benefits to coffee, not only as a delicious drink, but its health benefits as an anti-oxidant-rich, possible cancer-preventing drink with stimulating benefits."
Though making a cup of coffee is a science, and coffee itself can have many positive health-enhancing properties, a local coffee shop has come to represent a community that values culture, art, music, interaction and conversation.
READ MORE OF THE NEW HAVEN ADVOCATE'S ANNUAL MANUAL 2012
