The other day I happened into Cafe Kubal, where Matt Godard is roasting some of the finest coffee in upstate New York. Who should be there behind the bar but Chris Deferio, the man I think of as The Ithaca Latte Artist:
I’d seen him in action at the Carriage House Cafe, where he’s the head barista and director of coffee education (now there’s a job!). Well, he’s been teaching Matt a thing or two, which means that even when Chris is back at his regular job, we in Eastwood can still watch our latte turn into something beautiful as well as delicious.
Matt tells us: “Chris (the artist) is involved with an ongoing enrichment program here at Cafe Kubal. Our aspirations are to have this type of mastery in all our drinks all the time. Here is my modest contribution, thus far, a grape vine, and a feather.”
And here’s an example of Chris’ work that I stole off the web:
So what about the decaf? Most people who really care about coffee have a pretty low opinion of decaffeinated coffee. It’s lacking two important things that make coffee great: caffeine (duh!) and flavor. Well, some of us just can’t drink any caffeine after a certain hour or we will simply never sleep. But until now, our choices for decaf were pretty grim: dull, lifeless, cheap imitations. Matt, however, starts with quality beans decaffeinated in a chemical-free Swiss water process and roasts them to perfection. Honestly, if you buy these beans and grind ‘em yourself just before you brew (or have a cup of decaf at the cafe), you will not be able to tell the difference. And that’s why Chris buys his decaf beans from Matt. That’s recommendation enough for me!
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