Have you heard the “buzz”? Tuesday September 29 is National Coffee Day, and CT is home to some great local coffee spots where you can celebrate. There's a lot of coffee in this state so we've divided our list into Fairfield County & Beyond FC. Here are 24 places that serve some of CT’s best java. One might even say they’re more than just your average “joe….”
If we missed any of YOUR favorite spots, please let us know in the comments section below.
Very shortly, Fritz Knipschildt, owner of Chocopologie, will be swapping his old 12 South Main St. location for an up-to-date Chocopologie at 133 Washington St.
The new Chocopologie has maintained some aspects of the old café like the European flair (yes, I’m thinking about the savory buckwheat crepes), the open chocolate-making station, and their trademark exposed brick walls. But don’t be fooled; the light-washed wood flooring, trendy antique furniture, and a simple chalkboard menu point to a decidedly new style. Knipschildt described the new restaurant’s theme as “doing less with more.”
Their “less is more” thinking has inspired their chow as well. Knipschildt and Manager Joseph Trepanowski are not fans of the nuevo, hipster movement, and said that “these hipster places put on good faces but it’s a facade,” adding that they want to be cool but have substance.
A primary focus of the 133 Washington St. location will be the espresso.
If you love the cozy, familiar space of The Granola Bar for your lattes, lunch or gluten free baked goods, well, you can now love them for another good reason. Dinner—is served! With beloved Chef Jes Bengtson at the helm of The Granola Bar’s kitchen, a full menu of healthy, delicious items, familiar, new and seasonal, are now available to you and your family Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Owner Julie Levitt speaks passionately about her mission of bringing a healthier food movement to focus, and the restaurant’s kitchen has no fryers…or even a stovetop! The produce is organic and whenever possible, locally sourced, a nod to Levitt’s commitment to support local farms. The menu aims to capture the tastebuds of every member of your family at a favorable price point, so when you have that pang of guilt for not having the time to cook and put dinner on the table, TGB is the locals’ no brainer.
There are some new additions to the menu, such as Candied Turkey Bacon Deviled Eggs, which were divine.
Coffee bar by day, craft cocktail bar by night, NEAT is now open at 6 Wilton Road in Westport from 7 am to midnight, seven days a week.
If you are familiar with NEAT’s location in Darien, the approach will feel instantly familiar, if distilled into a much fuller and complete café experience. NEAT retains its unpretentious devotion to the art of the beverage, extending its reach into the evening as your palate naturally shifts from caffeine to spirits, seamlessly maintaining its full attention to the craft beverage experience.
Sweet Pea’s Baking Company is not just another small town bakery – it’s much more. Owners Rafael and Katjia Pita met as young students in Paris. There, on their first date, they shared their mutual dream of one day opening a bakery. Their journey brought them to Francisco, Paris, and Brazil, New York, and finally to Old Greenwich, Connecticut, where they decided to settle down with their 4 young children and finally pursue their dream.
Their storefront shop initially offered only artisanal breads, pastries and a few other select items along with their own in-house roasted coffee. In the year since they opened, they’ve transitioned from a small bake-shop to a café with an impressive offering of both prepared and made to order breakfast and lunch items. Katjia describes herself as the baker – loving the precision and exactness of it all, and refers to her husband, Rafael, as the creative one. Together their science and art created a winning combination.
Whether you want a small treat and a cup of their wonderful coffee, or something a little more substantial you’re guaranteed to find something that fits your mood.
Let's face it, we all like to get our buzz on. Lucky for us, there are a number of venues in Fairfield County with serious baristas, pulling some pretty epic espresso. For your coffee drinking pleasure we have created a cheat sheet to which you can refer when your craving for caffeine masks your ability to grind your own beans.
Here are our Top 11 Places to Get Great Coffee in Fairfield County.
Coffee and cocktail drinkers unite at the latest hotspot in Westport, C.T. From the owner of Espresso NEAT in Darien comes NEAT, the collaborative concept experience where coffee enthusiasts can enjoy Connecticut’s finest during the day and cocktail drinkers can wind down at night. NEAT will be located at 6 Wilton Road in Westport as part of the National Hall re-development. The bar is expected to be open in early August from 7:00 a.m. -12:00 a.m.
Customers will receive the exceptional, distinctive coffees and popular offerings that they have come to expect from Espresso NEAT by day, as well as innovative breakfast and lunch offerings prepared in-house. By night, patrons will be able to enjoy well-tailored cocktails. Both coffee and cocktails will be crafted in the constant pursuit of excellence with regard to ingredients and skillful preparation.
The NEAT bar will have an innovative spirits program including artisanal beer featuring seasonal craft beers and carefully selected wines that allow patrons to “take a trip around the world” in order to expand their palate. A selection of simple and locally cultivated house crafted bar snacks will also be available with new takes on traditional bar food. There will be live music from local artists with a strong focus on Jazz, Bluegrass and Folk.
Have you heard the buzz? If you haven’t and you live in the Westport and Fairfield areas you’ll not only hear it but you’ll see it any day now! The Buzz is The Buzz Truck, the brainchild of Jessica and Alex Grutkowski. Sleek, hip and sharp, this handsomely renovated school bus will have tired moms and dads cheering with delight. But it’s not just for parents - this little black bus has something for everyone.
The idea was conceived about a year ago when Jessica Grutkowski wondered why there wasn’t an ice cream truck for grownups. Only her ice cream truck wasn’t going to sell ice cream, it was going to sell coffee. “I was waiting on line for my coffee,” she told me, “and there was this person in front of me placing this ridiculously long order. I knew I was going to be late in picking my kids up from school.” Her eyes kept darting to the clock as she debated whether to ditch the line or not. And that was when the idea of the coffee truck came to her. “I knew right away that it would be called the Buzz Truck.”
Almost a year ago, without notice or forewarning, a “For Sale” sign appeared on the window of Versailles Restaurant in Greenwich. At 6:15AM the following morning, Marc Penvenne was driving his usual route down Greenwich Avenue to his restaurant Méli-Mélo when he saw the sign. A few months earlier he started looking at several locations to open a second restaurant and now Versailles was available; he now knew the perfect location. Twenty years earlier, Penvenne was the manager at Versailles and left to open Méli-Mélo with his wife, Evelyne. Now, Marc and Evelyne are the proud owners of both Méli-Mélo and the re-invented Versailles Bistro and Patisserie.
When you enter the reimagined restaurant, the front area is a patisserie, complete with white marble-topped tables, bistro chairs and glass display cases filled with tantalizing pastries. Behind these cases is a coffee bar, serving some of the best café au lait in Greenwich. In the rear, the patisserie opens to a restaurant with bistro style dark wood tables and chairs plus a long leather lined banquette. The walls are adorned with photos of Paris and framed French posters dating from the first half of the 20th century.
Get your highlighter out and start counting how many times I drop the G bomb in this article. Some things cannot be avoided.
The Granola Bar at 275 Post Road East in Westport has created a lot of caffeinated buzz, as well a bit of traffic congestion in the parking lot of Playhouse Square, right in the heart of Westport.
Julie Levitt and Dana Noorily, two local Westport moms with years of combined business experience and a passion for food, first co-founded Oats Granola, currently sold at Whole Foods, Stew’s and other select markets around the area. The success of their product was not enough for these two entrepreneurs who had their eyes on the prize. Continuing down the foodie path with a vision to create a happy place where good, clean food and a little schmoozing can take place, they launched The Granola Bar.
Americans have a loving obsession with coffee. We crave our daily fix, whether it is black, iced, with extra cream and sugar, or a shot of espresso. We crave the aroma, the taste and how coffee brings people together. However, coffee is so much more than just a beverage; it is a huge global business.
Ed Freedman of Shearwater Coffee Roasters is in the thick of this global business, but is marking his own stamp on it. Shearwater Coffee Roasters, headquartered in Trumbull, Connecticut is the first and only USDA certified organic coffee roaster in Fairfield County. Shearwater bases its business on the three core principles of organic, artisan and altruism. They pride themselves on being committed to the integrity of organic roasting. “Organic is not a product line,” says Freedman. “It’s a way of life and what we do. “
The coffee plant is often grown with harmful chemicals, pesticides and herbicides.
This year, Thanksgiving is coming late, Hanukkah is arriving early and the Christmas holiday almost seems shortened before it has even begun. Have no fear, though, your holiday shopping will not bear the brunt of this crazy calendar...not with some of our suggestions. From unique food products, photographs, jewels and books, there is just about something for all the folks on what seems to be your never-ending list. How could so many people have been so good this year? Buy them some of these goodies and they’ll know...oh, they’ll know....
Raus Coffee will debut its newest iced espresso drink, the Roman Navel, at the opening of the Westport Farmers’ Market on May 23. The new drink was inspired by a trip to Seattle’s Café Vita, where Raus Coffee founder Donny Raus became smitten with the Medici, an espresso-based chocolate and orange drink. The success of the flavor combination compelled him to recreate it using his own approach. The Roman Navel is the third product in Raus’s award-winning espresso product line.
Donny and I met recently at the soon-to-open Steam Coffee Bar in Westport, so he could give me a sample of this newest obsession. So I had a baseline, I also grabbed his other two iced espresso-based drinks, the Roman Kiss and (my old personal stand-by) the Cold Roman.
Erin Meister, champion barista and Counter Culture Coffee representative, will host a cupping at Ross Bread on May 23 at 6 pm. This event is free, but space is limited. Email info@rossbread.com or stop by the bakery to sign up.
From Ross Bread: "To challenge and expand our coffee-tasting palates, we'll explore the diversity of flavors from coffees within Central and South America by comparing two coffees from each region, from neighboring countries: Honduras and Guatemala, and Colombia and Ecuador.
Everyone has their favorites, and Espresso NEAT is definitely one of our favorite coffee places here at CTbites. Now with two locations (Darien, and a small shop in Greenwich), their devotion to the craft of caffeine delivery is bar none.
In addition to fueling their customers, they are also offering a series of educational classes for the month of May.
A week prior to the official opening on Saturday December 1st, SoNo Market Place decided to sponsor a soft opening on November 23rd and I decided that tasting some good local food was a whole lot better than fighting the crowds at the mall.
All of the food purveyors were in full test-mode and my first stop was Flat WhiteCoffee to taste the coffee described to CTbites by owner, John Palino, back in September. This was a creamy blend of rich coffee and steamed milk, a brand brought over from New Zealand, and one that should meet with great success in CT.
But it's not just about coffee at SoNo Market Place. With over 20 food vendors and eateries, this European style market is poised to be a foodie destination. Guests lined up at Wise Guys Pizza for New Haven style pies; Norm Bloom served up fresh oysters and clams straight from the Norwalk waters, and Fish & Chips were on the menu from Gotta Nibble. Caterering company, Festivities, has a permananet spot here with their take-out biz, "Party Express." Local specialty purveyors and well known brands such as Knipschildt Chocolatier, Wave Hill Breads, andNothin' But Granola have also opened shop at the market.
Coffee joints have always been key meeting grounds, but in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, good quality caffeine and WIFI reign supreme. However, cafes such as Green Leaf Organic Bakery and Cafe inWilton,Terrain in Westport, Sugar & Olives in Norwalk, Tusk & Cup in Ridgefield, & espresso NEAT in Darien are going beyond basic coffee service. Here's why...(re-posted with permission from the Fairfield Green Food Guide)
Ah, it’s getting to be hot-beverage season (but then again, maybe it always is). Are you a mom who is back to inhabiting cafes with friends now that the kids are back in school? Or a traveler passing through Fairfield County? Either way, a great cup of joe is always on the destination list. But where to get one? And, more importantly, where to enjoy a sustainable cup of coffee? That’s the trickier part because not all joe is created equal.
I’ve enjoyed food from many different countries over the years but funny enough, never from Peru. So with three friends in tow, I decided to try Fiesta Atlantic, a Peruvian restaurant in Stamford. Having eaten Venezuelan and Mexican, I expected a fusion of both. It turns out Peruvian food is indeed a melting pot of different cultures but surprisingly, the food is notable for its Italian and Chinese influences. In the 18th century, Lima was the financial center of a vast Spanish Viceroyalty. Chinese laborers and Italian settlers washed up on its South Pacific shores bringing their own spices and cooking techniques.
Lorca, a 10-12 seat coffee shop that will serve home-made churro and doughnuts, will be opening this October ar 125 Bedford Street in Stamford.
Leyla Dam developed a passion for churro stands as a child growing up in Spain. When she completed architecture school in Brooklyn and was faced with few job prospects in her field, she returned to her roots finding investors to allow her to design and launch a churro and coffee shop. Part of the process of opening Lorca included moving to Seville to learn how to make churros and working with Rachel Haughey at Espresso Neat to learn how to make impeccably brewed coffee. In addition to developing the business and recipes, Dam is also designing the shop, a perfect blend of her passion for the churro and degree in architecture.
As Dam explains, "Basically this is a total dream come true. I get to feed people, meet people, and design without a client. I couldn't ask for anything more!"
Interested in showing off those latte art skills? Or perhaps you just want to learn the basics and sip your way through a fun evening. Either way you are in luck. Espresso NEAT in Darien is hosting their inaugural Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) Latte Art Competition on July 12. A $5 buy-in will get you into the evening's event. This first event of the season is a customer invitational (everyone is invited). Prizes and sponsors to be announced.
Have you heard the “buzz”? Tuesday September 29 is National Coffee Day, and CT is home to some great local coffee spots where you can celebrate. There's a lot of coffee in this state so we've divided our list into Fairfield County & Beyond FC. Here are 24 places that serve some of CT’s best java. One might even say they’re more than just your average “joe….”
