One of the joys of working from “home” is being able to work from coffee shops. At coffee shops, we are able to put our fingers on the pulse of the city, see who walks in, and, ok, I will admit it, hear what people are talking about. You can feel the hum of a city and of a neighborhood in its coffee shops. So, here’s where we went and what we thought of them!
Pablo’s Coffee: They were rocking the late 1990’s hip-hop. I was in love. Who do you think goes to a cafe with 90’s hip-hop playing? You have an image in your head? You are probably right! We stayed a while while working and never felt like we were at risk of overstaying our welcome–a good thing for remote workers like us. We went over Pride Weekend and the cafe is near to where the main festival took place. That being said, it was tricky to know how “average” our visit was. It seemed really busy for a weekend morning and most people were grabbing coffee and heading out the door. The coffee was great–my iced coffee was even strong enough for me! Points and props. They win all sorts of roaster’s awards. It is that good. The atmosphere was also tops. Great big windows let in tons of natural light and they had plants everywhere. Everywhere. It felt like a jungle. And that’s a compliment.
Finally, read what they say about how they source their coffee. It is tasty coffee that is good for the soul, too. “Because of the high quality of the coffees we purchase, massive factory farms producing commodity grade coffee simply cannot enter into the equation. We routinely pay 50-100% more per pound for our green coffee than the average Fair Trade rate. Many of our coffees carry certifications such as Rainforest Alliance, Smithsonian Bird Friendly and Socially Conscious, and we denote these coffees as such. Many others come from other cooperatives where the growers are organized in a legal Association. Still others come from great single family farms. Our importers visit all of these farms and cooperatives in person on a periodic basis, and that relationship is the cornerstone of their business.”
Hudson Hill Denver is a Coffee Shop and Craft Cocktail Bar in one, they claim to serve “The Finest Coffee, Cocktails, Wine, and Beer in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.” Do you think they can make it into both the Top I need a Latte and the Top It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere lists?
Hudson Hill impressed us, a great atmosphere a nice interior (it looks like it could be our living room) and great coffee. We had a cold brew and a latte. We were tempted by the yummy food, but, alas, we wanted to try City O City for lunch (vegetarian heaven, we think! We are NOT in Gallup any more!) We went during Pride weekend and it was filled with Pride-goers with their rainbow bow-ties, people studying, and a pair clearly on their first date. We felt like we could fit right in. We didn’t get the try the boozy-drinks but who knows, we might be back! So for now Hudson Hill comes in third in the Top I need a Latte, Durango Joes drops out of the top 5 as a result and, we’ll see about the Top It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere if we decide to come back!
The Denver Bicycle Cafe: Bikes. Beer. Coffee. That is their tagline and, basically, a list of my favorite things. So, we knew we’d like the Bicycle Cafe! The shop is split between a bike shop/repair shop and the coffee shop/bar. Just as I love big food halls, I love the concept of mixed use buildings. They make really good environmental sense. A bar is going to be open a lot later than a bike shop, so you get one space that is open for a lot longer than the other two would be individually. Plus, they had games. I also love coffee shops/bars that have games.