Your ultimate guide for specialty coffee blends, origins in Syracuse
Dan Lyon | Staff Photographer
Recess Coffee has been roasting since 2007, using sustainably sourced and fairly traded beans.
Central New York is known for many things — salt, the Erie Canal, infamous winters and the Carrier Dome — but in the last decade, Syracuse has become a growing hub of local coffee roasters and cafes.
Some of the most established roasts in the area include Recess Coffee, Cafe Kubal and, more recently, Salt City Coffee. Each location offers a range of blends and origins — origins being coffee beans that come from a single region and blends meaning beans that come from more than one area. Tere Martini, headquarters manager at Recess Coffee, said there’s a huge demand for specialty coffee in Syracuse.
“I’ve heard more than a handful of people say that Syracuse is like a ‘mini-Portland,’” Martini said.
Since International Coffee Day is Saturday, here’s a breakdown of how to indulge and celebrate.
CAFE KUBAL
With beginnings dating back to 2004, Cafe Kubal was born out of a trip its owner, Matt Godard, took to Guatemala, when inspiration struck. The coffee company now has six locations: the Upstate Golisano, Eastwood, Downtown, Creekwalk Commons, Marriott Syracuse and the SU Cafe on University Avenue.
While Kubal does offer blends occasionally, they mainly sell origin coffee beans, said Betsy Bell, manager at Cafe Kubal on University Avenue. She said that, because they have so many long-term regulars, they like to keep customers happy.
Roast: Light to medium
Notes: Milk chocolate and peanut
Recommendation: The Brazil origin is one of Bell’s personal favorites because of its “peanut notes.” She also said Kubal uses Brazilian beans for their regular pour overs, espresso and decaf beans.
Roast: Light
Notes: Blueberry and apricot
Recommendation: Bell recommends drinking this origin over ice since it’s “super fruity,” and great on its own. People will have it over ice even during the winter months, she said.
Roast: Light to medium
Notes: Dark chocolate and raspberry
Recommendation: Bell recommends this origin as a pour over — which is the staff’s favorite way to have it. She said the origin was Kubal owner Matt Godard’s favorite for a long time, but now he switches between the Ethiopian and others.
Roast: Dark
Notes: Molasses and earth
Recommendation: Bell said this origin is one of their most popular and is a signature bean at Kubal. When they tried to swap out the bean for another similar flavor, Bell said people “freaked out.”
If you’re new to coffee and all it has to offer, Cafe Kubal has a cheat sheet on their website called the “Home Brewing Guide.” Each location is also available for Grubhub.
RECESS COFFEE
Recess Coffee started out at its Harvard Place location back in 2007, and in the same building, the owners were running the business, baking and roasting. But today, with two locations and a roastery in East Syracuse, the coffee company is focused on expanding their customer base.
Their four main blends and origins start at $17 a bag and are now available in six local Wegmans. Graham Reynolds, head roaster at Recess, said he experiments with different origins and blends each day. Here’s what Recess is offering right now.
Roast: Dark
Notes: Roasted nut, chocolate and a fruity finish
Recommendation: Because it’s such a dark roast, Reynolds said he recommends using this blend in a French press — the brewing method produces strong flavors so the two would complement each other.
Roast: Light
Notes: Floral, graham cracker, lemon start and vanilla-caramel
Recommendation: Reynolds “highly” recommends the pour over method for the Ethiopian origin. He said the pour over method is one of the most authentic ways of brewing coffee, and that it will highlight the floral notes “really well.”
Roast: Medium
Notes: Cinnamon, berry and earthy chocolate
Recommendation: While Reynolds said some may find this origin “out there,” it’s a great fit for the AeroPress or your regular automatic-drip coffee pot at home.
Roast: Medium
Notes: Floral vanilla, sugared almond flavor and lemon
Recommendation: Reynolds recommends this blend using the pour over or AeroPress method. He said the latter method helps equalize the different notes and flavors.
In honor of the holiday, Recess Coffee is offering a $1 discount off of any hot coffee or $5 off your second bag of coffee when you buy two. Not into coffee? The cafe offers plenty of house-made snacks including bagel sandwiches, wraps and baked goods.
SALT CITY COFFEE
One of Syracuse’s most recent coffee editions, Salt City Coffee, opened in the spring of 2017. The cafe opened on the city’s Westside in a 19th century home and offers the usual coffee shop amenities. Their 12-ounce coffee bags start at $11 and sizes up to five pounds are available as well, with a variety of roasting options for each blend and origin.
Barista and roaster at Salt City Ryan Krzykowski said they’re considering adding an Ethiopian dark roast for the fall season, but right now here’s what is available.
Roast: Light, medium and dark
Notes: Honey and toffee
Recommendation: Krzykowski said this origin is offered year-round, but he has a few customers that use this as their “go to.” He said it’s pretty solid as a cold brew, but personally Krzykowski prefers it as a medium roast.
Roast: Light, medium and dark
Notes: Cocoa, lime and buttermilk
Recommendation: Krzykowski said if you’re looking to serve it hot, he usually uses pour over, but a stronger option would be with a French press.
Roast: Light, medium and dark
Notes: Sweet floral and grapefruit
Recommendation: The darker roast of this origin will do best as a cold brew because the chocolate notes will be highlighted more, Krzykowski said.
Roast: Medium
Notes: Bread-y, chocolate-y taste
Recommendation: Krzykowski said the owner, Aaron Metthe, developed the Syracuse blend after a series of trial and error. He said if it’s a customer’s first time in the coffee shop, he’ll recommend this blend as a good stepping stone to understand what’s offered.
Salt City Coffee also offers breakfast and lunch, featuring house-made bagels, acai bowls and a pesto grilled cheese, among others.
Published on September 26, 2018 at 10:44 pm
Contact Lydia: lnilesst@syr.edu
