Duluth Coffee Company

GregBenson Nov 30, 2012 16 Comments

Downtown Duluth has recently been bestowed with a new coffee cafe and roasterie on Superior Street. Located at 105 E. Superior St., Duluth Coffee Company is founded by owner and roaster, Eric Faust, whose passion for coffee is obvious upon walking into the elongated cavernous space. For the unprepared, all your senses will be hit with coffee at its finest.

With vintage vinyl Doors or Barbra Streisand spinning over the sound of the coffee roaster, one of the well-trained baristas will froth up a perfect latte’ while you take in the roasty smells and coffee infused decor. Please don’t use “there’s no place to park” as an excuse, but use your two feet to treat the rest of yourself to what truly good coffee is all about.

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16 Comments

Ramos

about 12 years ago

This must be part of the devastation being wreaked on that block by the Last Place on Earth.

edgeways

about 12 years ago

Ramos, let's not migrate that into other threads eh?

Only open until 2pm?

Kodiak

about 12 years ago

Wonderful! I can smell the java from here.

One thing -- just a gentle reproach. Cooler by the Lake being the exception, when are Duluth businesses going to break free of the "Lake Superior this," "by the lake that," "Duluth (noun)"?

While "Central Perk" would not be apropo and sill,y "branding" can often result in more style than substance. It would be refreshing to see more gravitas in the names, i.e. Burrito Union, 50 Below, etc.

duluth_bishop

about 12 years ago

Serving treats from "How Sweet it is" is also a great move.  I just wish they served pie and could coordinate their schedule to accommodate my weekly date with the prioress.  I dare say that Eric knows as much about coffee as Slim Goodbuzz knows about Gettin' Ripped.

Claire

about 12 years ago

Must check it out, I've heard a lot of great word-of-mouth. Any coffees there as great as my beloved Highlander Grogg (Alakef)?

in.dog.neato

about 12 years ago

Claire: likely not.

Eric's shop is the "Third Wave" type that I've mentioned in past posts. I wouldn't expect to see any flavors at all...blends either. The emphasis is on single origin coffee roasted in very small batches and served on site.

in.dog.neato

about 12 years ago

I like the decor. Loll Designs for the 4tops and long bench. Minimalist, with muted tones. Nice lighting.

Their Guat is pretty nice ... roasted a little on the lighter side than what most folks are used to. You'll pick up some higher notes, for certain. A lighter roast means a little higher (perceived) acidity -- mainly because the sugars haven't been allowed to fully develop and caramelize -- not a bad thing, just a different style of roasting. If you drink your coffee black, you might want to consider going with smaller cups, as if you let it cool off too much before you finish it, your cup might taste a little bitter. (I don't want anyone to go away disappointed ... just a little caveat, that this style might be a little different than what most folks are used to.)

His staff is still playing catch up on the educational curve, but I can let that slide.

Espresso is pretty refreshing ... keeping with the lighter roast profile, looks like a blend of Sumatra, Colombia and Brazil. Not bad at all ... and the kid behind the counter didn't choke up when I asked for a shot.

Kick out all the hipsters and you'll have yourself a nice joint.

wildgoose

about 12 years ago

Claire,

You drink highlander grogg straight up? I like it for a dessert-type coffee (probably how normal people use licuer.) But I'll cut mine with about 2/3rd parts Guatemalan other mild/medium beans or it would be way to flavor-y for my taste.  No offense in.dog.neato just wondering.

in.dog.neato

about 12 years ago

No offense to me, Goose. I've heard many a word about the weird stuff people do to their coffee. One guy told me he likes to mix Folgers and french roast. Says it tastes the best.

My reaction was to ask him if he would pour a good stout over a Budweiser to make a black and tan.

Claire

about 12 years ago

I love my Highlander Grogg, but then I don't put sugar in my coffee.... I do add milk to it though. YUM. I even took a bag with my to NYC last summer when I was working there for a week. Knew I could not get better anywhere in Manhattan. Served it to the relatives from the East Coast at Thanksgiving, they seemed to like it. And they are the types to complain if they don't like something.

Rum, caramel, and vanilla flavors. Delicious.

Dawn Marie

about 12 years ago

Claire, I too am a Alakef Grogg junkie. Straight up, no sugar no cream no milk no nothing. I'm not big on sweet or flavored coffees, even Folgers Hazelnut is yucky to me. But for some reason I fell in love with the Grogg.

David

about 12 years ago

I checked this place out for the first time today.  Wow.  The coffee really is good!  I'm not an coffee expert, but I did notice a positive difference from the (also good, but not as good) coffee I get at Dunn Bros. or Caribou. Atmosphere is nice. I love that they play old LPs on a turntable as background music. I do wish the coffee grinder wasn't smack up against the customer sitting area and operating the whole time. The background noise definitely distracted from any relaxation I could have hanging out there. And I wish they had more of a food selection. And I wish they were open later in the day.  But, all in all, a wonderful addition to Old Downtown and I hope that they have a lot of success.

RK

about 12 years ago

I don't know where to begin other than to highly recommend the joint. Eric's completely a pro and is serving the best damn cup of coffee -- at least in the espresso family -- in Duluth.

Years back I drank the same burnt swill the rest of America seems to prefer. My sweetie was going to Italy and asked if I wanted her to bring back anything. On a whim, I asked for a bag of Lavazza (an Italian coffee brand that some Swiss friends loved). She returned with lost luggage, I made her my usual cappuccino and she said, "well it's fine but it's not Italy." I was crestfallen. A few days later her luggage turned up and with it, the Lavazza. In Italy, Lavazza is approximately their Folgers (if their crappy coffee were ever a quarter as bad as our crappy coffee), but this stuff was FABULOUS! And suddenly I was reminded of every wonderful cup of coffee I'd ever had in Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland or Austria.

The difference -- largely but not exclusively -- was the roast. The beans were brown, not shiny black. Go to Duluth Coffee and you'll come close to tasting what I tasted.

FYI, after trying every kind of Italian coffee made, I switched to home roasting (thanks, Luther!). It's a fools errand but it's nice to have control over what I put in my cup.

Dorkus

about 12 years ago

I am a Highland Grogg kinda guy as well. The main reason why I liked Alakef was that blend. But I think much of the reason was that the flavor covered up the taste of the coffee and I just hadn't had any truly good coffee.

But ... a simple Arabica at DCC is very good, and makes me second-guess my love for the grogg.

in.dog.neato

about 12 years ago

Dorkus, that's the introduction that a lot of folks get to coffee...and unfortunately, most companies will use a lower quality bean for their flavored coffees ... a practice that is pretty deceptive, if you ask me.

I'm not big on flavors other than the natural profile of the bean itself ... therefore I stick to single origins for that reason.

In the U.S., with certain few exceptions, virtually all coffee sold is Arabica. The other variety, Robusta, is difficult to find in decent quantity. (A lot of companies will also make a specific point to let you know that they're now serving Arabica beans, but chances are they have been doing it all along.)

If they really wanted to market it properly, they would mention the specific grade of their beans. "Gourmet" and "premium" are not grades. "Specialty," "Commercial," "Exchange," and "Below Exchange" are some of the classes or grades of coffee used in the industry.

bluenewt

about 12 years ago

I noticed today that Duluth Coffee Company has expanded its hours and is now open until 7 p.m.

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