2459 18th Street NW
Washington DC USA
Since the birth of my son, coffee drinking has morphed from a purely palate driven aesthetic to an aid that prevents me from nodding off and drooling on myself at two o’clock in the afternoon. Unfortunatelybeing the snob that I am, even in such arduous times settling for a simple shot of slop will never do.
My latest search for deliciouscoffee took me to Tryst, a local favorite of DC’s grunge-hip Adam’s Morgan (think Fitzroy, only grungier) a place that I am frequently assured by many locals as one of the best coffee joints in the city.Let me inject some personal bias into this equation. I had previously sampled Tryst’s coffee in early 2008 and I believe the words “never again” followed the experience. I received an overcooked, flavorless mess after viewing a milk-caked steam wand inserted into a jug and left unattended while it screamed in pain, appropriately capping a washy, under extracted shot. I heard on the grapevine Tryst had revamped their coffee and I decided to return to see what improvements came off the old drawing board.
Thankfully, Tryst now offer the option of 8 oz ‘To-Go’ cups (otherwise known to Aussies as a “normal” size) which is a rare but welcome sight in the typically Godzilla-volume US beverage universe. Locals loveTryst’s digs for many reasons (chai lattes, food, atmosphere, evening beers etc) and the place is constantly packed, so with nowhere to sit my missus and I ordered two 8 oz café lattes to go. I watched the barista pay far closer attention to the shot pull and the milk than my previous visit with two better-looking coffees as a result. Unfortunately, taste wise they were entirely different. Mine had a strong, unpleasantly sour aftertaste. Amazingly, my wife’s drink was completely the opposite – creamy and smooth with no harsh bite on the back of the palate. The dramatic contrast between two beverages that were supposedly the same was a real worry. It’s nice to be able to rely on a place for dependable coffee quality. Although kudos must go to them for a stronger focus on prep, which is a positive step toward improving consistency woes. Tryst is not a front runner of the DC coffee-pack in my book. However it’s definitely no longer one I’ll be completely turning my nose up at.
ONE BEAN (for the good cup) here @ Tryst’s, and thank you Eric for anothee exceptional Washington Post (pun intended), but what’s with the Counter Culture coffee?
ONE BEAN (for the good cup) here @ Tryst’s, and thank you Eric for anothee exceptional Washington Post (pun intended), but what’s with the Counter Culture coffee?
Is there another brand out there?!?!?!All we seem to be seeing is Counter Culture guys…
Melbourne Coffee Review have introduced HOTSHOTS, the BEST of the BEST:
Till next time, keep on caffeining on…….
[Support MCR and delight your taste buds by joining our Home Barista Hotshot Club]
Coffee: Counter Culture
It’s nice that someone’s having an overseas holiday, but to be honest I really don’t care to hear about foreign coffee in a Melbourne Coffee Review, however good or bad. The only legitimate excuse would be if it were in another town or city called Melbourne elsewhere, not Washington. I just don’t care. I want to know where to get my damn fix, not where to get it if I ever end up on the other side of the world.
Just to explain…..many of our readers are from overseas, toursits coming into Melbourne looking for that famous world class Melbourne coffee, we are now touring the world with Melbourne Coffee Review, which means that we will be reviewing coffee around the world based on Melbourne standards, ie, using our world-class cafes as a bench mark
We are still posting plenty of reviews of Melbourne cafes for you to try, this just adds an extra dimension the the site….thanks for your comments anyway and we are very open to recomendations, keep on caffeining on!!!
I have to also say, I agree with Agi. We are looking for great coffee anywhere in the world that is ‘like’ the coffee culture here in Melbourne, or ever better if that’s possible. We all travel occasionally, and have relationships globally. It makes sense to cover the planet, but we want to give you access to great coffee where ever you are, including Melbourne.
Holidaying!? I wish! I’m a Melburnian living in DC! Feel my pain with all this CLOVER! AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh