I once overheard a girl say, “Do you know an apple can provide as much energy as a cup of coffee?” Now, I like apples just as much as the next temptress in the Garden of Eden, but when I heard that, I thought, “What kind of alternate universe is this chick living in?” I suppose if one had never had coffee before, maybe it’s a possibility. But for those of us who’ve been using, ahem, I meant drinking the stuff for over a decade, I can assure you, an apple will not suffice! Judging by the number of coffee shops in this compact city, it seems safe to assume that most people in this town are like me.
I covered a handful of local coffee joints last week, but our collective appetite for coffee necessitates a part 2!
Karma Cream
I must reveal my bias: Karma Cream has a special place in my heart. My 2-year-old daughter has a dairy allergy and, thus, didn’t get to celebrate her first birthday with the traditional cake and ice cream. No, instead I attempted to make her an allergy-free, cake-like treat: It had the appearance and consistency of a stale dog biscuit. But since Karma Cream offers dairy-free and soy-free options, my daughter had her very first ice cream there (Dairy and soy proteins are so closely related that folks with a true allergy to one will likely have problems with the other, as well).
In addition to the awesome dairy and non-dairy ice cream, it also offers fair trade, organic coffee, tea and a full espresso bar.
“What’s unique about us is that we are an ice cream shop combined with a coffee shop,” says Payal Patel, the 29-year-old co-owner and UF graduate. At Karma Cream, customers can get espresso over ice cream, a milkshake with espresso mixed in, or a frozen blend made with ice cream, espresso and coffee ice cubes.
“All of our workers go through full barista training. If someone wants a café con leche, they can do that,” says Patel.
My favorite drink is an iced latte float with nutmeg ice cream, but I like trying new things each time I go there.
Patel says that from the very beginning they have sought to be as sustainable as possible and to have as minimal environmental impact as possible.
“We tend to draw a sustainable crowd, but they don’t have to feel guilty if they forget to bring their own cup,” Patel says. “All of our cups are 100 percent plant-based. It all breaks down. It’s not like they’re getting Styrofoam.”
During the semester, Karma Cream is open from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on the weekdays and noon-2 a.m. on the weekends.
Maude’s Classic Coffee
Located in the Sun City Center next to the Hippodrome, Maude’s is a Gainesville staple. I’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Maude’s, but there are some folks who are new here.
In addition to coffee, tea and espresso beverages, they also offer beer and wine, and light café fare.
My favorite drink is the Maude’s Iced Coffee. It’s a blend of coffee, milk, cinnamon and honey. I’ve tried many times to duplicate it but, of course, it’s not the same as the real thing. And on Tuesdays, its signature iced coffee is $1 off.
CYM Coffee Company
Maybe you’ve seen CYM Coffee Co. on your way to the mall. It is a fairly new addition to Gainesville. Inside the shop, it’s like home away from home with warm, wood floors, a large dining room table in one room, a sitting area with comfortable couches in another, and a few café tables in the main area. The atmosphere is perfect for relaxing or studying. Outside, there is a large deck for live music.
They brew Strongtree Coffee, as well as organic teas. They also offer a limited selection of beer, wine, cheeses and baked goods.
Tree City Coffee Roasters
This one is not a coffee shop; Tree City is a small, local craft roaster, but they do hold public coffee tastings every week at the Haile Plantation Farmers Market.
“We call it our three-hour a week coffee shop,” says co-owner Nadav Mer.
Mer runs the business with his wife, Dara Wald.
“It started as a passion for coffee,” says Mer. “We began roasting ½ pound at a time for ourselves — fine tuning our palate and learning how to roast coffee.”
While each person may have his or her own favorite beverage, coffee shop or barista, often the roasters who transform the beans from their sour, green starting point, to the savory, brown state that most of us recognize as coffee are forgotten. Roasting coffee is an art. Each particular coffee has to be roasted to just the correct point in order to reveal its best character.
Mer is partial to light roasts. “You get more antioxidants, more caffeine, and more flavor of the bean itself,” he explains. “With darker roasts, you get more of the flavor of the roast process itself: I often compare it to meat or fish — overcook it and you get the flavor of the cooking and not the meat.”
Tree City marks the roast date on each bag that they sell to ensure optimal freshness, a practice that few other roasters employ. Roasted coffee lasts 2 to 3 weeks tops, but it’s at its peak around 48 hours after roasting, Mer explains.
They roast to order in small batches: 3 pounds at a time, and every green coffee bean they buy is fair trade and organic.
The freshly roasted beans can be purchased on the company’s website, at Haile Plantation Farmers Market or a few other venues in town. And for very special occasions (or maybe just for the fun of it) one can even order custom labels at no extra charge — a wonderful idea for holiday gifts, wedding favors and charity events.
