Houston: Where the Heat is as Strong as the Coffee
houston has been quite the surprise, i must admit. just landed yesterday and already my coffee senses are tingling with excitement (and maybe the 84% humidity has something to do with it).
the weather app says it's currently 25.34°C outside but feels like 26.12°C, with humidity at 84%. basically, it's the kind of weather that makes you question your life choices, especially if you're from a place where rain is considered a drizzle, not a monsoon.
i just checked and it's...sticking to you like a bad relationship out there, hope you like that kind of thing. the locals say it's "normal" for this time of year, but i'm from seattle where "humid" means a 60% chance of rain, not feeling like you've walked into a steam room after a shower.
if you get bored, galveston and austin are just a short drive away. i'm told the beach is nice if you can handle the sand sticking to everything, and austin has that whole "keep austin weird" thing going on which probably means decent coffee.
someone told me that the coffee shop downtown, called "bean there done that," uses beans that are older than most of the buildings. also apparently their baristas are all failed actors, which explains the dramatic way they pour milk.
spent the morning exploring the city's coffee scene. must say, houston doesn't disappoint. found this tiny spot called *percolator paradise that had the most amazing pour-over i've had since leaving home. the owner, some guy named dave with a beard that could house small birds, told me they roast their beans in-house every tuesday and thursday. i made a mental note to come back on those days.
also checked out caffeine connoisseurs, which is this massive place that looks more like a tech startup than a coffee shop. they had these weird contraptions that looked like they belonged in a science lab instead of a coffee shop. honestly, it was pretty cool but the espresso tasted burnt. maybe the barista was having a bad day.
i heard that the real secret to good coffee in houston is knowing when to go. apparently, if you hit these places right after the morning rush but before the lunch crowd, you get the best beans because they haven't been sitting around all morning getting stale. also, never order the dark roast on a monday, that's when they do the deep clean and the beans might be a day old.
the city's got this weird vibe to it - like everyone's always in a hurry but somehow still manages to stop for coffee. there's this one place where the barista remembers your order after just one visit, which is both terrifying and impressive. i'm pretty sure he has some kind of photographic memory or maybe just too much time on his hands.
anyway, here's a map of where i've been wandering around:
if you're in houston and need coffee recommendations, you might want to check out this houston coffee guide, the houston foodie's top coffee spots, or i love houston coffee. just remember, the locals know best - always ask where the baristas go when they're not working.
oh, and someone told me that the humidity here actually helps the coffee extraction process, which is probably why some of these beans taste so good. not sure if that's true or just something a barista told me to make me feel better about sweating through my shirt.
tomorrow i'm heading to this place called grind house* that supposedly has the best cold brew in the city. fingers crossed they don't disappoint. if they do, i'm pretty sure there's a starbucks down the block. just kidding... mostly.
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