Bow Truss Review

It's been a given, at least in a good many coffee circles, that Intelligentsia is THE specialty coffee roaster in Chicago. Of course as time as gone on, more and more specialty coffee roasters have made their mark. None of them though had gone into the Lakeview neighborhood, where Intelligentsia's flagship cafe is located. That is until Bow Truss Coffee Roasters opened their doors in June, 2012 just a couple doors down from Intelligentsia. Seems to me if you are going to open a couple blocks from Intelligentsia, you better have an "A game" coffee.

I ventured into the cafe/roaster last week, on a particularly snowy day. A few things struck me. The cafe was more roaster than cafe. There were no pastries, and very few tables for people to hang out. What I saw was this...

I went to the counter and talked to the barista about the coffees and advice on what to select. She asked a series of questions about what kinds of coffee do I enjoy. Do I like dark roast? Medium Roast. I told her I was more a medium roast, and she said, "That's good, because that is about all we have." I picked two coffees a Brazilian and a Nicaraguan. She gave me detail about both coffees. One I was going to keep, the other I was going to give to Mark's mother as a thank you gift for letting us stay with them.

The Nicaraguan is "Nicaragua Beneficio Santa Lucila Caturra." According to Bow Truss' website:

Beneficio Santa Lucila is a coffee mill run by the Pagagua Family in the Nueva Segovia region of Nicaragua. The mill takes in coffee from neighboring farms, cups them in their on-site lab, and take meticulous care by quality, farmer, varietal, etc.preserving transparency throughout the chain."

This morning, I brew a pot of the coffee for breakfast. From the moment I took my first sip, I fell in love with this coffee. Bow Truss will tell you there are notes of Mandarin Orange, Fudge and Almond. What I tasted what a bright, chocolatey rich flavor. The aftertaste did hint of citrus, but not orange, in my opinion. Because this was a morning coffee, I want to be awake. This coffee on our Face Slapping Scale was a 10 - Cher in Moonstruck "Snap out of it" slap. This was one amazing cup of coffee. I brewed the second pot, and again, pure enjoyment.

Bow Truss needed to be a great roaster to be in the same zip code with Intelligentsia. They not only are, but I think in time, they can own the block. There will be a time this roaster won't be compared to its prestigious neighbor, they will be a standard of which other coffees are judge. 

Kudos to Bow Truss. I now know you, and will be trying other coffees from you.

Charlie