It's All About the Coffee

"This is the best espresso I've had in your country."

We've heard that comment several times from visitors who've found their way to our store, usually at the behest of one of our many foreign-born customers. 

It's a compliment that many of our regular customers are from Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany and of course, Italy.  People from places with strong coffee house cultures (you can tell who they are by just looking at the tables... they'll be the ones with the demitasse and spoons, or the small cappuccino cups - never, ever go-cups).

Which is not to say we don't appreciate the great comments we get from locals.  We still get a lot of, "Hey, this is really good. Best I've had in Pittsburgh.  How come I've never heard about this place before?"  Even from folks who venture down to the Strip, which until now has been about the only place to get a good shot "dahntahn".

We're betting that using high-quality ingredients and processes will win your taste buds and have you returning to Aldo Coffee Co. again and again. 

Here are some of the reasons your Aldo Coffee Company beverage tastes wonderful:

Coffee:  We are customers of Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters, an award-winning roaster out of Chicago.  We already have several local families who started coming to Aldo Coffee Co. simply because they were aware of Intelligentsia's reputation. Not to mention a few folks visiting from Chicago who were delighted to find "their" coffee in Pittsburgh.

We also love Intelligentsia's commitment to 'ethical coffee'.  They travel to coffee regions of the world to make sure the beans they purchase are produced from coffee growers who practice fair employment and healthy growing techniques. Our Intelligentsia rep told us this is not just good business for social-consciousness sake:  these ethical practices also produce the best tasting coffee.

Intelligentsia  custom-roasts coffee for Aldo Coffee Co. weekly and makes the commitment to freshness by date stamping the five-pound bags of whole beans we use to brew our house blends, varietals and espresso.

Compared to retail beans you might buy that are roasted one, two, or even twelve months ago; you will notice a huge difference in taste from our freshly roasted beans.

Coffee making:  We use top-quality La Marzocco equipment that brews at a high temperature -- probably a much hotter brew temperatures than you are used to at home.  Importantly, all of our water -- for coffee, espresso and ice -- is filtered to take out tastes and impurities that can change the taste of a great beverage.  We also toss any coffee that is more than 60-90 minutes since brewing.  It would still be OK for a little while longer, but we prefer to not risk serving coffee that is past its peak.

Espresso:   "Espresso" is a method of making coffee.  It involves pressing very hot water through finely ground coffee. 

Our baristas are trained to precisely dose and serve consistently excellent shots of espresso from our LaMarzocca Swift and Super Jolly grinders and Linea 2AV espresso machine -  and will time your shot to ensure optimum flavor.

Heat and humidity affect the amount of time it takes hot pressurized water to pass through your ground coffee beans. The fineness and quality of the grind for a shot of espresso will change throughout the day depending on these conditions.  If we tell you we have to pull a new shot, it is because we are ensuring the quality of your beverage.

Espresso blend:  One of the reasons Aldo Coffee Co. chose Intelligentsia as our coffee roaster is the critically acclaimed "Black Cat Blend" coffee beans we use for all of our espresso beverages.  You may be surprised to know this espresso blend is not roasted to a heavy, black-charred flavor. We don't think your coffee beans have to be burnt to taste good.  Black Cat is a medium-dark roast and is rated a "90" in taste by coffeereview.com. Try it and taste the difference.

Chocolate:  If you notice how good your Mocha or Hot Cocoa is, credit our cocoa provider,  Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company.   The Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company produces world class chocolate entirely in Ghana using beans The Financial Times calls "the finest cocoa in the world."  Additionally, Omanhene chocolate is "slave free" and Fair Trade Cerfitied.  It has proven itself one of the most successful and creative joint ventures between the U.S. and Ghana and has won accolades from United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Shirley Temple (former ambassador to Ghana) and President Jimmy Carter for its business practices.

Milk and cream:  Aldo Coffee Co. gets twice-weekly deliveries from the award-winning (and local)  Turner Dairy Farms.  Turner's Higher Standard dairy products have been recognized nationally by the ALL STAR DAIRY ASSOCIATION with their Highest Quality Awards for six years in a row.  We also make our whipped cream fresh so your beverages taste as luxurious as can be.

Flavor syrups:  Aldo Coffee Co. uses Stirling Syrups and Monin Syrups, winners of multiple gold medals for  product taste. Stirling syrups are made using a cool processing method (instead of boiling) that results in a more concentrated flavor with less sweetness than you may have come to know from other coffee syrups.  Both Stirling and Monin use cane sugars instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Spices:  When our baristas offer a dusting of cocoa, nutmeg or cinnamon, they are using Penzeys Spices,  a high-quality, nationally-recognized spice provider.

So, if you want to know why your beverage tastes so good, just ask.  We will probably talk your ear off.

Comments

[Cara]

Very interesting. Maybe we should think about posting this information in the coffee shop for those people who don't "surf the web". What do you think?

[Java Queen International's Freshly Roasted Coffee]

Congratulations on your successful business!
Keep up the good work! Brew On!

[Ken Birks]

Great Site, enjoyed reading through it.

[Kona Coffee, Hawaii Vacations]

Keep up the great work and stop by Java on the Rock when visiting the Big Island in Hawaii