For a few months I had been trying to hold coffee tastings at Kafe Neo. They’re one of the only places in Southern California with a Clover Coffee machine and Long Beach is much in need of some premium coffee.
The Clover coffee maker is an $11,000 contraption that’s supposed to serve the best cup you could ever had. Obviously, the beans are the most important part so I hit up Blue Bottle Coffee in the bay area to see if they’d be willing to be a part of the inaugural event. LAMILL who’s coffee is on tap at Kafe Neo sent down a couple great beans too, a Yirgacheffe and an Organic Brazil to go along with Blue Bottle’s Kintamani.
What goes better with super yummy coffee than free ice cream? The corner of 4th and Temple is a hub of many great things. Since it was a Sunday there were lots of people walking by and we flagged down dozens of them to give them treats and let them know about the coffee. Gus and Pete Sverkos, the owners of Kafe Neo kept the Clover machine going non-stop and they’d bring out cups to the ice cream truck to make sure the crew was getting their fix. I can’t say which I liked best, they were all excellent coffees. On the way out Gus handed me a small bag of the Kintamani which made for a couple happy mornings.
Thanks to Kafe Neo, LAMILL, Blue Bottle and the ice cream crew for making it possible and The District Weekly for helping to spread the word. Hopefully we’ll be able to do this once a month on a Sunday so keep your ears peeled for the next round. Hit us up in the comments below if there are any roasters we should try.
You know I’ll be there!!