Restaurant: Northwest Coffee Roasting Company, St. Louis, Missouri
Late to bed. Early to rise.
That’s my usual mojo, right?
Kind of. The late to bed thing doesn’t really work well for me anymore. In fact, if I go to bed late, I still end up waking up early. So, now my sleep pattern is off and I’m probably a little more cranky than usual.
Know what makes that better?
Caffeine. Usually in latte form.
This was what was needed when my roommate and I set out to St. Louis on Sunday morning after having breakfast with her aunt. Along the way, I noted that coffee might not be a bad idea, so I whipped out my iPhone and punched in where I might find some delicious coffee that Sunday morning.
I was directed to Northwest Coffee Roasting Company. We stopped at one in Clatyon, MO on our way to a few destination stops in St. Louis before hitting up a pub for lunch. We found it…a nice, quint little shop. We parked on the street and dashed inside. I knew my roommate was going for her usual…white chocolate mocha (or here, a Mocha Bianca) ($2.80). I was a little bit more difficult when it came on settling on a drink.
No almond milk here (bummer), which is too bad. I wish more cafes would offer almond milk because soy milk sometimes doesn’t agree with me. But…with the whole lactose intolerance thing, I went with soy as opposed to cow’s milk in the end. What I ended up ordering was an Almond Caffe Latte with soy milk ($3.40).
With our drink order in, we awaited the completion of the drinks. And soon…our order was up. Then we had to wait around a moment to pay. Our barista took our order, but didn’t ring us up. We probably could have walked out of there without paying, but we are honest people and got someone to ring up our order.
After having that amazing latte in Denver, Colorado, and having my delicious latte drinks at my go-to place in the area, I found my first sip to be really, really strong. I mean…bowl-you-over strong on the espresso. My roommate said her drink was much the same way. In fact, she couldn’t even taste the white chocolate. Which…is a cardinal sin for her as she hates the flavor of esspresso/coffee on its own. However, we both discovered that the more we drank, the more flavor we found. To me, that means the barista might have not mixed the flavor shots together as well as it should have been.
I did enjoy my strong latte, though. The almond flavor was one I hadn’t tried yet, and I found it to be a nice mix with the espresso. My drink was steamed to perfection, reaching the perfect drinking temperature. My roommate says hers was too hot to drink right away, but while she won’t drink iced coffee, I think she lets her coffee cool to room temperature before she finds it just right. I can’t base anything off of her coffee temperature gauge.
I found the people at Northwest Coffee Roasting Company to be very friendly. And our drinks were done as we ordered them, with any additions and substitutions per our usual mojo. I just wasn’t blown away by the drink itself. But, it did it’s job…woke me up…and got me ready to take on St. Louis.
So…win on atmosphere…and a so-so on the drink.
I love my caffeinated beverages as much as the next one, but I want a perfect pour. And this…just didn’t cut it for me.
The Celiathlete 