21st Street Coffee and Tea

Have you ever been to a coffee shop to order an espresso, only to be served a watery, bitter (or sour, or burnt) and altogether offensive experience? Did the espresso taste like tree bark, or perhaps cigarette ash? Why would people want to drink this stuff? Surprisingly, a lot of people throw down good money and then throw down really bad coffee.

We’re here to change that- we serve great espresso.

Enjoy great coffee - visit 21^st Street Coffee and Tea today.

What, you may ask, makes an espresso great? You can just trust us and buy ours, or you can read on (we recommend you read it)…

We use the best roaster in the business

• We start with an award winning espresso blend: Our roaster’s flagship espresso blend, Black Cat, is a house favorite but we also offer Kid-O’s Organic Espresso Blend (CoffeeGeek’s 2006 Espresso of the year) from time to time (Strip District Customers have their choice)
• We only use fresh roasted coffee: Our coffee is roasted fresh in Chicago on vintage roasters, then delivered 2-day UPS to our shops. Even on the third day after roasting, the coffee is sometimes “too fresh” to brew, as it is still “degassing” (hence the one-way valve on each bag of coffee). All espresso blends are brewed between day 3 and 10 from the roast date in order to deliver the true essence of the coffee into your cup. Beyond day 10, the coffee has become sufficiently “stale” that it is no longer suitable for espresso (different rules apply to conventional brewed coffee).
• Direct Trade > Fair Trade: Our roaster pays a premium (25% or more above Fair Trade) directly to farmers for quality coffee. The higher a coffee scores, the higher the farmer is paid. Our roaster works hand in hand with the farmers to ensure continuous improvement. This means that we pay more for our coffee than all of the “Fair Trade” shops out there. While this is the right thing to do socially, we want you to come to our shop because it tastes good, even if our margins are a little tighter than the competition.

We grind each shot to order

• Each shot is ground to order- no pre-ground, stale coffee in our shop. Espresso, once ground, becomes stale within minutes- losing much of the gas needed to produce the rich crema that gives our espresso its wonderful body. When you order a drink, the grinder-doser is empty and the same can be said when the drink is finished.

We use more coffee in each drink

• Triple Ristretto: While most cafes use a 7g dose of coffee for a single shot of espresso, or 14-18g for a double… we use 21g baskets for a DOUBLE espresso. We use a TRIPLE dose of coffee (7g x 3) but dial in the grind so that the resulting “double shot” is just under 2oz at around 22 seconds of extraction time. A ristretto is a “restricted” shot- where the water is slowed by a large dose of coffee. Bigger baskets result in richer tasting drinks that have a more syrupy body and hold up well in milk. If you come in and order a ristretto, we’ll make it even shorter and thicker.
• Always two shots in a 12oz: Most cafes put only a single shot of espresso in a 12oz drink. We think that your drink should taste like coffee no matter what size you order. As for the 20oz drink, the standard is three shots of espresso. Espresso drinks should taste like coffee and be highlighted by the milk- not the other way around.

We use the finest espresso machine in the world

• Made in the USA: Seattle Washington is currently leading the world in espresso and coffee brewing innovation. Each Synesso Cyncra is hand built to order- just like each drink we serve. All of the larger manufacturers are playing catch up.
• No technology for technology’s sake: We only add equipment that will improve drink quality- that means that preparing a great shot of espresso requires skill. Nothing is sacrificed to move more customers through the door. Would you want your steak to be microwaved at a fine restaurant? This is why we don’t use the fully automatic “press a button and walk away” style machines that most large chains are using today.
• Our water temperature is spot on: Water temperature fluctuations of 5, 10 degrees or more are common in most conventional espresso equipment, but the Synesso Cyncra espresso machine accurately controls brew water temperature to within half a degree Fahrenheit. We’re currently brewing our blends at 199 degrees F- no more, no less. That is the temperature that tastes best for the coffee we feature.
• Our water pressure is on target: We brew each shot at 9 bars- that’s nine atmospheres of pressure and the consensus water pressure for brewing a proper shot.
• Nothing gets in the way of our shots- not even spouts: While most cafes use traditional “spouted” portafilters, we use bottomless portafilters whenever possible to ensure that the espresso landing in your cup tastes as close as possible to when it extracts from the machine. It also allows us to monitor each extraction and see if an adjustment is needed in grind/dose/distribution/tamp.
• We keep it clean: We start and end each shot with a clean grouphead and clean portafilter. Clean equipment means that you only taste your drink and not the drink we made five minutes ago.

We are expertly trained

• We constantly monitor grind size and coffee dosage as a coffee moves from day 3 to day 10 and adjust for changes in air temperature and humidity
• We tamp (compress) each basket of ground espresso coffee with 30-40lbs of pressure to ensure the water stays in contact with the tamped coffee “puck” for the desired amount of time
• Each shot of espresso is measured in time duration and volume- approximately 22 seconds yields just under 2oz “triple ristretto”
• Each shot should be thick, like a syrup, and be full of reddish brown crema (consider it “coffee foam”)
• We taste the shots throughout the day and make minute adjustments to ensure each drink tastes as it should

We serve our drinks in the correct cup

• Whether it’s a single or double shot, cortado, cappuccino or latte- we serve each drink in the correct (preheated) glassware. The drinks taste best in ceramic. Our to-go cups are also sized appropriately (from 4oz-20oz) for when you need to enjoy your beverage off-site.

We listen to our customers

• Since you read this far, it’s the least we could do… let us know if there is ever anything we can do to make your drink better.