21st Street Coffee and Tea

This is cool.  If you’re a subscriber you already have in your possession the September Pittsburgh Magazine- their annual “Best of Pittsburgh” issue… and we’re in it!

Best Place to Get Custom Coffee: 21st St. Coffee and Tea’s Strip District location was the first place in town to get the famed high-tech $10,000-plus Clover coffee maker. (Now that Starbucks has bought Clover, the gadget may become more ubiquitous.) As at any good farmers’ market, you won’t find the same thing all year - the coffee choices change with the seasons (in September, look for newly arrived beans from Central and South America). Your barista can adjust the grind, water temperature and brewing time to coax the best flavor from the bean of your choice. Now: Caffeinate! 50 21st St., Strip District; 412/281-0809, 21streetcoffee.com. - K.C.

And by custom coffee we don’t mean sugar free vanilla syrup- a’ight?  And IF SBUX does drop a Clover in Pittsburgh I’ll go head to head with them in Pittsburgh’s first ever Clover throwdown.  Bring. It. On.

Since we own a newsstand next door (that’s Smallman News @ 2018 Smallman Street- open Tue-Fri 8a-3p, Sat 8a-12p), we don’t subscribe to magazines. We’re waiting for it to hit the shelves so we can see what (if any) photos they used.  DJ and Drew were working bar the day the photographers brought in all their gear, so we’ll see what comes of it.  It may be precious and/or hilarious.

There weren’t too many coffee mentions, but local micro-roaster Jakes Java gets a shout for “Best Zippy Delivery”, fellow Strip District business Leaf and Bean in the reader’s poll for their extensive cigar bar, and Kiva Han for their “hippy breakfast” (they probably don’t call it that).  JoJo’s got the nod for “Best After-Bar Eats”.  Pamela’s won the reader’s poll for “Best Breakfast”.  The Strip also got a “worst of” for most dangerous bus stop- at 16th and Penn… so keep your heads up kids.

I would like to call attention to this year’s “Best Selection of Beer”- D’s Six Pax & Dogs.  The dogs are really good, but the beer cave is sweet as hell.  I had a Bornem Tripel to wash down a three cheese dog, a Chicago dog, and their 1919 Draft Root Beer.  Total food coma the rest of the night.

Anyway, we have really good coffee.  Come on dahn the strip and try it.