Gallagher's Travels: Destinations

ESPRESSO STORIES, a series

by Mary Gallagher

You’ll notice occasionally in my travel reports little aside references to the price, quality and quantity of espresso availability. This is the way I measure the world - tiny cup by tiny cup.

My first experience was also my first trip out of North America, to the Canary Islands, off the coast of Spain. Once I started my espresso kick, there has been no turning back to that tan water most people call coffee. Water in the Canaries came from a desalinization plant so in the beginning, I preferred slightly salty espresso! The bar at our hotel in Costa del Sol had a large bank of machines and banged cup after cup out for the primarily European guests. In bars on the streets throughout Spain, eating Churros fished out of a huge kettle of boiling oil, cut with a big scissors and sprinkled with sugar while standing at a bar drinking espresso from a small glass is a morning ritual that everyone needs to experience.

This was so long ago that the founders of Starbucks were just coffee bean gleams in their daddies' eyes…

I went on to get my own electric Baby Gaggia eventually replacing a motor or two. Then another. Now I use the simple stove top Moka pots and manage to go through them fairly regularly. Usually the handles get too loose to pick them up safely.

The best espresso I remember, outside of Europe, was at the Pensacola Airport. Inexpensive probably 60 or 75 cents a cup with a nice froth on top and no bitterness. I asked who supplied their coffee expecting something exotic and they said the Tetley Tea Company. Some day I’ll follow up with more information on that.

At Schipol airport in Amsterdam, I chugalugged down a cup as we raced towards our plane…it was in a ceramic cup and saucer. To run better I put the saucer in my pocket and when the coffee was gone, did the same with the little cup. If you’ve been to Schipol you know the security including soldiers with machine guns. Going through the first check point they grabbed me out from the security gate and a female guard quickly pushed me up against the wall - legs spread, arms up…my friend was terrified! The cup and saucer in my pockets showed up oddly on the machine! Then of course they said Schipol in nice lettering so here I was, caught red handed, a common cup and saucer thief! After I explained and they took the set, we went and sat down to wait for boarding. I noticed no one else in the waiting area sat very close.

In Costa Rica, a coffee growing country, the espresso was a little disappointing. I find their coffee too acidic for my tastes but brought home a lot of it to mix with other brands. Someone told me the best beans were exported.

When I visited Oregon for the first time , I thought the state was quite beautiful, the people nice and friendly reminding me of the 60's. The opportunities for great espresso were spectacular.

Everywhere I found all these independent coffee shops, little kiosks in parking lots and on street corners. Many with drive-through service and a paradise for me.

This spring while visiting Rosemary Beach, Florida, we stopped at Espresso Yourself, an immaculate espresso bar in Grayton Beach. The coffee was quite good and supplied by the Boyd Coffee Company in Portland, Oregon.

The Boyd Coffee Company was founded one hundred years ago when Percival Dewey Boyd's Red Wagon rolled through Portland, Oregon selling tea, coffee, and spices.

Although tea was the more popular drink at the time, Boyd started blending his own selections of premium coffees, creating the "Boyd Blend".

Within a few years he had several delivery wagons that traveled as far away as Tacoma and Walla Walla, Washington and by 1914, the horses were replaced by delivery trucks.

Today, Boyd Coffee Company is still a privately held organization, managed and run by the third and fourth generation of the Boyd family.

Beans are purchased through brokers and plantations, depending on what they are using the beans for . A cupping house, Boyd's, cup every sample and every delivery. Cupping occurs at least 2-3 times a day.

In case anyone was thinking of getting me a gift the company offers more than 2000 coffee, equipment and food items through catalog and its web site to buyers around the world.

Boyd Coffee Company 1-800-545-4077 request The Boyd Shopper. www.boyds.com

Espresso Yourself
Mystic Pointe, Grayton Beach, Florida
850 534 0045

About five years ago, I took a week long trip across Kansas following the Santa Fe Trail shooting video for a travel program. It was slim pickings for the espresso affectionado. I had our guide and driver searching out places and whenever we found one the whole crew cheered.

Unfortunately, if you don’t drink espresso or have any experience with it, you may not know how to make it. Who in the world would drink that little tiny cup of intense coffee I’ve been told. So they add water! But then this is the state where I had a steak with Bernaise sauce that had been baked in the oven and resembled a yellow rubber frisbee. Lawrence, Kansas, a great college town was a different story.

Lawrence, Kansas, www.visitlawrence.com

I have never cared for those pseudo coffee drinks - decaf mocha caramel latte with skim milk and other flavored syrup. I drink pure double shots and on rare occasions when the beans are burned or bitter add a little cream.

Recently I spent a week traveling through glorious little towns - Lincoln City - Newport - Yachats - along the central coast of Oregon. It was heaven, sandy beaches and rugged cliffs all along the ocean AND lots of free standing espresso-to-go kiosks in parking lots. Independent roasters are everywhere just like the micro brewery business. And reasonable prices! Only once did I see one of those dreaded "chains".

Central Oregon Coast Association 800 767 2064, www.orcoast.com/coca/

In Welches, Oregon, Mt. Hood Coffee Roasters owner, Serene Elliott-Graber, told me she had looked at roasting machines for quite some time before purchasing an “air type”. The blowing air forces the beans up and off the grate similar to a popcorn air popper. No side lays too long and risks scorching. Burnt beans are one of the reasons coffee can be bitter. Hence the nickname "Starburnt" or "Charbucks".

Mt. Hood Coffee Roasters 888 661 2326, email: mthoodbrew@earthlink.net, www.mthood.org

Recently on the way back from Richmond, we stopped in an Italian restaurant in the Dale City area knowing they would have espresso. Alas the machine was broken. A kind bartender offered to go into the kitchen and make a fresh pot of coffee with a minute amount of water. Not totally authentic but certainly tasty and powerful.

Outside of Wickenburg, Arizona, we stayed at the wonderful Rancho de los Caballeros. I strolled through the town and came upon the Pony Espresso. The owners father collected and sold oriental rugs. They were piled in the back room knee deep. He spent considerable time giving me a fascinating course in the science of rugs from Afganistan and other countries.

Rancho de los Caballeros 520 684 5484, www.sunc.com

At Drips Coffee House in Hickory, North Carolina one could almost imagine you were in Berkeley, California. Well as long as you stayed inside.

My first cruise, just after the Ark, was the Leonardo da Vinci or perhaps it was called the Mona Lisa. Well anyway it was Italian and in those days the entire crew was also Italian. I requested espresso with my meals but they said it wasn’t available - probably one out of 60 million Americans drank espresso at this time. I couldn’t believe that all these Italians were working on this ship and drinking ordinary coffee! Well they weren’t and ever so kindly would make an espresso for me in the crews quarters whenever I asked. A great travel memory, after all these years, was waking up to the cabin stewards singing arias in the halls every morning. Like living in an opera.

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