Madison Coffee ~ Caffeine Crawl Trail Pt. 3

~ Less than a week till Madison's first Caffeine Crawl, and a few more sneak peeks! ~ 

~ 5th Element Coffee ~ 

What would you recommend ordering for first-time customers? To experience true natural flavors of coffee, try the Brew Bar. We only do single origins from El Salvador or a guest roaster and no 'dark roast' i.e. burnt coffee. Choose from Chemex, V-60 or Aero-Press. Our killer Cold Brew is done in house on a Yama Cold Brew tower. If you're looking for a sweet treat, our mochas, featuring Gail Ambrosius Chocolate's single origin Colombian chocolate, is to die for.

What's one of the most unique or interesting things about your company? Our co-founder/owner is Alejandro Mendez of El Salvador, the World Barista Champion of 2011. We've set up the shop to put the focus on coffee and to mimic the experience of competition.  All of our coffee is Direct Relationship meaning we work with, and purchase directly from the farmers.  We roast at Alejandro's craft roastery, 4 Monkey's Coffee Roasters, in El Salvador, and bring the coffee to Madison about once every two weeks.  It's as Farm to Cup as you're going to get in Madison.

What's coming up that you are excited about? We're honored to be launching a new farm and micro lot: Matalapita from Finca Matalapa in El Salvador, a four generation female owned farm.  The current owner/farmer, Vickie Diaz' great-grandmother founded the farm in the 1800's.  Equally as important, the cup is amazing. This farm won the 2003 El Salvador Cup of Excellence cupping competition and continues to impress. Truly one of the finest farms and coffees in El Salvador, and optimally roasted by our head roaster Dani Mendez who will be at the Caffeine Crawl to talk about the coffee!

- Todd Allbaugh, Co-Owner
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~ The Victory ~ 

What would you recommend ordering for first time customers? I would recommend a ristretto espresso. It has an unexpected huge sparkly flavor that our regulars can't get enough of. If you've already had enough caffeine for the day, you should try a ginger soda, made with our house-made syrup. 

What is one of the most unique or interesting things about your company? Our customers are our friends.We make an effort to be an active event in your day. Even if you only stop by for 5 minutes, we want to make that time count as part of your life. We are old school, which our regulars respect and have grown to love. We don't have wifi. If your phone rings, you must take it outside to answer. We provide a homey place to chill out and read the paper or chat with an old friend over coffee. Our cafe feels like a second home to our regulars. 

What is coming up that you are excited about? We are continuing to focus more on our food menu. We have some recipes up our sleeve that we are excited to introduce. Stay tuned! 

- Patrick Downey, Owner

~ Kin-Kin Coffee ~ 

What would you recommend ordering for first-time customers? When we go to a new shop we make sure to get a little of everything. A shot of espresso, espresso + milk (macchiato or cortado) and a cup of coffee. 

What's one of the most unique or interesting things about your company? We have the best staff (ok, we're biased - but, for real.) We have so many unique personalities & perspectives, but they all share passion for our community, people and coffee. They make our shops warm & our coffee taste amazing. Good vibes. 

What's coming up that you are excited about? We're excited about everything. We are doing some fun collaborations this fall and have some house made syrups that we'll be rolling out soon. We are also finishing a cargo bike to hit the streets next year.

- Gwen Johnson, Co-owner 
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~ Cargo Coffee ~ 

What would you recommend ordering for first-time customers? Our house blend is the Atomic Brew. By far, that is the most popular coffee we serve. During the summer the Mocha Atomic Freeze is very popular.

What's one of the most unique or interesting things about your company? We are truly a family business. My brother Lynn helps me run the business and my three kids help with working behind the counter, baking and other tasks. Though, Teddy, my oldest, goes off to college next week. We will have to get his shifts covered!

What's coming up that you are excited about? Around six months ago we started baking from scratch in our three stores. We are doing more and more with that. That has inspired us to do even better with our coffee which we roast at our Park Street store in a Probot 12 kilo roaster.

- Lindsey Lee, Owner

Don't miss out...get your Caffeine Craw Madison tickets here!