Avellino

We were up before the sunrise this morning, all in the hopes that we could get some of Avellino's famous house-baked pastries while they were still warm from the oven. If you direct your gaze behind the counter, you will see their small, unsuspecting bakery. Avellino has their own bakery crew that comes in before open to bake fresh pastries for the day. The crew stays until early afternoon to produce a continuous stream of piping hot pastries. Ask what's fresh and expect to see steam wafting up from your pastry as you tear into it. We highly recommend the croisants!

Let's not forget the coffee-- Avellino uses high quality beans, they handtamp their espresso shots, and you can expect to see latte art in every drink that allows it! This special attention to detail makes each customer feel like their drink has been made personally for them-- with time, thought, and effort put into each individual drink. Be sure to watch your barista through every step of the coffee-making process; from the fresh grinding of the beans into the portafilter, to the hand tamping of the espresso shots, to the espresso extraction, to the steaming of the milk. This entire process is repeated again and again for each individual drink. You will appreciate your drink so much more after witnessing the entire process from espresso bean grinding to latte art pouring.

This morning's order: one latte, one cappuccino,
and two fresh-baked croisants!

One measure for a quality tea-lover's cafe is whether or not they serve their tea in mugs or tea pots. Avellino's is an individual teapot wonder - with a range of loose tea options, you do not feel like you could simply recreate the experience at home with a bag of tea. Hopefully one day when ordering tea in an American cafe, it will be standard to receive a full teapot of tea with a milk pitcher and suger dish on the side. Until then, the minimum for many cafe tea drinkers will be a cup of loose leaf tea.

Food for Thought:
Amidst our random conversation topics, one that stood out was how coffee shops stay in business even through the recession. Is it their loyal regular customers, the cafe atmosphere that drags people out of their homes for their morning cup of Joe, or is it just pure caffeine addiction that keeps the customers coming back for more?

Avellino's Website

Until next time,

Tea Cup and Coffee Mug