| rev:text
| - There is no better coffee in Charlotte, and I'm not sure it's close.
Not Just Coffee focuses on pour-over coffee and espresso drinks, however you can get a Mexican Coca-Cola, a Pellegrino and a few other things if you're looking for something else, or you're bringing along someone who doesn't like coffee.
Pour-over coffee, in case you're not hip to it, works like this: one serving's worth of beans is ground and put in a filter, inside a sieve-like ceramic dripper. The beans are bloomed, then 210ยบ water is poured slowly over it until the carafe under the apparatus contains enough for one cup. It takes about four minutes, but it's well worth the wait. It comes away flawlessly.
James (the owner) gets his beans from Counter Culture, so they're locally roasted and carefully selected. On any given day, he'll have 2 coffees, 1 decaf bean, and 1 micro-lot bean selection. He's serious about his product, and it shows; he weighs the beans and the water. He heats the carafe under the dripper, even heats up the to-go cup. He takes care to pour the water over the grounds in a thin, continuous stream, moving in circles until the measured water is gone. This level of detail is non-trivial, and I've never been in when the same attention wasn't paid to every last detail.
Yeah, it's a little hypnotic, especially before I've had my coffee.
Both James (glasses) and Brad (beard) are very coffee-savvy. They aren't your typical Starbucks pass-through-while-attending-college employees. Brad regularly wins the local latte art competition, for example. Coffee is their profession. I didn't realize what kind of a difference this made until very recently. Those two are the extent of the staff, so you'll meet one of them. (Identifying characteristics provided above for handy recognition.)
I should also mention that the espresso is perfect, and served with a tiny biscotti and shot of Pellegrino. Something about the acidity of the coffee and the slight alkalinity of the fizzy water make something I used to just kick back for the caffeine something I take a few seconds and smile about.
I hear the espresso drinks are good as well, though I've not had any.
The atmosphere is interesting, and on the edge of the hood. The hours are quirky. Parking is non-existent. None of that matters: I can walk to NJC from my house, and consequently I've completely tossed my electric coffee apparatus. It's become a part of my morning.
Go there, get a solid cup of coffee, and you'll never look at another mug of your home-brewed joe the same way.
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