Hot Off the French Press: Suburb Special

“Suburb Special” By Elysa Valeriano

As I started winding down and preparing for finals week, I found myself stuck on what neighborhood to try next. Major projects and lengthy papers admittedly kept me quite busy, and I felt as if school was trying to keep me on my toes. As I prepared a trip to Elmhurst for an appointment, a new idea dawned on me: a suburb special. Wanting to spice things up, I decided to visit three coffee shops outside of Chicago for my last blog post before the holiday season. Now I won’t say I know Chicago like the back of my hand, but after living here for almost twenty years, you feel like you have seen it all! Visiting these three suburbs allowed me to get a breath of fresh air and venture outside the city I have grown to know and love. My final blog posts will feature Chicago neighborhoods, of course, but just for today, I hope you enjoy reading about my experiences outside of the Windy City.

Brewpoint Coffee (Elmhurst)

If you are as passionate about people-watching as I am, I would highly recommend taking a trip to Downtown Elmhurst and visiting Brewpoint Coffee. Just across the Union Pacific West Metra station, Brewpoint Coffee is the perfect café to find peace in the morning rush. The train is the main mode of transportation for hundreds of office workers commuting to and from the loop each day. To fuel employees for their lengthy ride, the café offers an array of signature drinks and fresh pastries for even the pickiest palettes. While the space may feel smaller during the rush hour chaos, I assure you that off-peak times make the café feel cozy and calm. Wood furniture and earth-toned color schemes warm up the dining space nicely, and huge windows bring in plenty of light and opportunity to watch trains whiz by.

Already a few minutes late to an impromptu Zoom class, I had to pick a drink and pick it fast. Luckily, I already knew that I was in the taste for a hot tea to warm me up on this cool autumn day, and the sweet maple tea was simply the perfect option. The blend of rooibos tea with apple gave the drink a naturally sweet flavor, perfect for the colder months. A spoonful of honey elevated its effectiveness in soothing my sore throat without compromising the flavor profile. Unfortunately, I was apprehensive about trying the sweet maple tea and ordered a 16oz, but if I were to do it all again, I would absolutely go with the large!

Mulata (Oak Park)

Much like Froth in my previous blog post featuring West Loop, Mulata is another café that I have been to plenty of times, yet still cannot get enough of. On the corner of possibly one of my favorite downtown suburbs—Oak Park—Mulata serves delicious Brazilian coffee, ethically sourced and handcrafted to perfection. Words could not even begin to describe how incredible their house-made empanadas are, ranging from sweet to savory and everything in between! A couple of highchairs by the window and a long picnic bench in the corner fill the space with life as patrons dine in and enjoy their drinks as a community. By far my favorite menu item is their cozy and warm vegan lentil soup served with a garlic herb crostini, but their turkey meltdown is a very close second.

Determined to start my final paper and bound by the chains of the street parking meter, I challenged myself to write two pages of material before finishing my hot vanilla latte. One of my own quirks is that I absolutely adore oddly shaped mugs: tall mugs, tiny mugs, mugs with two handles, all kinds of cool cups! If dining in, customers have the option to have their drink in one of Mulata’s novelty mugs—an option that had me absolutely stoked. Their mugs remind me of little pots of honey from Winnie the Pooh, and the beautiful latte art on top was the perfect touch for my perfect little coffee. Beyond the mug, the taste absolutely did not disappoint, as the syrup was sweet enough to balance the strength of the espresso without completely overpowering its natural earthiness. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy one of the delicious empanadas during this visit, but rest assured I will be back in the future to order a few.

Kribi Coffee Air Roastery (Forest Park)

Nothing is better than killing two birds with one stone, so to take advantage of an unscheduled Friday afternoon, I headed straight to Kribi Coffee Air Roastery after my Mulata visit. Right off Circle Avenue, by far my favorite suburban street with its unconventional shape and all-the-more fitting name, Kribi Coffee combines sustainable farming with community outreach. The business is partnered with various nonprofit organizations that work to address racial and ethnic inequalities, educational reform, and food insecurity. Using their patented air roasting technique, the café boasts a “fresh and clean [taste] without bitterness!” (1). From first seed planting to adding the last splash of milk, Kribi Coffee strives to give back to the people through the Cameroon Coffee Collective, empowering and protecting the farmers who provide coffee for all around the world.

Now you may be thinking: “You just talked about how incredible the coffee is at this small business, surely you tried it for yourself, right?” In a perfect world where I could tolerate three cups of coffee and still function, I would have been honored to try one of Kribi Coffee’s countless coffee items; however, for the sake of my heart and blood pressure, I decided to tone it down and settle on a London fog tea latte. Usually, when a café specializes in a specific menu item (i.e., coffee), other beverages they serve typically fall short. I am pleased to announce that, despite this, Kribi Coffee served me one of the most delectable tea lattes I have tasted in a good while. For a shop that specializes in coffee, the tea was warm enough to be drinkable but not scalding hot to the point where it burned the leaves and bittered the drink. In hindsight, I am not surprised that the milk was perfectly frothed, as making café lattes is a transferable skill to other, less common drinks!

References

1) https://www.kribicoffee.com/air-roasting