Hello from beautiful Crested Butte, CO!

Here we are, in Crested Butte, CO for the first time in what seems like a long time. There is something about stepping out of the car for the first time when you are back in the mountains that brings back those memories - the crisp air, trees, bright stars - it's great! We have had a great time so far with awesome weather - warm but with soft snow, perfect! As I said, I never stay away from coffee, however. We have had a chance to hang around two different shops here in town and hopefully one or two more when we head down to Gunnison in a few hours to pick up family at the airport. The two main shops in town are Camp 4 Coffee and Buckaroo Beanery. Both do their own roasting and have a nice vibe. Buckaroo Beanery calls themselves a "Latte Loft & Internet Cafe" with: -Brand new high speed internet nooks -High quality used books -Board Games -Comfortable Conversation quarters -Occasionally Live Music This is a nice little place with some interested single origins that can be purchased in bulk or to enjoy there. They use a nice Rancillo machine and older Simonelli grinders. They also have a nice loose leaf tea menu which is great. They are open from 6:30am - 10pm Mon-Fri and 7am - 10pm Sat-Sun. Camp 4 Coffee is a veteran in the coffee business of Created Butte. Here is bit from their "story" page on their website: Camp 4 Coffee is located in the beautiful mountain town of Crested Butte Colorado. All of the coffee that is served in the four retail locations and through the web is roasted by hand in small batches by human beings. In fact, only two humans know the top-secret recipe for creating the delicious Camp 4 beans. Camp 4 is lucky to have a great team of baristas, kitchen crew and roasters, who are lead by a dynamic personality known as Al Smith. While I am not sure what they mean when saying that no one knows the secret recipe for created their "beans" but they have a nice product. I have had much more of Camp 4's stuff than Buckaroo's so I will offer my opinion. It is dark - all of them! They also do not offer any (that I saw) single origins that I have grown to love in the cup. We pressed the Silver Hammer which is a Fair Trade and Organic version of their "award winning" Sledgehammer. It about knocked me over! I could hardly pick out any of the flavors in the blend. I will give it another go a bit later to see what I think. They have a great crew working there, however, and we have enjoyed strolling over for coffee in the morning and talking. They have a few that pour latte art which is fun and their is always a lively crowd hanging around the bar. While I prefer my cappuccinos to have a more velvety smooth milk, I have not had to put any of theirs down yet. We will talk more about coffee as we go. Maybe I will try to see about getting to meet with Al, the owner of Camp 4 Coffee, and get a tour of the roastery! I'll keep you updated. Here are some pictures from the trip so far... ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, crested butte colorado Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!