Second Cappuccino, at Tougo Coffee Company

Well, no firsts today, unless you count "first time enjoying an espresso beverage primarily for the espresso".  I was all gung-ho to go to Seattle Coffee Works and hit their slow bar to have my first pour-over coffee, since all my friends say pour-over is less bitter and generally less intense than espresso, and generally easier to enjoy and to pick out flavor nuances for someone with an untutored palate.  But I got lazy and decided not to venture down to the Pike Place market, and decided instead to hit the closest coffee shop to my apartment, which is Tougo Coffee Company.  I almost ordered a pour-over there, because they are a very respectable multi-roaster coffee shop, but at the last minute I decided to play it familiar.  A cappuccino just sounded better to me for some reason.


Unlike most of the coffee shops in the Capitol Hill region, Tougo is not a roaster, but also does not hold allegiance to any single roaster in particular (unlike Broadcast, which mostly serves Stumptown).  Rather, as one Yelper described them, they're like a "roasting curator", featuring different beans from different West Coast roasters on different days.  That appeals to me, because sometimes I wonder if places that roast their own coffee can't really offer an unbiased opinion of what they're serving.  A place like Tougo, if they get a bad batch, they just won't order any more, so I wonder if the quality might not be better across the board...

In any case, this was another positive coffee shop experience.  The place was mellow but not deserted, the barista was friendly and patient with me as I made up my mind, and offered helpful descriptions of the two different espresso beans they had on offer.  I opted for the one he described as "lighter-bodied with softer and brighter flavors", which was Kuma Coffee's Guatemalan Finca Retana.  I don't know if it's because this cappuccino was made with a high-quality single-origin espresso, or if my palate is changing, or if my psychological association with espresso beverages is changing, or if it's just that I have some idea of what to expect now, or what...but I enjoyed this cappuccino.  In fact, I think I was actually able to pick up on some of the described flavor nuances of the espresso beneath the roast flavor—I think I did actually detect some traces of orange zest, anyway, and the milkier parts were actually fairly sweet (despite me not adding any sugar or even cinnamon).  I'm not quite sure, but it did seem even a little bit smoother and more restrained in bitterness even than what I had yesterday at Victrola.  Hard to say, though...more similar than different, definitely.

Excuse the poorly-lit shot; it was dark and cozy inside
and I didn't want to use my flash.

So, I guess I have "officially" acquired a taste for cappuccinos.  More than that, I think I have "psychologically integrated" them as a beverage I consider normal for me to consume.  I say this because I still do feel a bit of anxiety about ordering a regular coffee, and I even panicked a little at the counter because I was "almost" ready to order a pour-over but couldn't quite do it, and instead fell back to what felt like a "safe" beverage.  The fact that that "safe" beverage was a cappuccino rather than a dirty chai is kind of a huge deal for me.  It's almost as if I don't think of a cappuccino as a coffee drink any more.

I feel like I can order a cappuccino now with zero reluctance...it's no weirder to me than ordering a chai.  I even caught myself thinking today, "gee, a cappuccino sounds good right about now" as I was out wandering the neighborhood and running errands.  I might even say it's actually become more appealing than a chai, just because it's less sweet, not made from a concentrated syrup, and feels a bit more sophisticated.  It feels like a "mature" beverage in a sense, similar to an IPA or an Imperial Stout (two other beverages not known for their "approachable flavor").  Weird!

But still, I won't really consider my "loss of virginity" complete until I can feel as nonchalant about brewed coffee as I have come to feel about cappuccinos.  Actually probably not until I've started brewing it myself, to be honest.  But I'm not feeling any rush...I'll get there when I get there.  If I spend the next week sampling different cappuccinos, I'll be cool with that (though I might not bother updating this blog for each one, no sense in me getting redundant).