12 - Crema, Denver

Super friendly atmosphere and they know their coffee!

Coffee Shop:
Crema
http://cremacoffeehouse.net
2862 Larimer St
Denver, CO 80205

Date Visited:
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
About 3:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

[Note: They close at 5:00.  They were so super nice that we had NO idea and it was actually shortly after 5:30 when we left and they were still chatting with us while they swept the floor.]

Purchased:
10 oz Cold Brew Iced Coffee: $3.00

We stopped by Crema on the way to a baseball game!  I was very excited to try Crema because they seemed like a very crafty yet chill place - I was not disappointed.  And I have been very into espresso lately.  According to their web site, "Crema is the lovely layer of thickly effervescent foam that defines well-crafted espresso, an emulsion of the essential oils contained in the coffee."  That is beautiful!  They take this stuff seriously!  And that is where they get their NAME.  I had to try their espresso!

And then I ended up getting so distracted that I got cold brew.

This is how it went down.

I went up to the counter and said, "You're Crema! Should I get espresso???" (Paraphrasing.)  I was hoping for the best espresso recommendation, or some kind of excitement that would guide me toward the way to discover the best kind of crema at Crema. (Ha.  I enjoy this a lot.)

Instead, the barista told me that their specialty is that they source from EVERYWHERE.  And he had a list of like 40,000 different places they source from (I exaggerate, but I was like, "....Woah...I can't keep up...I'm not this much of a coffee snob yet").  He told me about the espresso that they had that day, and about which other coffee they had.  And of course he just said get whatever I like.  I had to ask about cold brew, and it was the same kind of coffee they had for espresso.  I think this is partly why I got distracted.  Then he offered me a SAMPLE of the cold brew, which I tried, and it was quite distinct...and then I got it.

Iced coffee with no crema at Crema

It was the "lightest" flavored iced coffee I have had, at least in a long time.  It was a bit bitter/dark, kind of earthy, but not strong.  They said it was brewed for a full 24 hours, so the slight bitterness makes sense.  There wasn't much aftertaste, which was kind of a nice change because I have had so many strong coffees lately with long-lasting aftertastes (especially the espresso, which makes total sense and was good for its purpose, but it was still nice to change up).  Overall, the iced coffee was very easy and enjoyable to drink.  It was a dash of a delicate combination of flavors for a nice moment.  I drank about half black because it was quite good like that and I didn't want to cover up the flavor undertones because they were very nice.  I put almond milk and raw sugar in for the second half and it was DELICIOUS.  A perfect example of cold brew with cream and sugar crystals the way I like it.

The coffee shop was a nice place to hang out - much of the nice atmosphere was created by the attitude of the baristas.  They were very welcoming and awesome, and enthusiastic and happy to discuss their product.  And totally into chatting about something else, too.  There were two areas to sit, one in the back and one by the entrance.  I really liked the area by the entrance because there were great windows.  The seating was maybe a little cramped, but not in a way I minded.  (There weren't any outlets visible, which didn't bother me because I had a full charge, but could be an issue.)  We (one other person and I) sat and talked and worked on a couple little things for a bit before heading over to the baseball game and it was nice!

In retrospect I remembered seeing that they closed at 5:00, but we weren't paying attention to the time or anything and it was almost 5:30 before we noticed that the door was locked and they were closed!  We had no idea!  I think that was super nice of the staff, not just to let us stay, but to clean so discretely in other areas first, etc. that we didn't even know!  Then when we realized and were getting ready to go the barista was still striking up casual conversation with us.  So again, they really create a GREAT, friendly, inviting atmosphere.

I didn't use the wi-fi that much this time, but had no issues.

They don't have parking, but there is a reasonable amount of free, unlimited street parking in the vicinity.  It is probably not difficult to find a spot within a couple blocks (it wasn't for us).