Roasting Plant Coffee

Roasting Plant Coffee has two New York locations and one recently opened in Detroit. The location I visited is in the West Village, which is known for having a strong artistic and cultural community, filled with theaters, restaurants and shops. This is their 2nd location, their first and flagship store located in the Lower East Side. Upon approaching, there is a definite industrialist vibe to this place with lots of exposed concrete, big glass windows, and steel materials. Inside, this is further emphasized with a maze-like system of clear, pneumatic tubes winding all over the interior of the shop, going along the walls and even the ceilings. The industrial, mad-scientist look is broken up by a counter and benches made from ply-wood, and bright primary accent colors scattered about. Something about this combination of hard industrial materials mixed with warm plywood and primary colors always reminds me of the west-coast, California-surfer vibe, and indeed, their owners feel that an infusion from the west is just what the New York coffee culture needs to shake things up a bit.

I actually discovered this place completely by accident when I was on my way to brunch at the nearby Morandi Restaurant. I was very surprised that this shop was not listed in my beloved New York Coffee Guide, as it seems to already have had an extensive number of reviews done on it by some pretty big names!

Menu

I noticed that they seem to have the basic sugary coffee options, but not of the coffee shake variety such as Starbucks' Frappuccinos. Maybe they will make something like this if you ask nicely, but I kinda doubt it.

Eureka! At last! This wall explains everything!

On The Shelf: Bodum Products

Their shelf products consist primarily of Bodum products, which you can buy directly on their website, including drink-wear, grinders, and brewers. They have a very pretty Cona Vacuum Brewer which I am currently lusting after and looks like a Steam-Punker's wet dream (see top shelf of pic above).

The JavaBot System

The JavaBot. Where to begin? This is a patented system of pneumatic tubes designed to keep the coffee beans at their peak of freshness. The coffee is changed every 48 hours and is meant to take the human element (i.e.- mistakes) out of the usual roasting process. I won't go into detail about the entire system as you can find multiple explanations across other reviews and on their website. Also, I have to include the usual maniacal, paranoid warning/reference about the machines rising against us, but other than that, I will say it's pretty darn cool to watch this baby in action! Dinner and a show!

If I drink this, will I become lucky?? I'll let you know...

As usual, I don't really like to review the actual coffee because I think it is highly subjective and I hardly consider myself a connoisseur on the subject. Instead, I prefer to review a shop from the average consumer's point of view and try to comment on what I see as good marketing/business strategies. I don't know enough to say that this is actually as fresh as they claim but as coffee goes, I liked it.

Milk Bar

Love this high-tech way of pouring the milk! So easy- no muss, no fuss! Brilliant! Although, I am curious how they clean it- seems complicated, but I'm sure they have their ways. I have no complaints about the cleanliness of this place. Everything seemed polished and cleaned to within an inch of its life!

Chocolate Chip Cookies are said to be the 'best in the city' according to Serious Eats

According to Serious Eats, the chocolate chip cookies, baked fresh 4-5 a day at the Roasting Plant cafes, are the Chocolate Chip Cookie Champion of New York City. A pretty lofty title if I do say so myself! The dough is actually made by Tom Cat Bakery and is sold in many cafes across the city, but Roasting Plant is the only one which bakes them fresh at their location throughout the day. What did we learn from this? Freshness is key! Also, exceptional ingredients. These cookies are made with pastry flour and Callebaut chocolate, commonly believed to be the best quality chocolate by professional pastry chefs (or at least the French pastry chef I used to work for, who has been in the industry for almost 20 years).

I wish I had known this before I went there, (I usually like to do a little research before reviewing a place) as I would have tried one, but who am I to turn away from fate just because of a lack of research? Instead I purchased the Peanut Butter & Jelly Bar, a scrumptious concoction that looks like a giant chocolate candy bar and does little to hint at the yumminess inside. I did not take a picture of this as it was a scorching hot day in July and my purchase completely melted before I had a chance to even eat it! Luckily it was packaged in plastic or I would have had a gooey disaster inside my purse. I didn't let that stop me though. I solved this little problem by briefly sticking it in my fridge at home to harden up the chocolate enough to peel the plastic off before devouring it. Wow. So- good. It was a little hard to tell as it had melted together and re-solidified before I had a chance to eat it, but it seemed to have 3 layers: peanut butter with little bits of peanut, a thin layer of something spongy (maybe a cake?), and jelly that was not your typical straight-up jelly- it seemed like it did not have as much moisture as regular jelly and was probably made from scratch and boiled down to make it concentrated, but I have no way of confirming this. If anyone happens to know how this was made, I would love a blow-by-blow! All-in-all, I was very impressed.

Their website is also very good and offers a 'subscription' service where you can sign up for a regular, scheduled delivery of coffee, either:  weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly. On their Shopping Section, you can order from a decent selection of their coffees. What I really like about this feature is that they include a very detailed description of each coffee and include a scale of how the coffee rates according to Acidity, Body, and Roast. You can also specify what kind of grind you need for the coffee according to your brewing method and even whether you want the coffee roasted or un-roasted! It really takes the guesswork out of the equation for both the average consumer who just wants the coffee they make at home to be the best it can be and the connoisseur who wants to control every aspect of their brew. A very smart plan of attack!