Silver Lake Trip
Posted August 10th, 2008 by MegOn Saturday, my boyfriend (who is not the same person as my roommate) and I went to Scoops. It was my first time and it was pretty awesome. First of all, when we got there, the place was empty. I knew this was just luck and had nothing to do with the quality of ice cream. Also, shortly after we sat down to eat, a herd of people filled the room. I tried the flavors: Brown Bread (made from grape nuts), Banana Peanut Butter & Bacon, Guinness Mocha, and Thai Iced Tea with Honey. My favorite was definitely the Brown Bread, which is supposedly one of their most popular flavors. Even though they use grape nuts to make it, it is definitely a different taste than I expected. In fact, it made me wish I could just eat Brown Bread ice cream for breakfast everyday. I was slightly disappointed in the Banana Peanut Butter & Bacon because it seemed to be that each flavor was too subtle for me to distinguish. However, it could have just been that my palate was overwhelmed from such a variety of flavors. The Guinness Mocha was quite tasty, but seemed the most normal of the bunch to me. The Thai Iced Tea with Honey was probably the sweetest of my bunch, my second favorite, tasting like happiness. All and all, I would definitely go again, especially because of the rotating crazy flavors and the kind scooper that helped me was very accommodative, patient, and helpful while I made my my flavor decisions. 
Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped by Intelligentsia. We parked right next to a store I had only heard about, The ReForm School, a pro-green gift-y store. It is a very adorable store with a lot of neat and innovative products. I had found out about it on the internet a month or two ago and was always interested in visiting. Inside, you can find everything eco-friendly from bags, clothing, furniture, local artwork, notebooks, to bath & body products. The store fits right into the Silver Lake neighborhood. I would recommend it to anyone that is on the hunt for clever and cute gifts. I just wish I had the money to buy everything. I really liked these fun, easy to hold Buddha Bowls, but do not have the funds to purchase bowls at this point in time. The website is just as cute as the actual store. The story of how the store started is one that I respect: two friends that just wanted to own a store that promotes green living. How awesome is that?
Surprisingly, there was no line at Intelligentsia, but the place was pretty full. My boyfriend got his usual Mocha and I just ordered a cup of coffee. The coffee I chose was Galapagito, a La Tortuga Micro-Lot from Honduras. The website describes it as greeting “the palate with a burst of crisp citrus and lush tropical fruit. The acidity peaks in the center of the cup and melds elegantly into a supremely well-structured finish of deep, dark chocolate and baking spices.” My (probably weak) palate did not find it as citrusy as described. I did enjoy the finish and found it very smooth. I would/will buy those beans in the future. To keep the mornings interesting, I bought a 1/2 lb. bag of Fazenda do Sertão, Brazil. These beans come from Carmo de Minas, a popular growing region of Brazil. They are characterized as:
Flavor: Caramel, sweet orange, fudge
Acidity: Balanced, dried mango
Finish Smooth, buttery, dutch chocolate
Yum. Apparently these beans were tested to become espresso, but the taste was filled with such amazing depth and complexity that Intelligentsia R+D changed their minds and let it shine as a coffee. Another interesting fact about these beans is that they are pulped natural; beans were pulped without fermentation. Pulped natural coffees result in a beverage that has the characteristics of both a dry-and a wet-(fermented to remove the pulp) processed coffee; it is sweet, but retains acidity. This type of processing can only occur in countries where there is low humidity, such as Brazil, who has popularized this method and apparently produces some of the best pulped natural coffee in the world. For more information on the differences between processing, check this informative site out, CoffeeResearch.
Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-2649
The ReForm School
4014 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-8660
Intelligentsia
3922 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 663-6173
This post has 3 comments.
Tags: Banana Peanut Butter and Bacon Ice cream, brazil, brown bread ice cream, buddha bowl, carmo de minas, Coffee, coffee beans, CoffeeResearch, dry-processed, eco-friendly, Galapagito, guinness mocha ice cream, Intelligentsia, La Tortuga Micro-Lot, pulped natural, reform school, scoops ice cream, thai iced tea with honey ice cream, wet-processed
3 Comments
N-to-tha-C on August 13, 2008
If you rode a bike, you’d be at Scoops by now! :) Those bicycle kitchen kids don’t know how good they have it over there. That place is so awesome, it even has vegan ice cream!
echo0918 on October 23, 2008
love the intelligent and discriminating write-up on Intelligentsia! Fantastic. I hope you’ve let them know about your write-ups.
Meg on October 23, 2008
N-to-tha-C - You’re so right! Those bike kids are lucky! But, at least we get the special treat feeling when we find the chance to go and don’t take it for granted :)
Echo0918 - Thanks! I really believe Intelligentsia is the best coffee in Los Angeles. However, I am constantly willing and eager to try other beans. I will never give up my quest for the best beans! So if you know a good blend, let me know! I never thought of letting them know about my blog, but maybe I will make some contact with them when I get some more bags under my belt and feel more confident with translating what I taste into words.