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
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