Coffee Madness
Aside from the cheese (yeah, yeah) there are a few other things I miss from my days in Basel. The people, the culture, the easy access to Paris, Rome, London, and Istanbul. But chief among those things that make me weep silently in the American night, is the coffee. For the coffee aficianados among you, I think you’ll understand that I am not overstating it when I say I feel like Out of Africa’s author, Karen Bixen, when I write “I had a coffee maker in Switzerland.”
Ah, yes. The coffee maker. I bought it second-hand from some good friends who moved back to the states. It was a Francis! Francis! espresso maker with a foaming attachment for cappuccino should you desire. I did not. Nothing, in my view, should get in the way of the pure unadulterated joy of a great Americano (espresso with extra hot water added to make what the Swiss call kaffee kreme).
Any-who. I left it (and the world’s cutest cat) with my ex here in Switzerland, confident these treasures would be in very capable and appreciative hands. But that didn’t stop me from dreaming. Or drinking. On a brief visit in November, I drank a mortgage’s worth of coffee from my friends’ incredible Nespresso machine. In Portland, a self-professed coffee town, I have supped the best and brightest that city has to offer. And of course, a coffee-lover has not truly lived until he/she has partaken of the java-nectar from Rome’s Sant’Eustachio (near the Pantheon). Trust me. Do NOT miss it.
Back in Basel recently for a visit, I was reminded that it is not just my dear Francis! Francis! that makes a fine cup of Joe. In fact, Basel is loaded with caffeinated excellence: Cafe des Artisistes, Mercedes Caffe Spot (see the liquid gold in the photo above), Café zum Roten Engel, Rosario’s (which is also my fave wine bar), and Chez Jeannot at the Tinguely Museum, just to name a few.
Next week, I’ll be back in Basel for a good long while (hooray!) and you’ll find me sucking down espressos at all of the above. I’m sure there are many great new places that have opened in the two years I’ve been gone, so email me at karena.meehan@balehoo.com and let me know where your favorite coffee places are!