Who could have imagined I’d ever be writing about my love of coffee and coffeehouses? It’s amazing even to me. I was a confirmed tea drinker ever since the fourth grade. I had once tried the coffee my mother made for my father. It was awful. Certainly not something I felt the need to “develop a taste for.” I’d stick to my tea and milk, thank you. (Or milk and tea, as it was in the fourth grade.)

Still, I was intrigued by coffee. I remember my first job as a sales assistant in a department store housewares section. They sold whole coffee beans and had a self-serve grinder. I’d always hope customer’s would ask for help grinding the beans because the freshly ground beans smelled oh so good. It was a mystery how something that smelled so good, could taste so bad. Even though my father and my brother were coffeehouse connoisseurs and would spend an inordinate amount of time in coffeehouses, (this may have been the result of tasting my mother’s coffee) I was not moved to join the cafe table.

Then I met my world-traveled husband who was anxious to introduce me to all the things he thought I had missed in the past, one of which was good coffee. The first coffee beverage he made for me was Turkish coffee. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Turkish coffee is one of the strongest, thickest, richest, sweetest coffee you can make. Quite a surprise for a tea drinker. But I liked it! I was eager to try more. We progressed backwards from espresso, to cappuccino, to caffe latte. Since I’m a person who likes extremes, my favorites became caffe latte and Turkish coffee. I finally understood the allure of coffee and the caffeine buzz.

Prior to becoming the innkeeper of the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn, I lived in the Bay Area of California, an area rich with coffeehouses. In San Francisco North Beach’s “Little Italy” area you could hardly walk one block without coming to one or more coffeehouse. So my predilection for good espresso drinks and the joy of going out with friends to coffeehouses developed into a treasured routine.

Upon arriving Greene County in 2004, however, I discover the coffee landscape not quite as robust! No matter, this only meant the hunt was on!

By now you might be asking yourself, “So, where are you going with all this? What does all this have to do with the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn?” Well, I’m glad you asked.

Over the years, on my trek of the Caffeine Trail, I learned a lot of interesting information about coffee, coffee beans, the history of coffee, how it is roasted, and how it can be prepared. I’d like to share a little bit of this fascinating coffee trivia while introducing you to all the wonderful coffee options that have sprung up in our region since 2004, including The Vanderbilt Room, the Greenville Arms’ in-house espresso bar. We offer beverages and our own brand of micro-roasted whole beans, “the freshest roasted coffee you’ll ever taste,” which you can purchase in our online shop.

With each blog post on the Caffeine Trail, I’ll give you a little coffee knowledge and an introduction to a couple of local coffeehouses, roasters, or cafes with great espresso drinks. So grab mug your favorite brew, and let’s get started!

Introduction

Coffee! Ah, now there’s a word that can spark controversy. Just start asking your friends where to find the perfect cup and you’re liable to start a major debate.

With a little coffee knowledge and a growing list of regional coffee options to expand the scope of the debate, you and your friends can plan your own coffee tasting adventures. Perhaps you will discover a new coffeehouse or try some different coffee beans.

Specialty versus Commercial

If you are used to drinking coffee made from canned or prepackaged coffee grounds, you’re in for a surprise when you first taste coffee made from freshly ground specialty beans.

Commercially canned coffee is made primarily from a blend of lower-grade coffee beans. These beans are pre-ground and pre-staled. This is done because freshly ground coffee beans release carbon dioxide gases that would turn a sealed can into a time bomb.

With specialty coffee beans, not only can you choose pure unblended beans from a particular region, but you can grind the beans the moment before you brew. You could also create your own blend of coffee beans.

So, throw out that can of coffee and prepare to enter the world of specialty coffee beans.

In the Beginning

Long ago, in a far away land, there lived a man called Kaldi. Kaldi’s occupation was that of a goatherd in Arabia Felix. He was an ordinary man and his goats were ordinary goats. But one day, after a particularly exhausting trek across the land, the goats, being ordinary goats, started nibbling on the first thing they saw. That first “thing” happened to be a shiny, dark-leafed tree with red berries. The goats enjoyed the berries immensely. In fact, suddenly they weren’t tired any more. Not only did they feel rejuvenated, they felt like dancing!

Kaldi, who had collapsed under the shade of one of these trees, no doubt contemplating the monotonous nature of his career choice, noticed the eccentric behavior of his previously docile goats. “Hmmm,” he thought, “what are those animals eating? And should I try some, too?” Well, try them he did. Soon Kaldi was up on his feet, prancing with his goats.

At about this time, a monk from a local monastery happened to be strolling by. There was Kaldi cavorting across the hillside with his goats and eating little red berries. Being of a curious nature, the monk asked Kaldi why he was dancing with goats. Kaldi showed the “magical” berries to the monk, explaining the exhilarating effect of eating them. The monk, being a learned man, immediately saw an opportunity. Here was something he could use during long prayer sessions, in which he and his fellow monks tended to doze off. He gathered as many berries as he could hold in his pockets and took them back to the monastery. Doing a little experimenting, the monk discovered that he could create a rather nice brew by parching and boiling the berries. He served this concoction up at the next prayer session and the results were eye-opening.

Word of this discovery quickly spread from monastery to monastery. Or so the legend goes.

What’s Next

The next Caffeine Trail post, Part 2, will give you a little history of the spread of coffee and coffee beverages around the world.

On the Catskill Region Caffeine Trail

Our local caffeine trail has definitely expanded over the years and it can now make a nice day trip, or two, of touring around the region, sampling the ambiance and brew of the various cafes.

We’ll start local with two options right here in Greenville.

The Vanderbilt Room

You may have smelled the delicious aroma of roasted beans wafting out of our kitchen over the past couple of years. The Vanderbilt Room is our in-house espresso bar featuring our own micro-roasted coffee beans. Micro-roasted means that our coffee is roasted in teeny tiny batches and always roasted to-order for bag purchases. This results in one of the freshest cups you’ll ever drink. Additionally, being a micro-roastery also means that we have the opportunity to get new coffee’s and flavors out more frequently.

The Vanderbilt Room, named after William S Vanderbilt, the man who originally built the house and buildings comprising the The Greenville Arms 1889 Inn, offers a array of specialty espresso and pour-over coffees, as well as fine teas from Harney & Sons. It also currently has a take-out menu for breakfast specialties and soups, which can be enjoyed outdoors onsite or to-go.

12oz & 2lb bags of whole bean or ground coffee are available through our webshop or you can always call in an order. Single bags are available as well as a monthly and ‘every other week’ subscription service. Sunday is roast day and your coffee is available for pick-up or will be shipped on Monday. Most coffee that you see on the shelf at the grocery store is a minimum of 10-days old. With our coffee beans, at most, your coffee will be maybe 4-days old (for West Coast shipping) when you drink that first cup.

On the Caffeine Trail – Part 1