On The Road: Morning Light Coffee Roasters

We are vacationing in Montana visiting our family.  Our first stop is Great Falls so of course we had to stop by local coffee refuge Morning Light Coffee Roasters.  This beloved local hangout is a must stop for Great Falls residents and tracks its roots in the state back to 1988. As you walk in the door, you are hit by an atmosphere that is at once western and friendly with a touch of the relaxed earthy feel most specialty coffee shops cherish.

Mrs. Darkroast, Tiny Roast and I were happy to be accompanied by my sister and brother-in-law.  I chose the triple shot cappuccino and found the brew good but a little watered down with milk (a common mistake I find with many baristas.) 

Mrs. Darkroast disagreed with me and felt it was just a medium roast unlike the dark intense roast I tend to prefer.  She's probably right, she usually is!  She had her usual vanilla cappuccino with caramel syrup, and tiny roast gave his vanilla milk a big smile and double nod.  Even so, the coffee had a nice earthy tone with low acidity and I still found myself enjoying it about an hour later. Mrs. Darkroast also purchased a cool mug made by Miam.Miam and we all devoured a light and fluffy berry muffin made at the shop.  Mrs. Darkroast wanted to sneak in the kitchen and steal the recipe.

Our real enjoyment at places like this comes in the atmosphere. Mrs. Darkroast feels I should give two ratings from now on -- one for the coffee and one for the atmosphere. I do feel like these are both critical components for a successful coffee shop. This place had a warm feel including a wall of coffee mugs where the regulars leave their personal cups.

Morning Light stakes its claim as the largest specialty coffee distributor in Montana with a variety of options for the western connoisseur. It was a nice spot and I am going to give it a B+ for it's coffee and an A- for atmosphere. We will be in Helena, Montana, later this week and will post from there when we check out Fireside Coffee.

Embedded Starbucks: Baby Steps from Diner Coffee?

Ahhhh, Christmas Eve. It is a time of great joy. As I jetted around town yesterday with my family getting last minute gifts, we arrived at our local Target store. Of course, this seemed like the perfect moment to double my shopping pleasure by visiting the Starbucks stand embedded in the front of the store.

Lately, Mrs. Darkroasted, another friend of mine from church and I have been having a running discussion about whether embedded Starbucks in hotels, bookstores, truck stops, grocery stores and your local Target produce the same quality of coffee as the stand-alone outlets.

So naturally I ordered my standard grande cappuccino and then we walked on while I let it cool. I have a picture of this drink below. Tell me if you can figure out what is wrong with this picture.

Notice the silky smooth texture and complete lack of actual coffee in the drink. LOL, I took two sips of the sweetest steamed milk you ever had. But sadly, there was no espresso in there. When I went back to Gwendolyn to request the coffee in my coffee, she seemed less than pleased. That makes two of us.

Mrs. Darkroasted also got her standard caramel macchiato and then rapidly declared it was baby steps from diner coffee. I am afraid this is just one more example of how the phrase,  "we proudly brew Starbucks," doesn't mean anything if the baristas behind the counter also work cash register nine when things get busy.

I rarely ever get a bad drink from a stand-alone Starbucks, but these in-store deals are a bit of a roller coaster ride. What's your experience? Give me your comments.

Merry Christmas everyone  and watch out for counterfeit Starbucks. :-)