Volta is, as far as I know, one of the best known coffee shops in Gainesville. As far as fancy coffee goes, Volta is one of Gainesville's prime. My coworkers spoke of it as if it were some mythical store selling award-winning coffee and quite frankly, I was a bit too intimidated to go at first. I had this weird mental image of the suave young professionals of Gainesville sipping their unsweetened cappuccinos while discussing social justice issues, and I wasn't sure if I was mentally prepared to experience it.
Thankfully that was not the case. At least not completely. My first time going, I spotted some brothers from my fraternity studying in the corner, evading the cool kids. I knew that if they could study at Volta, I could hang out comfortably too. Plus, I realized, why should I care about the suave young professionals? They don't care about me. It made my experience much more pleasant.
Volta hosts a coffee cupping every Saturday - essentially a wine tasting but for coffee enthusiasts. They pass around the grinds, you smell them. They pour water on the grinds, you smell them. Then break them. Then taste them. Pretty simple, but I swear the day that I am able to recognize an aroma of cranberries in a coffee blend will be a happy one (it may never happen). I remained silent during the discussion at the end, figuring my description of "coffee-y" for all 3 blends would not be of much use...
After the cupping I ordered an iced cafe au lait, sans sucre (that's without sugar, for any non-french speakers). Slowly learning to distinguish tastes means taking out those flavors that mask the true taste of the coffee, for me at least. I have found sugar to be an easy elimination. Milk, not so much.
Overall, it was a morning well spent. Finally, weeks later, I'm starting to find myself distinguishing aromas. Maybe in a couple years, after strenuous study, I will have some useful coffee knowledge. Shout out to my coworker/friend Keely for telling me about the cupping!
Perfect read for my morning Java.
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