City Guide: Stuart Florida
Just north of West Palm Beach is a quite little city called Stuart. It sits slightly West of the Hutchinson barrier island and South East of Port St. Lucie. A destination like this is usually sought out after for its beaches and resorts. I found myself there because a wedding I was attending set their love story to that scenic backdrop. However there is a lot more going on in Stuart. Let’s take a detour downtown for some coffee!
The Roasted Record
Down the street at 600 S Colorado Ave is a shop that makes accessible exceptional records and roasts. The Roasted Record is another case of a home roasting hobby that blossomed into a local community specialty roaster in 2014. The unique twist in this case is their combination of vinyl and coffee. The revival of vinyl over the last couple of decades corresponds with specialty coffees own growth. The term specialty coffee has been in use since 1974, but the proliferation of companies distributing high grade transparent coffee, barista’s competing against each other on a national stage, and the use of “third wave coffee” all took off in the early oughts. Similarly after a sharp decline in record sales in the 1980s, vinyl began its resurgence in 2007 with its sales increasing by over 80%. Only 7 years later would The Roasted Record pair the two for a lively intimate space in Stuart, FL.
In 2017 they moved into their first brick and mortar shop. They mention it just might have been the first shop in the country to have a roastery, cafe, and vinyl all in one place. Their roastery consists of two diedrichs, a standard production size and one smaller for their competition series coffee. While I was in town I got to try their 45 blend on drip, a style of coffee done on their standard size machine. The 45 blend is a medium roast consisting of coffee from Brazil and Ethiopia. I liked how “classic” this blend tasted while highlighting the details that makes specialty special. It had a rich full bodied mouthfeel that brought me back to drinking coffee at my grandparents house but with notes of creamy cashew and maraschino cherry that planted me in this modern era of coffee quality. On the retail shelf sat bags of a “peach osmotic dehydration” process and a black honey Sidra from Edwin Norena. Two avenues to the forefront of coffee experimental development at the farm level. Offering both kinds of coffee, the classic and the experimental, side by side creates an accessibility for the consumer that is invaluable.
Coffee bar Blue Door
My next stop in Stuart was at Coffee Bar Blue Door. Just a block over from the bay on Osceola St, housed in a small yellow building is a morning coffee bar and afternoon libation destination. I found this locale walking the streets on google maps prior to my flight. it was tucked away underneath all the other options available that catered more to fast commodity coffee. With no website to check out i did not know what to expect walking in, but I had a good feeling based on the initial information I gathered from the photos captures by previous patrons.
Immediately my enthusiasm sparked when I saw the counter culture logo perched in a frame on the counter. I turned to my dad and said we’re in for a treat. It turned out to be a scorcher that day and an Iced situation became necessary. That meant my coffee option was a washed coffee from Bolivia. Refreshing, clean and crisp, bright stone fruit wrapped in a nutty exterior. Served over ice in a pint glass it hit the spot as we sat in the shade on their patio. My dad treated himself to a mocha.