Fair Trade Coffeehouse
418 State St. Madison, WI 53705For an intro about how and why I am trying the cappuccinos of Madison, go here.
State street is a transit mall that spans between the University of Wisconsin campus and the state capitol in downtown Madison. It is considered by many to be the ‘living room’ of Madison, and is almost always hopping with activity. It also features no less than 6 coffee shops along its 0.6 mile span. As I review my first state street coffee shop, I think it is important to remember the competitive environment in which all these shops exist. If I don’t like the drinks from one place, I can be at another shop in about a minute (or less).
I’ve been to Fair Trade several times before and have liked it, though I have never gotten a cappuccino from there. So, I had some hope for the place. They also feature a larger food selection than is typical for many coffee shops (today they had an omelet sandwich among other things) and I have heard a few good things about these offerings. I’ve never gotten food there, but I have to say that my bannana nut muffin was very good (and they even warm it up for you). But, of course, the food is secondary; so, I’ll describe their cappuccino.
I ordered a ‘short’ (12 oz) cappuccino; I was told that this was their smallest size, so I ordered it ‘dry’ (meaning less milk). The drink came in a normal coffee cup, which I really wouldn’t mind if it hadn’t been too large. The foam was quite coarse grained, so there were huge bubbles in it instead of smaller and smoother ones that are more desirable. The first sip wasn’t bad. The espresso was a bit too bitter and not all that complex, but at least it wasn’t drowned in milk. However, each sip after that became less interesting, more bitter, yet (somehow) weaker. So, by the time I got to the middle of the cappuccino the drink had become just shy of acceptable; if I hadn’t had so many bad cappuccinos in my life I would have been quite unhappy. That said, it wasn’t aweful, though I have a feeling that many people are turned off by cappuccinos (think they are too bitter and such) because their initial experience is of a drink like the one I had at Fair Trade. In the end, I was a little disappointed; I had expected something good from Fair Trade and only got something that was mediocre. The numbers are below; as always, scores are out of 5.
Presentation: 2
Smoothness: 2
Strength: 3
Complexity: 2
Foam: 3
Correctness: 3
Mean: 2.5/5
SD: 0.55
I would not discourage anyone from going to Fair Trade Coffeehouse; many of their drinks are really good, but maybe just get something other than a cappuccino. Also, some might like to go because their name implies that they use fair trade coffee. I am sure they do use fair trade certified coffee; however many other coffee shops do this as well (Bradbury’s comes to mind). So, you don’t necessarily have to worry that you are screwing over coffee farmers just because you choose to go someplace else.