A Scientific Study of the Iced Coffee Indigenous to the Northampton Area

[bryantpaul]

Sometimes mankind, I feel like I take, take, take without giving anything back. Sure, I write and draw a weekly comic, but it's mostly made up and of very little educational value

Comments

[msft]

You could have saved a bunch of your scribblin's if you just wrote:

"Bess Eaton. Best there ever was."

Bam. Done. Nailed it.

Too bad it doesn't exist anymore. *squint* Damn you Tim Horton's!

[bryantpaul]

'Oo is theese Bess Eaton?

Seriously, I don't know. And was it really killed off by Tim Horton?

[msft]

Well.. no... technically it died of its own accord and Tim Horton scavenged the remains. But why blame failure on the party itself when there's a foreigner you can pin it on?

[pooplord]

This is my favorite thing you've ever posted. Not that I don't like your comics, but I don't usually understand them, and that frightens me, so I shy away.

Seattle's Best is a chain that's part of many establishments aside from Borders. Well, maybe they only have the branding and such set up inside bookstores (though I haven't seen one in a Borders down my way), but around DC I see Seattle's Best served in hot pots at establishments that offer coffee only because they normally just serve lunch food but they happen to open at 8am and also offer [subpar] bagels and a few breakfast sandwiches, and, therefore, coffee is a requirement. No iced options though.

[bryantpaul]

Hmm... I guess I've never seen a free-floating Seattle's Best. Not surprisingly, a smallish area like Northampton doesn't have a lot of room for coffee chains. Like the kudzu and the grey squirrel, Dunkin Donuts are an invasive species that co-opts other ecological niches.

[anonymous]

I generally agree with your ranking, but I'm surprised you liked Starbucks. It's very acidic.

Never had the iced coffee at Amherst Coffee, which is surprising because I used to go there a lot.

You should get to Essalon Cafe (owned by Scott Rao). The iced coffee there tastes as good as Rao's.

I also dislike beverages that are too hot, but I love espresso. It's served at a much more reasonable temperature than brewed coffee. Worth getting into if you haven't tried it.

[bryantpaul]

Starbucks' iced coffee is slightly acidic, but it's pretty tasty. It's not my favorite, and I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to get it, but it's a fairly reliable fall-back when you're away from home and unfamiliar with the local cafe scene. I'm hoping that in the future, there will be a comprehensive database of iced coffee so that I can enjoy the best wherever I happen to be!

I hadn't had Essalon's iced coffee when I made this list, but have since. It's very good! I would put it up there with Amherst/Northampton Coffee and Rao's!

Another addendum: I've been drinking iced americanos from Woodstar. It's much tastier than their iced coffee, the same price and I get to enjoy their excellent food!

I haven't had an espresso in ages... maybe I'll have to get back on that wagon!

Northampton Buddies

[anonymous]

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