Review. Yordprom Coffee

The picture may be fuzzy but those are cars parked in the free spots out front.

I'm the type of guy who drinks coffee every day.  I like good coffee but I'm not a coffee snob - when I need a fix, I'll drink bad coffee and when desperate I've even been known to reheat a cup in the microwave or even buy one from a vending machine.  I drive through Dunkin Donuts at 5 AM and, working at the airport, I drink more than my share of Starbucks. These are not my favorites but they're fine in a pinch.  I'm just being honest here, I'm not a big enough coffee aficionado to be able to get into the nuances of a special free-range bean grown at exactly 7000 feet on the south facing slope of a volcano that was picked by virgins during the vernal equinox and then roasted by elves one bean at a time.  I have no desire to try a cup brewed from Indonesian Kopi Luwak beans that have passed through the complete digestive system of a cat even if it were free (it goes for up to $80 a cup - people actually pay that much for a cup - no kidding!). Having written this, I'm certain that I've managed to alienate more than a few "coffee people" who take their coffee more seriously than me.  This is just a heads-up: even though I appreciate a good cup, I really don't know enough about coffee to review a coffee shop based solely on the coffee and I just wanted to let you know where I'm coming from.

For several reasons, I like hitting local coffee shops over the chains.  First and foremost is that I like buying local. Second, when I'm going to hang out in a coffee shop to maybe read the newspaper, I like being comfortable and the locally owned coffee shops tend to be the most comfortable.  Finally, it's for the coffee. Although I am not the perfect "coffee guy", I think I can discern the difference between a good and a bad cup of Joe.  I tend to like the coffee served at what are considered the better coffee shops in town.  I've also found that I enjoy a pour-over drip individual cup a bit more than something that's been sitting around a few hours.  My pallet isn't good enough to fully appreciate some of those coffee's that are brewed in an apparatus that looks more like a science experiment, complete with beakers and test tubes, than any familiar kind of coffee maker although those things do look cool and I am a sucker for things that look cool.  Oh yeah, almost forgot, this is supposed to be a review of Yordprom.

OK, so my camera sucks. Matching furniture and pleasing colors.

Yordprom is located at 722 Congress Street in the West End (just beyond Hot Suppa! - a couple blocks from Longfellow Square) in an inviting building set back from the road to accommodate off street parking.  Off street parking in-town - plus one for Yordprom.  I rarely park there because, for me, walking to my local coffee shop is part of the appeal of going out for coffee but if you're someone who sometimes has to drive in-town for a cup of coffee, non-metered parking right out front is hard to beat.  Next is the décor.  Unlike many in-town coffee shops whose décor seems to be comprised of whatever was left laying around after demolition with walls painted in colors made up of mismatched cans from the "returned" section of the paint store (all things that I kinda like), Yordprom features very appealing colors with comfortable matching furniture throughout but they got rid of the couch which I miss.  It's clean, as in very clean.  Tommy, the owner, is a clean freak and that extends to the restroom and patio.  It's air conditioned in summer and there's a gas fireplace for winter.  There's a TV which I've never seen turned on.  Free Wi-Fi.

As comfortable and pretty as the place may be, I've never stopped in just to hang out without actually ordering something to drink.  The coffee is very good.  I usually get a medium roast pour-over drip coffee which I'm told is an Ethiopian Sidamo - I'll take their word for it.  When I'm in a hurry, there's the pre-brewed Sumatran which happens to be excellent as well.  To be honest, I like this as much as the pour-over but all the cool kids are drinking the pour-over these days and I want to be one of the cool kids.  The coffees are all organic free trade from several places including SE Asia, Africa, and the America's.  They make great latte's and there's a Vietnamese iced coffee that is my favorite warm weather drink.  To sum it up, the coffee is way better than most places and as good as any.  They also have a batch of organic loose leaf teas that I have never and will never try (I don't do tea in a coffee shop) although I've seen people drinking it and they appear to be happy.

Great coffee, free parking and matching furnishings are not the only things that set Yordprom apart from the others.  The outdoor patio and garden.  Some places have sidewalk seating which is good for people watching but every now and then it's nice to get away from it all, to have some peace and quiet and to enjoy the outdoors without breathing the exhaust from passing buses. Yordprom boasts a private garden that has to be the envy of every other coffee shop in town as I don't think any place has anything comparable.

OK, that's a bit better.  The garden.

Then there's the food.  Like other places, there are a variety of pastries available.  They're sourced from several different bakeries.  I'm not sure if there is a standard rotation of the goods for sale - it does appear to change regularly which keeps it fresh.  There are limited choices of breakfast and lunch sandwiches   There are often Thai dishes as well (the owner is from Thailand) which can be a real treat.  A great Tom Kha Gai soup and hopefully, when it gets cold outside, he'll bring back some curry dishes.

Finally, the place is as dog friendly as the restaurant inspectors allow which I guess these days means you can't hang out inside with your dog - I'm not sure what the current policy is for chilling with Fido on the patio but if the city is ok with it, Yordprom will be as well and your dog will probably get a treat from the staff.

Bottom line: I don't know if I'd walk past some of the other really good coffee shops just to grab a cup at Yordprom but I certainly wouldn't pass by Yordprom to go anywhere else either.  Basically, it's a really nice coffee shop with excellent coffee, free parking and a great garden.  Giving this some more thought, I just might pass by some of those other shops just to have a cup in that great garden before it gets too cold.