Sling It To Me

***UPDATE SUMMER 2011:
As I’ve decided to resurrect this blog, and I stand by my little review of Coffee Slingers, I thought I’d better make a couple edits. As a round preggo with daily limits on caffeine, I went into CS lusting after a decaf cafe au lait. No luck! They no longer do any cafe au lait. I was seriously disappointed. The bonus is that I have found their iced lattes to be super, amazing, fantastic (though limited to days when I haven’t hit my preggo caffeine limit). Also, they no longer have the $5 minimum card purchase.***

First off, you should know that this is not stock photography. This is what your latte will look like at Coffee Slingers in Automobile Alley in downtown OKC. This visual of perfect foam art is just the first indication that you’re in for something serious.

A friend had been suggesting I head to Coffee Slingers for a while. I kept meaning to, but 10th and Broadway wasn’t exactly in my normal morning routine. So when it became convenient, I stopped in for a caffeine fix. My usual beverage of choice at a coffee joint is a cafe au lait, or what I like to call the poor man’s latte. Rather than espresso topped with steamed milk, it’s simply brewed coffee topped with steamed milk. At Starbucks, the change from espresso to coffee will save you over a dollar and gain you quite a few milligrams of caffeine.

So I stepped up to the bar and ordered my regular. The problem? They don’t serve cafe au lait. I thought it was strange, if not unfortunate, but hurried on to a latte as my second choice, along with a savory bacon and asiago scone.

Oh. My. God. It’s hard to say which was better: the crumbly, delicious, perfectly bacony-cheesy, not-too-salty or over-the-top scone OR the creamy, rich latte. The pairing was unstoppable.

A warning: if Starbucks is heaven in a paper cup (I mean taste-wise, I understand the worship of caffeine.), Coffee Slingers is not the place for you. This is REAL coffee. This is a cupful of complex flavors and perfect balance between dairy and bean. This coffee is thick and luxurious. There’s no watery taste, and it’s not bitter. I will say the flavor is unlike any coffee I’ve had before, and there’s a complexity bordering on bitter that I can’t quite put my finger on. But it’s not a bad bitter. It’s like the difference of strength and complexity between milk chocolate and dark chocolate. There’s just something extra going on in the dark.

Speaking of chocolate, I returned to Coffee Slingers one afternoon, laptop in tow with the plan of getting a little work done. The atmosphere at Coffee Slingers is great. There’s music playing, but not too loudly, and small meetings seem to be common. I have seen all kinds of people, suits, highschoolers, “creatives,” college students, perhaps some “ladies who lunch” planning their next fundraiser; good coffee and a pleasant atmosphere draw all types, and this makes me happy.

So during this afternoon work trip, I decided to go decaffeinated, far less fun and buzzy, but much better for a reasonable night’s sleep. I stepped up to the bar and ordered a decaf latte. The problem? They don’t do decaf lattes. They don’t carry decaf espresso. Instead they offered me a decaf cafe au lait. !!! Cafe au lait??? . . . And this is where I learned the ethos of Coffee Slingers.

Despite the name, they aren’t here to simply sling coffee. They just care about those damn beans too much. They firmly believe in serving high quality drinks, and they firmly believe that a latte is much higher quality than cafe au lait. They firmly believe that decaf espresso beans are not up to par. They do understand that some people require decaf, so they have a daily decaf coffee available.

In order to make myself feel better about my inferior decaf cafe au lait, and also to meet the minimum credit card purchase requirement of $5, I ordered a brownie the size of my head . It was dark, perfectly bitter and rich, and of course complimented the coffee beautifully. And the coffee, even though inferior to the perfect latte, was also rich and delicious.

So what else should you know about Coffee Slingers? The staff is nice. It’s not the fastest or cheapest coffee you can order. There’s no drive through (I’m talking to you Starbucks lovers). There IS free internet, though the password changes every two hours, so you’ll need to make a few purchases if you plan on hanging around all day. So far I’m two for two in the bakery department and 100% on coffee. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve stopped in. Turns out 10th and Broadway is totally in my routine. At least it can be.

UPDATE SUMMER 2011:
As I’ve decided to resurrect this blog, and I stand by my little review of Coffee Slingers, I thought I’d better make a couple edits. As a round preggo with daily limits on caffeine, I went into CS lusting after a decaf cafe au lait. No luck! They no longer do any cafe au lait. I was seriously disappointed. The bonus is that I have found their iced lattes to be super, amazing, fantastic. Also, they no longer have the $5 minimum card purchase.