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Community Corner

Barismo Brings Great Coffee to Arlington

New spot for coffee education

Like a perfectly roasted batch of beans, the coffee scene in Boston is getting richer and darker with a lot more depth and dimension.

The availability of fresh, locally roasted coffee and knowledgeable coffee "stewards" is on the rise from Karma Coffee up in Sudbury, Simons Coffee in Porter Square, Bloc 11 in Somerville,  Crema Café in Harvard Square to local roasters and micro café Barismo right here in Arlington.

Compared to neighboring towns, Arlington has not had much in terms of cafés let alone somewhere for a good cup of coffee. There are always the "no need to think about it" routine places that people go to for their morning fix. Most are either in the Starbucks camp or the Dunkin' Donuts camp. 

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With places like Barismo now open from 8 am to 6 pm it is easy enough to change your routine and support a great local coffee spot and since they don't open until 11:00 on Mondays you can still get your chain fix on Mondays.  

Unlike Karma Coffee where the focus was really on the roasting and the café was a side effect of sorts, when Jamie, Hong Xue, and company started Barismo the focus was supposed to be a café, but then as the search for good suppliers proved difficult, the small batch roasting facility with a café on the side was an organic progression. 

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Jamie van Schyndel, co-owner of Barismo goes to great lengths, well actually great distances for Barismo to be able to offer a farm to tasse (coffee cup) experience. With trips to Ethiopia, Kenya and Guatemala, Barismo owners are able to really know where their coffee is coming from. 

They have a greater hands-on understanding of what it takes to get their green beans. Visits to the farms allows Jamie and company to see what it takes to get coffee to the roaster from seeing the young coffee trees in the nursery at Finca Vista Hermosa, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, picking the ripe cherries, to watching the coffee drying in the sun and being turned in parchment to avoid over fermenting. In addition to creating good working relationships with farmers and coffee growers Barismo has been partnering with great local business on this side of the world as well.  

Barismo roasts coffee for:  Vicki Lee's (Belmont), Dave's Fresh Pasta (Somerville), Simons Coffee Shop (Cambridge), Formaggio Kitchen (Cambridge) and Hi Rise Pie Co. (Cambridge), Toscanini's (Cambridge), and Espresso Royale Caffe (Boston). 

You don't have to be a coffee nerd to enjoy an excellent cup of coffee here. Barismo is a great spot to either enjoy a cup of coffee, get a little coffee education or pick up some manual brewing equipment. Their focus is on a specialized type of brewing from Hario Japan, which is brewed by pour over. So whether you're looking for a great cup of coffee or a bit of a coffee education, then your needs will be met at Barismo. 

Upcoming classes include the V60 Pour Over, espresso, milk steaming and more.  Classes are $35.

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