I have never had a cup of coffee in Denver, aside from Starbucks that is. I decided that it was time to change that which was perfect timing because I had just met a fellow coffee lover who is opening a coffee shop in Dallas and was here in Colorado doing a little R & D. He told me that his favorite coffee shop in Denver had been NoVo Coffee. So my trusty sidekick (also known as my best friend Stephanie) headed to the Big City to check it out.
Side note: Stephanie does not drink coffee. Slightly ironic, I know, considering how many coffee shops I have dragged her to. I have found her distaste for coffee has proved useful in my endeavors though. More on this later.
We decided to go pretty late on Sunday afternoon and ended up getting there just before they closed. The barista, whom we found out was named Alex, was super nice though and had no problem making us drinks even though he had been cleaning up. One thing that I liked about NoVo right away was that the menu was super simple. I have been to other coffee shops where I could seriously stand there for at least an hour trying to read through the menu with the barista impatiently waiting for you to just choose something already (not that it really matters all that much in my case since I only ever get my usual nonfat latte anyway). I digress. I ordered my latte and Stephanie asked Alex what she could get that didn't taste too much like coffee. He ended up making her a caramel latte and we were told that they make their caramel sauce in house (pretty awesome) and also that they roast their own coffee beans here in Denver (also pretty awesome).
I quite enjoyed my latte and also the strawberry oat scone along with it but the best part is that Stephanie actually really enjoyed her coffee as well (kudos NoVo). We sat at the bar as Alex finished cleaning up and he started talking to us about the science behind making a great latte. He told us about steaming the milk, roasting the beans, pulling the shot. He even showed us the espresso machine and all the fancy things that it can do.
Maybe to some people all of that is unimportant but if there is one thing that drives me crazy is when baristas are rude. That is one thing that will make or break a coffee shop for me. But not only was Alex super nice he was also super knowledgeable and you can tell that he actually enjoys what he does. Granted he is one of who knows how many baristas that work there but if the other baristas are as passionate about what they do, no wonder NoVo has become so many people's favorite place.
But, I am sure you could feel that coming, I am yet to find a place that is somewhere that I would go to just hang out at. I went to a coffee shop on Durango called the Steaming Bean and I suppose that is what I end up comparing these to. It was such a cozy place with tables, couches, a bar, great coffee, sweets and real food. I just connected with it. Unfortunately it is approximately seven hours from where I live. So my quest continues. 
