In a city that’s constantly adding new coffee, you have to figure out how to strike the balance between coffee nerd and the casual coffee drinker. Camino Cafe – which opened earlier this year during the day as an addition to Camino Wine Merchant – is dedicated to that balance.
When the daytime cafe first opened, the focus was strictly on tea and coffee in the time-honored manner: pourovers with azuki bean milk, paying homage to matcha’s roots in China. No espresso.
As of June 8, that has changed. Camino’s bar is now home to a shiny new La Spaziale. Coffee curator Jae Cox said the addition is customer-driven as a response to Greenville’s espresso-centric nature. Cox has added three drinks to the menu: the espresso sunrise; brown sugar, shaken; and cold brew sour. The drinks draw on cocktail elements with each recognizing a different sort of coffee drinker.
For those among us who are basic: The brown sugar, shaken, a simple latte with brown sugar and espresso shaken over ice. We chose to add milk and make it a latte. On its face, that sounds like something you can make it home. You can, but what makes it better (aside from not having to clean the delicate pieces of an espresso machine or glasses) is that it is dialed in, taking into account environmental factors like humidity and how that may effect the beans.
For those among us who want something refreshing: The espresso sunrise, a refreshing cocktail of a coffee drinking blending fresh squeezed orange juice, espresso and tonic. This one is for the coffee aficionados that have already made a habit of mixing espresso and tonic for reasons besides running out of milk. The result is a drink that is almost reminiscent of Coca Cola.
Finally, for the cocktail lover, the espresso sour. This one may skew out of our coffee nerd v. casual drinker categories and spin off into lush territory as it blends components of whiskey or pisco sour into a coffee drink. Cox incorporates lime with simple syrup and egg whites with coffee for a smooth drink..
All in all, it was a lovely caffeine-forward start to our week.
Camino Cafe/Wine Merchant is located at 1622 E. North St. in the Overbook neighborhood.
Bite-sized bits:
- As of June 5, a new fine dining Indian restaurant opened on Pelham Road. Kumin Kulture marries classic restaurant elements like food provenance and hospitality with Indian cooking methods to deliver an eclectic experience. It is located at 3620 Pelham Road across the highway from Top Golf in east Greenville.
- Menkoi Noodle House in downtown Greenville closed earlier this month leaving one location open on Woodruff Road. For your classic ramen fix, visit 1860 Woodruff Road. It is quite literally the best purist ramen in Greenville.
