This Christmas, you might remember I put a Harrar Horse T-Shirt on my wishlist.  My wife ordered it online for me…turns out it was from Alterra Coffee in Milwaukee, WI.  I happened to be in Milwaukee a few weeks ago and had the chance to check out one of the Alterra coffee houses.  They are THE premiere coffee roaster/retailer in Milwaukee, with a half dozen locations around the city.  Before heading out I asked my good friends on Twitter  for the best Alterra location to check out (there are a bunch).  The folks at Aldo Coffee said I had to check out the location at the lake.

I got up early and went for a friend with a friend of mine along Lake Michigan, which happened to take us by the art museum, ball fields, and the Alterra Pumphouse.  The pumphouse used to pump something (water?) in or  out of Lake Michigan, I really don’t know.  What I do know is that it’s about the best coffee experience I’ve had in the Midwest.  The old stone building was gutted the Alterra folks and filled with a two story, bright, open café with lots of levels of seating.  They made a good choice in their tables, offering mostly small tables with room for just two (or one person working with a  ton of stuff spread out).  On a cold day, it must cost a fortune to heat, but the view from the giant windows looking out to the lake can’t be oversold.

I had a great Papua New Guinea Kimel (good enough that I brought some home), a well prepared latte and a great shot of their Sumatra based espresso.  It tasted nicely balanced and not too darkly roasted (like many others) so there wasn’t any carbon in the aftertaste.  The espresso drinks were pulled and prepared by Colin, one of Alterra’s top barrista trainers.  A bunch of the guys there were happy to shoot the breeze about the coffee they roasted, their espresso technique, and the coffee industry.  If you’re anywhere near Milwaukee, head to Alterra.  You can get them at the airport, but if you have anymore time at all, you need to get to the pumphouse on the lake.