Murky Gets Refined

Murky Coffee is not afraid of strong words or strong-but-not-too-strong coffee. No surprise their founder and CEO Nicholas Cho was featured in today's NYT. In a nutshell (or maybe.. beanshell?) Michaele Weissman says coffee has become so refined and complex, it might as well be the next wine. These days beans are pricey (sometimes at 40 bucks a pound) and more nuanced than "the finest pinot noirs."

Too bad a mug of ink with supper will never offer the same protection against heart disease as a glass of red.

Only 31, Cho thinks, "Starbucks is beatable." He says, "If you are in the hamburger business and you can't make a better burger than McDonalds, you don't deserve to be in business."

His sales have expanded six-fold (cha-ching!) since he and his wife-meets-business-partner Suzy founded the first location in Georgetown in 2002. Keep ordering those extra shots of soy milk, guys. Six-fold, geez.

You're probably thinking, Georgetown? But but..I thought it was just Eastern Market. Well they're also at 3211 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, VA, but yes, their first shop was in Georgetown.

Taken straight from Murky Coffee's FAQ page..

Our first shop was a little hole-in-the-wall on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown. It was a weird little place, and we got quite a few stares, notably from former President Clinton. As weird as it was, the coffee was weirder. We served only espresso, no drip coffee, and the weirdest thing about it was that it kicked ass. People freaked out when we shut down the Georgetown store in early '03. We got a flood of emails that said, "I'll never drink coffee again!!!" What shameless hyperbole. If you look closely at the black awning over what's now a fake-designer-purse store, you'll see the faint remnant of murky georgetown.

Cho organized the first mid-Atlantic barista competition, hitting Washington February 2006. He compares the intense latte-making process to that of "a Japanese tea cermony."

If you're wondering whether Cho is so caffeine-hyped that he can't sleep at night, you're wrong. During the little time he does snooze, Cho dreams of "opening an ultrastylish space where coffees hacked out of the jungle with a machete will be as revered as fine wine" and cost more than just the average (already high-priced) four bucks.

Move over Merlot, Macchiato is the latest BMOC on the beverage scene. Hmm..did someone say boxed coffee?

Murky Coffee is located on The Hill, at 660 Pennsylvania Ave, SE. Go on a weekend and grab a Honeycrisp apple at your friendly Eastern Market just down the block.