One Line Coffee on High Street
Over the past several years specialty coffee has moved from the back streets to the high street. In Columbus, OH this has happened quite literally. High Street is the Short North neighborhood’s main thoroughfare. Nested between downtown and OSU’s massive campus, the Short North is home to Columbus’s most modish bars, fashionable boutiques, and advant-garde galleries. With such cosmopolitan surroundings, One Line Coffee is a fitting showcase for specialty coffee.
A Gallery of Coffee
One Line Coffee is a Columbus-based roaster that was founded in 2009. Their mission statement shares a similar ethos with other craft coffee companies around the world:
Better coffee means a lot of different things to different people. To us it means flavor and quality, sustainability, and traceability. It means doing everything we can to ensure farmers and workers are treated well, and earn a livable wage.
Exposed brick walls, hardwood floors, and Edison light bulbs all lend One Line Coffee a gallery-like atmosphere, only here the coffee is on center stage. One of my favorite design details is the custom pour-over rack which lines the front counter. It’s made from a single pipe, has a built-in drain, and allows the baristas to acknowledge and interact with customers while they brew. It’s a thoughtful combination of form and function.
Pressure Profiling
The espresso machine at One Line is a gorgeous 3-group La Marzocco Strada EP. This elusive (and expensive) machine allows for complete control over the pressure profile. I was pleased to see the baristas at One Line are putting it to good use. Customers can choose between a single origin espresso or a blend and each shot is carefully weighed to ensure proper extraction. Usually I order single origin espresso when available, but per the barista’s recommendation I tried the Method Espresso, a blend that is 50% Brasil Recreio Pulped Natural and 50% Costa Rica, San Carlos, Coope Tarrazu cooperative. This very bright espresso was heavy on acidity and sweetness- two things I love in an espresso.
Hand Poured Coffee in Columbus
I also ordered a pour-over of the Burundi Gatare. I had last year’s crop from a number of roasters (Handsome, Quills, Crema), and was excited to try One Line’s take on it. Coffees from Burundi have been known to be plagued by the dreaded potato defect (so named because it makes your coffee taste like potatoes), but thankfully this complex cup tasted like brown sugar and allspice- a perfect coffee for a chilly autumn day. However, the coffee my wife ordered, Costa Rica Las Lajas Perla Negra, stole the show. This coffee was naturally processed, which is exceedingly rare in Costa Rica. The result was incredible: surprisingly clean with intense berry flavors.
Come for the Coffee, Stay for the Ice Cream
No Columbus cafe crawl would be complete without a visit to One Line Coffee. And no visit to One Line Coffee would be complete without going to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream‘s Short North location, which conveniently is less than a block away. Even Baristas love ice cream.
Hey Michael! Thanks for the kind words! It’s always great to hear that people enjoy the shop and the coffee. Quick note, though. Our website must have screwed up. Our current espresso blend is half Brasil Recreio Pulped Natural and half of a Costa Rica cooperative microlot from a little town called San Carlos, from the Coope Tarrazu cooperative.
Thanks again man, and we really enjoyed the coffees you left, particularly the natural Mex!
Sincerely,
Dave Forman
Director of Green Sourcing and Wholesale
One Line Coffee
Thanks for letting us know. I’ll update the post to reflect this.
All the best,
Michael
P.S. I’m glad you liked the coffee! The El Eden really is a special coffee. We’re lucky to have gotten our hands on it!