The “Rolls Royce of espresso machines,” called the Slayer, sits atop a marble countertop in Methodical Coffee, which has an interior that is almost as gleaming as the huge smile worn by co-owner, Will Shurtz. Shurtz, 22, who also runs his traveling coffee brew bar, The Vagabond Barista, loves coffee. Marco Suarez and David Baker loved how much Schurtz loved coffee, and soon the three partners brought Methodical into being.
The coffee bar opened in February in Greenville, though you’d swear you’re in Seattle or even Italy when you walk in. This is a true coffee bar, and if its pristine, ultra-clean, and uncluttered atmosphere is any indication, Shurtz would make one of a heck of a roommate. There aren’t any wayward coffee grounds or milk sploshes or ripped- open packets of Splenda in sight. Like the coffee that is served, the décor is well-rounded and balanced. The stack of records—yes, real vinyl records for the real record player on the back counter—gives perhaps the best representation of the retro-modern theme: there, we have Bob Dylan, whose first record was released in 1962 to Band of Horses, whose first record was in 2006.
The length of white marble and hexagonal tile backsplash and hanging Edison lights blend seamlessly with antique mirrors and paint-by-number replicas of famous works The Blue Boy and Pinkie. But the coffee is the real work of art here. Methodical uses coffee from multiple roasters, and four are in rotation at a time, one of which will be used on the espresso bar for the Slayer, which is a special machine not only because it is hand-built, but, as Shurtz explains, because of the “pressure profiling.”
“With the Slayer you can control a lot more of the amount of pressure you’re putting on the grinds and how long that pressure is applied to the coffee,” says Shurtz. “You can make your espresso taste different just by changing your pressure profile.”
What looks like a chemistry set of Pyrex glass containers—if you were in a lab and not a super-hip coffeehouse—are used for various methods of brewing that give coffee its true character—a very delicious, complex, yet inviting taste to be sure. One trip to Methodical, and you’ll be kicking that K-Cup habit to the curb.
If coffee’s not your bag, baby, there is a stellar thirst quencher that gives your tongue a tingle. “You’ve got to try a shrub,” Shurtz says, the exclamation points in his delivery hanging in the air. A shrub is an effervescent drink made of a concentrated mix of infused fruit and herbs—strawberry and basil or lavender kumquat, for example—with vinegar and mixed with sparkling water. Whatever you pick, it’s all (amazingly) good to the last drop.
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Methodical Coffee
Bank of America Plaza, 101 N Main St, Suite D, Greenville.
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