Jason P.
Yelp
Call me Dante, because I visited Perkatory this morning on my way to Southern CT. I've recently concluded that coffee review scores are among the least helpful Yelp scores. Most coffee drinkers have strong individual beverage preferences and we're all scoring relative to our own tastes. My black cold brew rating doesn't really help my Yelp friend who drinks espresso, or lattes, or single origin Peruvian Washed pour overs with cream and sugar. But as the corporate cliche goes, it is what it is.
This was my first trip to Perkatory. I generally prefer iced coffee that was initially brewed hot to cold brew because I like the initial extraction to be in the 195-205 degree F range for flavor reasons, but I didn't see that iced coffee was an option. The black cold brew was decent. I asked the barista which coffee they use and she said a name that I couldn't hear, followed by "light roast". I assumed I could figure it out after the fact from the cool skate deck coffee signs that Perkatory uses, but they currently have three light roasts. The Ethiopian Ardi was the name that clicked, but I could be wrong. In any event, the coffee was fairly balanced and I didn't detect much of a fruit, floral or chocolate taste. I did pick up some tea notes. I prefer more of a juice bomb with bright acidity, and therefore this cold brew was merely decent for me. They apparently change things up occasionally and my next experience could be better.
Service was friendly. The space, which is part of a large building to the north of Eli Cannon's, was large, open and filled with life. There were many people there, but it didn't feel crowded. I liked the use of skate decks in the decorating, but otherwise the branding didn't really speak to me. They had a food truck out front, which I assume shows the popularity of Perkatory.
Based only upon my black cold brew, I give Perkatory 3 Stars. But if you drink something else, you may have a completely different experience.
