Cafe Spotlight: Carnegie Coffee Company
Happy October and happy fall! ‘Tis the season of beautiful weather, picturesque trees, and warm and sweet “caramel-y” coffee 🤗🍂🍁 Hope people aren’t getting tired of the “Pumpkin Spice Latte” and flannel apple or pumpkin picking sappy posts yet…as I’m grateful to be able to experience the changing of seasons, especially as other parts of the world may not be able to and/or are going through natural disasters, feeling the effects of climate change. Regardless, I recently took a day off, booked a zipcar for couple hours, and decided to hit the roads beyond the “Golden Triangle” of Pittsburgh, visiting Carnegie Coffee Company (132 E Main St, Carnegie, PA), one of three newly crowned best coffeeshops of Pittsburgh.
For reference, the three that made the list were La Prima Espresso, Carnegie Coffee, and Commonplace Coffee, of which I had since paid visits to two out of the three locations and even made a video spotlight of one. Of course, Carnegie Coffee had been on my to-go list for awhile, but with Pittsburgh City Paper’s recent results, I really had to check it out for myself! (It was also getting quite embarassing as a fellow alum of the Carnegie’s — both Mellon and Hall).
Located in the old Carnegie post office building, the entire cafe retained the feel of its historical past, with the counter as the old mailbox slots. It was nice and spacious and bright. Plenty of comfort seating, bar seating, and even a mini-desk “office” space. There’s even a mini-pharmacy as well! Safe and socially distant in-person seating was available as well.
I got a Cortado/Mocha drink, courtesy of Emma, the barista who recommended and served me. Neither cortado nor mocha are what I’d usually get in cafes - cortado/lattes tend to be with more milk and mochas with cocoa/chocolate that could often times get too sweet for me. But this one was not, the milk and cocoa balanced well with one another, and coupled with the espresso, it was just right for me.
As someone who enjoys cafe hopping for the ambience more than the drink itself, I personally would rank Carnegie Coffee higher in that respect than La Prima. However, each of the three best coffeeshops on Pgh City Paper’s list all have their different strengths, and as such in my opinion I really can’t “rank” either of them over another.
Which, I’d like to conclude with an idea to remind everyone (something I too am constantly working on myself). That real success in life comes from the self — from within. Yes, it is inevitable to be compared to or with others, to feel the urge of being “liked”, and to be “rated” or, in this case “ranked” in life. But these metrics are subjective. And fleeting. And fickle. And chasing these for the long-run would only result in disappointment and perhaps even depression. But there’s a way out. By comparing to oneself (did I #dobetter today than I did yesterday?), and celebrating what one really is and enjoys doing can bring long lasting peace and happiness.
With that, go enjoy the fall day (for those of you who can), and everyone else, celebrating those long lasting joys in life. And, for my Pittsburgh-based friends, go visit Carnegie Coffee sometime!