Coffee you dream about

This is coffee you dream about. Nestled in College Hill is a quaint little coffee shack that you just have to smell to believe. Each cup brewed fresh, the coffee is so intensely flavorful that I wouldn't dare add cream or sugar. The Fresh Roast Coffee Company, at the corner of Clifton and Douglas, is right on the College Hill running route, which is how my friend Kristen and I discovered it.

We were returning from our Saturday morning long run. After 11 miles, we'd drained our Powerade, but saw a water cooler set up on the street near the coffee shop. A sign said, "If you think our water is good, you should taste our coffee." We refilled our water bottles, grateful for the cool drink on the increasingly hot and humid morning. As we finished our last mile, we decided we should change our Panera plans and instead try Fresh Roast Coffee Co. to say "thanks" for the water. We wanted to support someone who supported runners.

So after our run we drove back to High Voltage. Kristen, who's not really a coffee drinker, ordered an iced coffee drink. After talking with the owner for about five seconds, I mentally nicknamed him the "coffee nazi" and felt quite comfortable ordering whatever he recommended. He suggested his special house blend, which he said was made from coffee from Colombia, Indonesia, and somewhere else, I think. I ordered a "MegaWatt" cup (which is a large. "Watt" is small, or "tall" for Starbucks fans, "Kilowatt" is medium). The order took at least 10 minutes, which we didn't mind because we refilled our water bottles and worked on rehydrating as we sat in his little patio area and watched other runners go by.

And it was so worth the wait. Incredible flavor. Smooth. Hot and fresh (I'll drink hot coffee nearly anytime).

After the next long run, we hardly needed to discuss our post-workout plans. We were back. The coffee was even better than I'd remembered.

Then I went to Colorado and hyperextended my knee. No running for me. A few weeks ago on Friday, I asked Kristen, who is still training for the marathon, where she was planning to run in the morning. College Hill, she said.

"What time do you think you'll be at the coffee shop?"

Somehow it didn't feel right to just drive there, so I rode my bike and met her there--took about 40 minutes. Good workout, good company, good coffee. Hard to beat.