Caledonia Cafe

RSS

Caledonia Cafe

26 Feb

The mountains continue. So does my car, thankfully. My trip to Caledonia Cafe continues the theme I’ve been doing for the past few months. Namely, focusing on rural coffeehouses springing up in the Appalachian Mountains. Appropriately, Caledonia Cafe is a stone’s throw from the Appalachian Trail entry point at the top of South Mountain. Yep, I’m back on South Mountain. You might remember another cafe or two that I reviewed in this region. South Mountain is crisscrossed by several roads along its winding ridgeline, and each of them is a world unto itself with its own attractions.

Caledonia Cafe is quite an attraction. It’s near the top of the ridge along Route 30. Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium is a few hundred yards away, which should give you some idea as to the character of the area. Oddities, subcultures, and folkways abound up here in the backcountry. That is, of course, why I come to the backcountry. I’m definitely one of the oddities. Even so, nothing could prepare me for the sights I’d see inside the Caledonia Cafe.

Bear in mind, I’d had no idea this place existed. That’s probably because I’m not part of the culture that the cafe caters specifically to: The fiber arts community. Antique sewing machines grace the walls of the cafe’s main seating area. A gigantic selection of cloth and lines of state-of-the-art sewing machines illuminated with uplighting grace the center of the fabric room. Those can be rented. This venue is clearly a haven for local knitters, sewing enthusiasts, and crochet fanatics. Oh yes, there are many. You only have to witness the Sheep-To-Shawl competition at the Farm Show in Harrisburg to see how intense this world gets.

But what about the coffee? The coffee portion of this establishment is actually pretty new. The business as a whole has been a fixture for decades, but it only became a caffeination station two years ago. Yes, the proprietors mirrored the timing trend of the Amish coffee boom. No, they don’t appear to be Amish (though appearances can be deceiving). The woman running the coffeehouse portion told me it was part of a conscious effort to expand the scope of the business to create a place for the significant others of the fiber arts folks to congregate while their partner was engaged in the sewing section. An excellent plan! I’m in a niche, and I recognize the need for those outside said niche to be provided with alternative activities.

The brew itself was completely unfamiliar. I’ve never encountered San Francisco Bay coffee. I don’t even remember it being a thing when I visited Cambria near Frisco although, to be fair, that was a good 25 years ago. The woman at the counter gave me the current house roast, a French roast. It was a mix of Central and South American beans and was advertised as a dark roast. I would have gauged it as a medium, and the smoky finish wasn’t too evident. What I did notice was a strong and savory nut flavor. The last coffee of this sort that I tried had a very buttery mouthfeel, but this was sharper, possibly evident of a higher acidity. The flavor was very focused but also well done, so I deeply enjoyed it.

As of mid-February, when I visited, there was still a ton of snow on the ground up in the mountains. Even so, I took a short hike in nearby Caledonia State Park before sunset. Several powerful storms had by that time just buffeted Pennsylvania, and buzzsaw operators were hard at work clearing debris from the trail. Downed trees and warning signs blocked my path in several places. It was still gorgeous and a stark reminder that I savor traveling to these areas. The next entry will bring more mountains, as we sort of spiral outward into Appalachia. Until then, stay caffeinated.