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Our Passyunk location is now closed Monday-Wednesday.. 

BUT! We are open 11am-10pm Thursday-Sunday to pack up your take home pints and make you a great cup of coffee. 

Not quite like attached video, though. 

Coffee Snobs - watch more funny videos

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Proud Adonis

Hey, CapoPenn

I was just reminiscing about your espresso machine and how it exploded milk all over me the last time I lent a hand over there. But that's alright - maybe it was just showboating its awesome power. Really though, the Adonis is a total 3-group Cerberus-like powerhouse. You can pretty much pound out beautiful(such as its name-sake) coffee drinks in no time sans a misstep in milk-steamery then kablooey. All's well after a shift when, fortunately enough, a bar is immediately adjacent to this machine. An americano with a dollop of apple brandy? How kind. See you at happy hour ; )

Love
Jessica of Yunk

Pope Francis says relax & have an espresso

Sure, all the wind-kissed faces on E.Passyunk of late have been imparting to me "Oh, it's too cold for gelato" such and such. A single tear rolls down a cheek as eyes glance up toward our list of flavors. I'll then witness the tundra clad patrons sneak a peek or three at our Cadillac of an espresso machine. The Victoria Arduino Venus Century is literally one in a hundred and deserves to be gawked at. Have you heard the Pope has the first in the edition? It must be a mighty fine day when you are granted the hat of the papacy. So along with being the head of church and monarchy affair, he gets to use this puppy, in fact. So please, don't fret, South Philly - the shots are a-flowin' and the temperature in CapoYunk is fine (a warm 22°C [72°F]) Cheers!

Don't help me, I'm drowning!

The Affogato (Italian: Drowned) has got to be a best-kept secret. Though sounding cryptic, it's the deliciously awesome combo of a scoop of gelato with a shot of La Colombe's Nizza poured over. I am surprised if not saddened that I don't get to make more of these in a day. Seriously, it's the best of both worlds.

xo Jessica

What Makes a Good Cup of Coffee?

We take tremendous pride in our coffee. When we opened a little over 9 years ago, I was convinced that we did it for two reasons. One: John wanted a slicer. He wanted access to his own perfectly sliced prosciutto. Two and most important: John wanted to have a $10,000 espresso machine that made a perfect espresso.

What goes into the perfect cup? Well, the coffee is key. We only use La Colombe. Our hometown roaster is bar none. I just returned from the west coast and although the coffee was good, it was not La Colombe good. How luck are we, here in the city of brotherly love?

The second thing is the espresso machine. Ours is a specimen, is it not? I love things that are gorgeous AND work tirelessly. Our gorgeous Victorio Arduino. It is worth every penny.

The third and most important part of the great coffee equation is the barista. You can have a great machine, great coffee and still have a horrible cup if the person making your cup has no idea of what they are doing. We train and train. You don't make a perfect espresso, you are not allowed to make espresso. That simple.

Coffee is as important to us as our gelato. That means it is as important as the air we breathe. Breathe deep, my friends and join us for an espresso.

Buen Viaje, Cristofo!

Chris' last day is approaching and I am sad. Chris is our manager at CapoPenn. He started with us years ago. I think it has been at least 3 years. There are so many things that I will miss about him. He moved here from the west coast and brought with him a way of looking at life that was truly unique. I loved his take.

We started this blog and I had a few rules and a few requirements. I wanted it to be about our company, our employees and I wanted it to show our personality. Everyone could write about what excited them. Even if it did not apply to gelato or coffee. Chris, well.. Chris wrote about cats and their vacations, beer, coffee, unicorns and he predicted the future. I read his posts with my mouth hanging open in shock. I would wonder if he was high when writing. Chris does not roll that way. His mind is unfettered by drugs and alcohol, although he does love a good beer. He is naturally brilliant and twisted. Unfortunately, Chris chose to only blog once a month at most, no matter what flattery I threw his way. Dan thought that my constant requests for a blog post resulted in the content. He pondered whether Chris was trying to punish me with his antics. It actually made me an addict of his writing, always jonesing for more. Thank you for letting me peek into that brilliant mind. I am so appreciative. My only request is that you write something proper. Proper as in, get yourself published! Just start with some short stories. I promise you will be rewarded.

Chris is a master of coffee and a true artisan. At one point (prior to the Wall Street crash), Capo had plans to roast our own coffee. Chris signed up! He was a scholar and passionate about all things coffee. The reason you can have a perfect espresso or cappuccino is all Chris' doing. He trains, he fusses, he takes temperatures, he measures, he cares about the coffee we serve. Our baristi care so much because his passion is contagious. Chris and I would occasionally bump heads, being two passionate people. I want to thank him for the process. It was worth it.

I will miss his humor and his brilliance. He and his incredibly talented wife are off to another country to hopefully find a new edge in their reality. I want nothing more than a Kate Samworth painting on my wall to look at while I sit on a comfy couch reading a work of Chris Weybright. Truly I do.

John and I will miss you terribly and wish you Kate success and adventure. You are two people who deserve it more than most. Please please please don't disappear from all our lives. You have made it richer. Write us, take pictures, and maybe guest post?...mayhaps....

I invite anyone who has a great Chris story or would like to wish him well, to share. Come in and say your goodbyes. We only have him for a little more time.

Chris' response to the video below that was making it's way around all our email boxes.

"This is shockingly similar to how Kate and I spend our evenings together."

We Are So PUMPED For This Weather!!!

We are enjoying our fourth, maybe fifth cup of coffee and complaining that we need to take naps on the 50 lb. sacks of sugar. Kamala, Dan and I are laughing pretty hard. We have a huge case of the "f&*@ its". You know what I mean. We are talking about anything BUT work; people we hate on the train, chili dogs, coffee, the pending Philly soda tax (we approve), what makes us happy, gay political scandals, tattoos, and we all agree that children dressed as cheerleaders are creepy and that we could use another arm. Dan is freely and gleefully tapping his feet and doing beat box and Kamala is getting her poke on (they are building her her own booth for the tattoo shop!) I just made Dan cry by demanding he make more coffee. HE DRANK IT ALL! He's making coffee. Thank you Dan.

We really need to get back to work. The weather is turning and I think that we are about to explode. 60 degrees today in lovely Philadelphia. We are gonna be busy. After a gruesome winter, this is so sweet. The cafes are hopping, we have new products and it is warm out. WARM!!! We are busy. You want to know what it is like working for Capo? Kamala thinks it is functional chaos. Lately, with the weather changing, we have been unruly and jumpy. Kamala wants Dan to have a big party at his new house, Dan wants to yodel and I just want a nap.

Enjoy the weather, get out and take the dog for a walk. Better yet, take my dogs for a walk. Or just take them. Rittenhouse Square should be packed and we all need to shake that winter funk off! This is the dance we do when we need to shake off the funk...

Chilly? We Got Some Stuff That'll Warm You Up...

Let Capogiro Warm You Up from Capogiro Gelato on Vimeo.

Winter Wonderland!

This weekend was wonderful. A blanket of snow covered Philadelphia. My kids dove into the snow. As city kids, their snow memories are far different than mine or John's. John grew up in upstate NY where the snow was serious. I grew up on the beaches of New Jersey. Snow covered the joint, but it was usually nothing too serious. My parents would take us to the lone hills in the area and we would sled or tube down. Turkey Swamp Park was the place where we would ice skate and drink hot chocolate. My teen years were filled with football games on the beach with the snow: nice memories. John's winter was filled with snow - he has horror stories regarding the shoveling of his drive as a teen. Very different from snow in Philly.

The kids ran out the house and along with the other kids on the block, tunneled through the brick walks and between the cars. Our dogs tore up and down the block and snowball fights were had using the parked buried cars as cover. We walked a few blocks to view the art museum covered in snow and looking beautiful. A walk to the neighborhood deli to purchase bread and eggnog was fun. The city was quiet wrapped in snow. No buses, no sirens, no crazy people yelling through the streets. Shhhhhhhh, the city begged: it's snowing!

This past Saturday is usually the busiest shopping day of the year. Capogiro was quiet, but those walking in were so appreciative of the warm coffee and soup. Our baristi were happy to see those who ventured out. We did close early: we were worried about everyone getting home safely. For our friends who came out and enjoyed the hot chocolate and gelato, thank you for the company. The city in the winter.

Make It Pretty

When we make you a coffee drink, we want it to be the best possible version of itself. Capogiro baristi pride themselves on making delicious, beautiful cappuccini and lattes. Wait, did I say beautiful? That's right: not only do we strive to pull perfect shots and foam the milk to a heavenly texture and temperature, we want it to be pretty, too.

While this may seem a bit superficial at first, think about it: if the person making your coffee has taken the care to add the lovely finishing touch of a heart or rosetta, chances are that he or she has also striven to properly put the ingredients together. Also, it shows that they care about you, our customers, and want to add a little art to your day.

No special tools or magic are needed to coax beauty out of the milk and espresso; just very uniform, smooth foam, a steady hand, and a clear vision. Don't worry - we won't make you wait for your caffeine while we draw a caricature of you in your cappuccino (though I would like to learn how to make a latte kitten). Only a few moments are necessary to produce these special shapes. Stop by one morning and behold the craftsmanship of our openers Ted and Josh (both photos featured here are the work of Sir Josh)!

CHEAP COFFEE WEEK!

Ah yeah, good coffee. La Colombe to be exact. Strong, dark and life giving coffee. I was a student once (a hundred years ago.) I had my favorite spot to grab my morning addiction. I would order a coffee that was housed in an awesome cup - as shown here. It was a breakfast truck coffee. I loved it. It was coffee dressed in brown with lots of sugar and cream. I was a student, don't look at me that way! Students need coffee like they need air. The baristi at Capo understand this and more importantly, they LOVE coffee. Chris at Capopenn makes a mean cappuccino (we call it the sexaccino.) So, to show our love to the students and honor their love of caffeine, Cheap Coffee Week is in full force! FiddyCent La Colombe coffee this week at our University City location at the Radian Building to ease you into that morning class. Offer ends at 11am. We don't have those uber cool coffee cups, but we do have amazing pastries, yogurt and steel cut oatmeal.

CapoPenn is ready!!

So, today we worked at our University City location and ironed out some kinks before the students officially arrive. This location sits on Penn's campus, but is in close vicinity to Drexel. Today, U-Hauls and parents were EVERYWHERE! You could see the "Maaaaammmmmuuuh, you are soooo embarrassing me....sigh..." look on many faces. The athletes are settled in. I cannot count how many large, slightly sweaty, flipflopped young men wandering about post workout. They drink a lot of lattes. My kindof peeps.

We are so excited to welcome the students back. We have a great healthy breakfast menu awaitn'. Breakfasts includes a yogurt bar with local Pequea Valley yogurt, housemade granola and fresh seasonal fruit, Big Toast, NUTELLA (yes, I yelled that), Au Fournil pastries and breakfast panini (eggs and bacon!) To welcome everyone back, Capo is going to have "BACK TO SCHOOL CHEAP COFFEE WEEK!" Yes, the first day of school is Tuesday, Sept 8th and to help everyone get fully caffeinated, $.50 cups of La Colombe coffee will be available for everyone through Friday, Sept. 11, from 7a.m. to 11a.m. Your teachers will thank us for how alert and happy you are! Prego Professori!