Hot Apple Cider and Happiness

It's -6° outside, not including the wind chill, so what could be a more appropriate food to review but a warm drink.

A few weeks ago I dropped into the Jumpin' Java coffee shop, which is located in Building 305, and ordered a hot apple cider.  This was not the same caramel apple cider that is treated to a shot of caramel syrup and topped with a dollop of whipped cream that the famous Seattle-based chain serves.  No, this was the kind of hot apple cider that you used to drink at holiday parties as a child while you sang Christmas carols with your Aunt Beatrice and looked through the window at the icy white snowflakes congregating in the yard.  This was the type of drink that needed to meet the high standards of sentimentality.

In spite of what some may think, there are actually several ways to make a hot apple cider.  Some baristas will have you believe that a hot apple cider is simply warm apple juice or an instant powdered mix with added water (*shudder*), but there is more to the drink than that.  A good hot apple cider will have the flavors of cinnamon sticks, orange peel, and cloves infused throughout the apple juice.  The flavors will taste as though they have been simmering for several minutes (or better, yet, several hours).  An even better hot apple cider would have all this and be made from raw apple juice, which is cloudy. Raw apple juice, however, is expensive and difficult to find, so most coffee shops stick to using ordinary apple juice.  I wasn't sure what to expect from an independent coffee shop, such as the Jumpin' Java.

On a side note, I would like to pause here and address the topic of customer service.  While I am a food reviewer, the fact remains that customer service is a part of an overall food experience.  I seldom mention this in my blog posts because most of the time the customer service is fairly standard.  I feel the need to mention it here, however, because I was very impressed with the service that I received at Jumpin' Java.  Both of the baristas who served me were happy, polite, and hasty, even though there was no line-up to make them rush my order.  I was impressed; kudos to them for holding to those standards while serving hundreds of coffee-craving students.

As I stated earlier, my hot apple cider arrived quickly and I was delighted to have my first sip.  The flavors of the spices in the cider were neither weak nor overpowering.  I could tell that it had been made from apple juice, and that there was no instant mix involved with this drink.  It was simply wonderful.

I highly recommend the hot apple cider and the customer service at Jumpin' Java.  And at this time of year, I also recommend that after you order your hot apple cider you go find some students and ask them if they would like to sing Christmas carols with you.