By Sally Deering

Those who drip, press or perk coffee they purchase in a plastic container or who grab a cup from the corner take-out may want to wake up and smell the java at 9 Bar Café on Erie Street in Jersey City. Thatâ€s where owner Stefania Cocozza brews coffee like a scientist and the results are one fine cup of elixir from the Gods.

Too much?

Then youâ€re obviously not a coffee connoisseur. But if you canâ€t live without your daily dose of freshly roasted coffee then 9 Bar Café may be worth the trip. Located a block off Newark Ave in Jersey Cityâ€s downtown district, 9 Bar Café, which opened in January, offers an oasis for coffee-lovers: big storefront windows for daydreaming and people-watching, large wooden tables for communal sipping, and two-tops where one or more java-lovers can sit with a laptop to write the  Great American Novel.

Thereâ€s even a counter near the brewing station for those who prefer drinking their espressos standing up, which according to Cocozza is how Italians like it in Italy.

“Iâ€ve been in the coffee business over 20 years,” Cocozza says, taking a quick break between customers. “Iâ€m originally from Rome, and I moved to Seattle and went to Torrefazione Italia owned by Umberto Bizzari which served his brand of fresh roasted coffee. I used to go there for my espresso, everyone was Italian, and I felt at home there. After a few months, they offered me a job.”

She moved on to Southern California where she opened a branch of the business and then opened her own place with a partner. After three years Cocozza sold her share, moved east and after working at Illy Café in Manhattan, decided to be her own boss.

“I like owning my own place,” Cocozza says. “I can make my own decisions.”

Cocozza named her bistro 9 Bar Café in reference to the science of making an espresso, she says. To properly extract a perfect 25-second shot of espresso, a 9-bar of pressure is the right level of pressure for the water to extract the ‘gold†part of the coffee.

“It should be a burst of flavor, a little bomb in your mouth – in a good way,” Cocozza says.

Cocozza serves her customers a special 9 Bar Café blend she uses for coffees and espressos; and the “bubble method” for steaming milk, which creates a thick, creamy foam.  The 9 Bar Café menu is simple and all about the coffee. Thereâ€s Macchiato and Cortado (Italian & Spanish versions of espresso with varied amounts of foamed milk); and Cold Brew (coffee brewed in cold water for 18 hours). You can get Americano, Cappuccino and Café Latte; Hot Chocolate and Hot Tea. (Prices include $2 for hot tea; $2.45/$3 for coffee; and $2.55 for an espresso – extra shot for $.75. Macchiato $2.75; Cortado $3; and Café Latte $3.45/$4 & $4.75, depending on size.

Along with coffees and espressos, the menu features sandwiches and pastries made on site and by local artisans. 9 Bar Café serves sandwiches like the Caprese with fresh mozzarella, tuna and basil, Ham & Provolone, Salami & Provolone, and Tuna Salad. (Sandwiches $7-$7.50.)

Pastries include Cannoli imported from Italy, Tiramisu, Sfogliatelle and Biscotti. Sweet and savory scones, the Italian pastry Occhio bue, and Orange Pound Cake are also on the menu.

About every three months, Cocozza teaches coffee classes at her shop and she has very strong opinions about what makes a great cup of coffee. First of all, smell the coffee you purchase. If itâ€s stale, it will have a rancid smell. Therefore, she says itâ€s better to purchase coffee from a smaller roasting company because the coffee will be fresher than big brand names, and of a better quality, too. Expect to pay $12-$15 for a pound of good coffee, and grind your own beans for freshness.

“Grind as you go,” Cocozza says. “The oils in the coffee start to dry out quickly.”

You can purchase really good coffee, but you also have to know how to brew it.

“Get the person who is selling you the coffee to educate you,” Cocozza says. “Iâ€m trying to educate the consumer on how to get a good cup of coffee at home. Like water, for instance. It has to be 197 degrees to brew espresso; 200 degrees to brew coffee, or you wonâ€t get the right extraction.”

A destination for people to connect, thatâ€s how Cocozza sees 9 Bar Cafe. She puts in a lot of time at her bistro – more than 80 hours a week – and itâ€s a labor of love for Cocozza and husband Giancarlo Mongera who supports her efforts 100 percent, she says.

Cocozzaâ€s also a huge fan of the products she serves her customers.

“I love coffee,” Cocozza says. “I could drink it all day.”

If you go

 9 BAR CAFÉ

18 Erie Street, JC

(201) 432-2000

www.cafeninebar.com

Mon-Fri, 7 am–7 pm; Sat, Sun: 8 am-7 pm

The post 9 Bar Café in Jersey City, Where Great Coffee is Science first appeared on River View Observer.

Grace Church Van Vorst celebrates Art and Community

 By Sally Deering

Back in the late 1980s and early 90s, many considered downtown Jersey City a tough and gritty place for off-the-grid artists and blue-collar workers. It was during that time Grace Church Van Vorst, an Episcopalian parish in downtown Jersey City opened its big red doors on Erie Street, and welcomed local residents, many of them artists, to participate in the Cathedral Arts Festival.

On Sat, April 18, Grace Churchâ€s big red

doors will open once again, this time for the 25^th anniversary of the Cathedral Arts Festival beckoning local residents and friends to once again enjoy a gala of art, entertainment, food and drink. Under the leadership of Reverend Laurie Jean Wurm and congregants Bayla Kallstrom as chairwoman, Amy Elise as head art curator and other dedicated artists and residents, the Cathedral Arts Festival will once again bridge art and community in this neighborhood parish.

“The artist community has a long relationship with Grace Church Van Vorst, a lot of parishioners are artists, one gentleman has his own reggae band,” Rev. Wurm says. “Art is essential to how Grace Church is known in downtown Jersey City. Thatâ€s one thing Grace has always embraced.”

The April 18^th gala will feature refreshments from area restaurants, an open champagne bar, music, dancing, a silent auction and a special performance by members of Nimbus Dance Works of Jersey City. Sixty-five artists will be exhibiting and selling their works with a percentage of each sale going to Grace Churchâ€s special programs like the Grace Senior Center for Healthy Living, and Graceâ€s Breakfast Plus program which provides weekend meals to hungry and homeless people in Jersey City.

“Art is vital to the life of the church,” Reverend Wurm says. “It can be beautiful and unifying. One of the things I love is when the paintings are hung up in the church. For me itâ€s a way to see whatâ€s going on around the world.  Bringing struggles, triumphs and joys that come with paintings and objects of art, and putting them in a sacred setting allows us to see the world in a sacred way.”

COMMUNITY & ART

Chairwoman of the curating committee, Amy Elise, has been a Grace Church congregant since 2008 right after she moved to Jersey City.

“The first time I walked through the doors, I saw art on the walls,” Elise says. “The sanctuary was an incredible space and the service was beautiful. Thereâ€s this creative energy in the church that immediately embraced me. I wanted to be involved.”

Artists from Jersey City and other towns like Newark, Morristown and New York City will be exhibiting their works chosen by Elise and four area curators – Farah Nuradeen (Greenville); Meghan McKee (the Heights); Andrea Artemis Morin (downtown); and Joe Velez (Union City). They picked artists whose work reflects the vibrancy and diversity of Jersey City.

“Jersey City is gentrifying, especially downtown, and that has to be represented because thatâ€s part of our reality,” Elise says. “We also wanted the gritty aspects of Jersey City to be represented in the art. The neighborhood that Grace Church is in currently used to have a different feel. We wanted to respect the artists who are in the downtown neighborhood now and the artists and arts that would have been in the neighborhood 25 years ago.”

 Artists exhibiting at the  25^th Cathedral Arts Festival are Beth Achenbach, Seth Alexander, Paul Andress, Ray Arcadio, Howard Berelson, Miguel Cardenas, Thomas John Carlson, Miroslaw Chelchowski, Jerome China, stephen cimini, Lisa Collodoro, Liz Defrain, Peter Delman, Martin Ramone Delossantos, Dave Dziemian, Dylan Egon, Thomas Egan, Ben Faresich, Eileen Ferara, Mark Finne, Julia Forrest, Geraldine Anderson Gaines, David Gazzo, Jamaila Hernandez, Miguel Hernández, Kayt Hester, Ann Hjelle, Lina Hsiao, Christine Johanns, Norman Kirby, Kortez, Lex Leonard, Béatrice Lebreton, Tatiana Lopez, Beatrice Mady, Julie McHargue, Meghan McKee, Andrea McKenna, Michael F. McKenna, Kathryn Mecca, Rajendra Mehta, Fermin Mendoza, Volha Mikhnevich, Andrea Artemis Morin, Ibou Ndoye, Amy Neufeld, JoanMarie Palmer, Diane Revels, Orlando Reyes, Vira Rublevska, Angelo Rusciano, Monique Sarfity, Lucille Scurti, Anthony Sienkiewicz, Elsie Sienkiewicz, Panda Suwann, Marianne Trent, Janna Maria Vallee, Herman Velez, Joe Velez, Diane Whitebay, M. H. Yaghooti, William Zbylut, and O_O.

Local Jersey City businesses have always been big supporters of the Cathedral Arts Festival and this yearâ€s sponsors include Shoprite – Inserra Supermarkets, Inc., JPMorgan Chase, Capital One Bank and PNC Bank. Some of Jersey Cityâ€s most popular restaurants are participating like GPâ€s Restaurant in Hamilton Square, The Hamilton Inn, The Bistro at Grove Square, Rustique Pizzeria, Gypsy Grill and Tommy2Scoops. The Festival will also have Le Bouquiniste, a mobile art kiosk from Curious Matter, and a live interactive weaving skill-share by relational artist Janna Maria Vallee.

The Cathedral Arts Festival is meant to bring new people into the Grace Church community, Elise says. And with Bayla Kallstrom as chairwoman, everyone is benefiting from her wisdom of what things were like 25 years ago when she and then curator artist Charles Kessler knocked on doors inviting artists to participate.

“Our theme from the very beginning was community, creativity and diversity,” Kallstrom says. “We feel artistry is a universal language. Itâ€s very spiritual. Itâ€s like religion, it floats above. It contains many voices, viewpoints and can pull people together in a spiritual way. A lot of people who came to Grace Church werenâ€t Christians but wanted to be a part of our community and every human being is better when they are part of a community; where people gather to help people become the best they can be. Thatâ€s a committed community and thatâ€s always our goal.”

If you go:

Sat, Apr. 18, 7:30 pm-12 midnight

The 25^th Annual Cathedral Arts Festival Champagne Gala

39 Erie St. (Downtown) JC

Admission:  $40 in advance; $50 at the door.

For tix:  www.gracevanvorst.org

For more info:  (201) 659-2211

 

The post 25th Cathedral Arts Festival to be held Apr. 18th in Downtown Jersey City first appeared on River View Observer.