2022
Local Guides Spotlight is a Connect series that celebrates members of our community who are making a positive impact.
If you scroll through Local Guide Daniel Ngo’s contributions on Google Maps, you’ll immediately notice that he’s passionate about coffee. The Texas native often shares helpful reviews and beautiful photos of coffee shops. But his love for coffee only began after he received a great recommendation himself.
“I always liked the taste of coffee, but I was never a big coffee drinker. I would occasionally have a sip of free coffee or head over to my local Starbucks,” Daniel said. “That’s why I was pretty confused when my friend asked if I wanted to meet up at a coffee shop and hang out. I just wondered why? Why would I go to a specialty coffee shop instead of brewing myself a mug at home?”
He decided to go anyway. “Being the novice that I was, I asked the barista what their favorite drink was and ordered that. What I got was a cortado that changed the way I thought about coffee,” Daniel said. “The flavor was so much deeper than I had ever expected from coffee. Out of curiosity, I had to see which place had the best cortado after that, which is what sent me on my self-imposed quest for the best.”
We recently caught up with Daniel to learn more about his quest for the perfect cup and how others can help him find it.
When did you join Local Guides? What inspired you to sign up?
I joined Local Guides in college. At the time, I went on a self-imposed quest to figure out what the best coffee shop in Houston was. In order to make that judgment, I needed to compile my own list of factors to compare them on, and since I was writing it down already, I figured I might as well post them. I felt that Google was a good medium because everyone uses Google’s things, so it’d be cool to see my own review there.
What do you look for in the perfect cup?
A lot of factors go into how I rank my coffee, with several being judged before I’ve even tasted it. Presentation, while not a “make or break” feature, is still important, and is often correlated to how much I enjoy the drink. This may be because the coffees that have the nicest presentations are prepared with the most care, and it really makes a difference.
Some places don’t fill their cups up, which is significant when you’re ordering a drink as small as the cortado. It’s also nice to have the coffee be served hot, which in my experience has surprisingly not always been the case.
As far as taste goes, I try to use my limited knowledge on coffee to describe the tastes people are familiar with. I can acknowledge a good cup of coffee even when it doesn’t meet my particular preferences. The perfect cup of coffee is served hot and to the brim,with a nice presentation. For taste, I generally prefer a medium roast with a hint of underlying bitterness, and rich chocolate and toffee notes. I also prefer my coffee to be more full-bodied.
What do you think are some of the best places to get a cup of coffee in your area?
There are many coffee shops that I like, and all for different reasons. If I had to single out my favorite coffee, it would be from Paper Co, which happens to be the coffee shop that started my mission. Other notable favorites are Boomtown and A 2nd Cup. They all meet my expectations for a great cup of coffee and match the flavor profile that I prefer.
What information can others include in their reviews to help you learn more about the coffee served at a particular place?
What I did when I started was I looked at a chart of all the possible underlying flavors that you can taste within coffee, and I try to incorporate the ones that I can detect into my reviews. Of course, this means testing a lot of coffees to build that palette. I think the simplest thing anyone can learn to do is determine if a coffee is mild, medium, or dark roasted, and how the coffee feels, or the body. It’s important to recognize these features so that you can not only figure out what you like, but also so you can make recommendations about places even if their flavors don’t fit your specific preferences.
What are key details you think about when you write reviews about coffee?
It's about the whole experience. How did the coffee look? How did the coffee feel? How did it taste? On a first visit, I like to really savor each sip and try to discern as much as I can about the drink. I also like to drink the coffee slowly, tasting it when it's hot, warm, and cooled down. The temperature of a coffee drastically changes the flavor, and I’ve found places where the coffee actually tastes better when it’s been allowed to cool a bit.
Anything else you’d like to add?
In the end, I think writing reviews should really be about helping other people make the most informed decision, rather than boasting about a place you like or tearing down a place you don’t. The most helpful reviews to me are the ones that provide me with as many details as possible so that I can imagine myself there, and then decide on my own if I want to go. In my reviews, I try to make it known that it’s all my opinion. I don’t tell people what they should do, but instead try to provide them with the information so that they can decide for themselves.
We hope you enjoyed learning more about Daniel! Stay tuned for a Connect post featuring his best tips for taking great photos and writing helpful reviews.
Do you also love coffee? In the comments below, tell us about your favorite drink and the place you love to order it from.
