Drink it up: Volta

48 Southwest 2nd Street (in the W 2nd St downtown parking garage)

Every now and then, a man (or woman) has a vision of greatness. "I need to serve the best coffee/sandwiches/bulgarian food this town has ever seen," he says to a few friends over drinks. Most of these individuals invest their time, money, and lives into opening their dream store only to see it rapidly fade into oblivion and overdue bills. Once in a while, however, greatness rises above all else. The market responds to the high quality and supports the business, helping it become a bastion of superiority. Such is Volta.

As it opened over 2 years ago, I said to my friends, "Yeah, that place will be gone in 5 months." Typically I'm pretty good at this game. I can tell what is going to tank and what has potential. I'm proud to say I was wrong with Volta. They easily serve the best coffees and chocolates in town. The owner clearly knows his stuff, and the store is always welcoming to its clientele.

I'm not a big coffee drinker, but I do know the difference between good coffee and great coffee. I certainly know what bad coffee is. During my travels in Spain and Italy, I felt as if I was in the pinnacle of coffee and molten chocolate culture. Italy's baristas weren't just college kids making a few bucks to help them through school. They were long since grown men who treated their jobs as professions. They worked with the coffee as if it was an art form. The delicacy of the microscopic bubbles in the steamed milk foam were ethereal and the richness of the beans made you slow your pace to savor each sip. Spain's molten chocolate drinks were ubiquitous, with a machine or two in every cafe. They contained chocolate so rich that one sip instantly made you weak at the knee.

After returning from both trips, I strongly craved these daily European staples here in Gainesville only to be greatly disappointed everywhere I went. Fortunately for me, I discovered Volta. I can't stress enough how goddamn good the coffee and chocolate drinks are here. The owner clearly cares about what he is serving and seeks out the highest quality for his customers. Furthermore, the portions are SMALLER than your average American coffee joint. I personally prefer this, as you only need so much caffeine in one serving. Naturally, as the flavor is so rich, the caffeine content is as well. This feature is yet another indicator of European roots, as a cappuccino in Italy will be exactly the same size, no matter where you go.The main impetus behind this blog was an unfortunate visit to Starbucks. For a corporation, Starbucks isn't the worst thing in the world. Plus, they really know how to do what they do. That being said, it's not always the greatest. Based solely on convenience, my wife and I hit up a Starbucks for two mochas the other day. They both literally tasted like hot, milky water that had cardboard soaking in it for a few hours. It was SO bad. Incensed, I drove straight to Volta and bought a cappuccino which kicked so much Starbuck ass that it wasn't even funny.

So if you're a coffee drinker, you should be going to Volta. If you love chocolatey drinks, you should be going to Volta. You won't find better in town.