Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate: Gainesville, FL

Espresso

Too many coffee bars foist "Hobbesian" espresso on their customers: poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

It doesn't have to be that way.

At Volta, we want our espresso to be like a great Ramone's song: fast, sweet, and sure to put a smile on your face as you bounce around the room. We start with Intelligentsia's wonderful Black Cat espresso blend, shipped fresh from the Chicago roastery every week. Our baristas have extensive training to build the best possible shot from amazing ingredients. Black Cat shots have a syrupy body, accompanied by flavors of dried fruits, caramel, and hints of fresh cherries. The shot's flavor tapers into a finish of dark chocolate that lingers pleasantly on the tongue.

Volta also features guest espressos from some of the top roasters around the world. Ask your barista if there is a guest espresso for you to try. You never know what espresso we may have tracked down that week.

Great espresso requires careful attention from the hand of the barista: we don't need a corporate boss to order us to time and taste our shots throughout the day. We do it because we love espresso and want to serve you the best possible drink. Because we believe in the quality of our shots, we offer a limited espresso drink menu that best shows off the coffee in very specific recipes. A cappuccino is a short drink of less than 6 ounces, with 2 ounces of espresso and 4 ounces of milk that has been steamed to microfoamy perfection. It isn't 16 ounces of milk, 2 ounces of bitter espresso, and 2 ounces of sickly sweet syrup (used to mask the off-flavors of the shots). We'll do our best to accommodate your requests if you have a specific drink in mind, but remember that we don't stock any syrups and we don't have to-go cups larger than 12 ounces.

Our Drinks

Espresso

A double ristretto shot of Black Cat espresso.

Macchiato

A double ristretto shot of Black Cat espresso, marked with a splash of microfoamed latte milk. A macchiato is approximately 3 ounces.

Cappuccino

Volta serves a traditional Italian cappuccino: a double ristretto shot of Black Cat espresso in a 6 ounce cup, with velvety, microfoamed milk.

Latte

Volta serves a traditional Italian latte: a double ristretto shot of Black Cat espresso in a 12 ounce cup, with velvety, microfoamed milk.

Americano

A double ristretto shot of Black Cat espresso that we float over 10 ounces of hot water.

If you must...

have a few ways for you to doctor your drink. You can add an extra shot of espresso to any drink for a buck. You can turn any of the espresso drinks into a mocha with the addition of a shot of Volta's home-made Askinose chocolate sauce. We start with Askonsie's 70% Del Tambo chocolate, add cocoa powder made from Askinosie's San Juan Del Tambo chocolate, and some raw sugar. It is the same base that we use for our Volta drinking chocolate. We also have house made vanilla and cinnamon syrups.