the murky story

One day, after getting sick of being fired (or close to it) from pretty much every job he ever had, Nicholas Cho decided to look into starting his own business.

The more he looked into it, the more the idea of opening a coffee shop was appealing.  First off, coffee is a people-business... and he's a people-person (people-person?  jeez).  Second, the more he researched it, the more he realized that there was something more that could be done with coffee than most people had ever seen.  A consistent drink of smooth-tasting, never-bitter, strong-but-not-too-strong coffee didn't seem to exist.  Why the heck not?

So after traveling around the country in search of the best coffee around, he learned enough to open murky coffee in March of 2002.

Now the burning question: Why call it "murky" coffee?  First of all, the name "Murky" means different things to different people, and curiously enough, we hear people walk by our shop on occasion saying, "MURKY coffee?  Why would I want to drink something called MURKY coffee?"  Our response is, "Walk on.  Go find yourself something that is boring enough to make you happy.  Go find something that is nice and mediocre and has a safe-sounding name.  If you're that devoid of creativity and a sense of humor, walk on."  (no, we don't actually say that to them... it's just what we're thinking). 

murky coffee is devoted to the best that coffee has to offer. We are always learning, always improving, always developing, always changing anything that can be improved. From award winning whole bean coffees to world-class espresso drinks to the best home coffee equipment that we know of, we strive to serve only the best in the world. Thanks to our roaster-partners at Counter Culture Coffee, we're able not only to offer the best coffee on the planet, but we are able to maintain our "no coffee older than 14 days off roast" standards for all coffee sold in our shops. This includes everything: whole bean, brewed, and espresso-brewed coffees.

Our espresso drinks are unmatched in Washington DC, and we strive to meet World Barista Championship standards behind the bar every day. Our espresso blend is ground fresh, for each drink served, and extracted on our custom-tuned espresso machines, resulting in espresso that is sweet, balanced, full-bodied, and smooth. We steam the milk for each drink per order, with care and expertise that results in an unexpectedly silky-smooth textured milk foam.

Though we're happy to serve you anything that we offer, we do encourage everyone to try and simplify your coffee drink. Our drip coffees have a hint of natural sweetness and smoothness, often enough to keep folks from needing to add milk and sugar. Our smaller espresso drinks offer a uniquely delicate experience that is something truly special.

Our first shop was a little hole-in-the-wall on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown.  It was a weird little place, and we got quite a few stares, notably from former President Clinton.  As weird as it was, the coffee was weirder.  We served only espresso, no drip coffee, and the weirdest thing about it was that it kicked ass.  People freaked out when we shut down the Georgetown store in early '03.  We got a flood of emails that said, "I'll never drink coffee again!!!"  What shameless hyperbole.  If you look closely at the black awning over what's now a fake-designer-purse store, you'll see the faint remnant of murky georgetown.

Our second shop is on the corner of Pennsylvania Ave and 7th Street in Southeast DC.  With the Eastern Market Metro (orange line) on one side and historic Eastern Market on the other, people have been flocking from near and far to sample what many consider to be the best coffee in the city.

We then officially opened our doors in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, VA, taking the place of venerable Common Grounds Coffee & Tea House. Home to a new head office and training center, we've had unique opportunities to continue to advance our skills and knowledge in all things coffee.

Unfortunately, in February of 2008, murky coffee capitol hill was closed due to tax issues with the DC Government. More information can be found at our "f.a.q." page (navigation bar to the left).

What does the future hold for murky coffee? Nothing "big." If you are interested in a murky coffee franchise, don't bother contacting us because there will never be such a thing. We are interested in providing you the best that coffee has to offer... and you can't do that when your vision is clouded by big dollar-signs. We want to help transform the face of Washington DC coffee.

From the very beginning and to the very end, our motto has been and will be: Totally committed to serving the people of Washington the best damn coffee there is.  Yes, we said 'damn.' It's a guiding principle that informs everything that we do.

Our key staff includes:

Nicholas Cho, president and head barista - Nick is proud to serve on the Board of Directors of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), the Board of Directors of the World Barista Championship, and is the chair of the United States Barista Championship Committee. He has competed in, judged at, and emceed various barista competitions including the US Barista Championship and the World Barista Championship. He also runs a group-blog and podcast for coffee professionals on Portafilter.net (also on iTunes Music Store).

Tommy Gallagher, general manager -

Katie Duris, Director of Coffee Quality -