some sad news. . .

Okay everyone, I am sorry to break it to you, but I have decided to disband this blog.

I know that this may be disappointing to some of you, but I just don't have the time to devote to it, and I never want to blog on here, so I am letting it go. Sometimes in life you just have to make choices.

The other reason I am choosing to discontinue blogging on here is that I am thinking of starting a new blog which will distract me even more from this one, but it is something that is a little more pertinent to my life.

I hope you will always keep your coffee strong. . .I know I do!

wow. . .

I. am. a. slacker. Sorry.

I just realized that it has been 3 months since I have blogged on here. The problem would be that in the last 3 months I just haven't really had that much time to go get coffee and hang out in coffeeshops. First I was overwhelmed with work. Then after work stopped being so overwhelming I went into hibernation for about a month. Then winter happened. Ugh.

Well, hopefully, I will be doing better at keeping up on this blog soon. I did have a couple of coffee dates with friends at the start of January. It was great to catch up and chill out at one of the south SGF coffeeshops.

Hebrews (yes, I love the name because of the Biblical reference as well as the coffee reference, well done!) is a short drive from my house, and the coffee is oh so good. The atmosphere is nice making you want to sit and savor. The artwork on the walls is modern and fresh and made out of interesting materials that add a contrast to the other textures in the room. And the staff are friendly and helpful. I like it very much.

And I will try to blog again before another three months pass. Until next time. . .keep your coffee strong.

Oh, and check out this website. . .changing my life right now. . .stereomood.com

sometimes being sick is okay

I got sick this last weekend, and between a sore throat and a persistent cough, I have just been a little under the weather. It's times like these when I understand the value of chicken soup, copious amounts of hot tea...and recently (as in yesterday) I discovered how delightful hot tea with a touch of alcohol in it is. Yes, it's possibly my new favorite thing.

And it works so well at soothing my throat and lungs. It's weird how liquid can sooth the lungs, but never-the-less it does. So that's my latest obsession on the hot tea/coffee front.

The weather is getting cooler...nah...it's cold! Which means that I'm switching back to hot honey lattes instead of iced ones, but honestly haven't been drinking as much coffee lately...

That will probably change as I'm going to be incredibly busy over the next couple of weeks with work. I also recently bought some coffee to have at home...a first in a long time as I usually just get my coffee at my coffee shop.

Anyway...random updates on life are now completed...sorry I haven't blogged in so long. I will try to do better...

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

Twinings = Happiness

I looooovvvveeee Twinings Tea. I love that it is from England. I love the shop (I visited at least once a week the summer I lived in London). I love that it is the shop where the Queen gets her tea. I mean if it's good enough for the Queen, it's good enough for me.


One of the things that made me sad about being back here is that I can't get Twinings in the states. I mean, you can get it here, but it isn't the same. The tea bags are individually packaged where in England the bags are loose in the box. It's just different, trust me.

So when my roommate suggested that we order direct from England off of the website, I was soooo excited!!! Mind you I can't order my favorite tea from there, but I'll take what I can get.

We have since been enjoying lovely Twinings tea, direct from the store on Strand Street in London. So delightful!!! :)

Until next time...keep your coffee (or tea) strong.

Hebrews

A friend needed coffee the other day when I picked her up from work, and Hebrews was on the way home, so that's where we decided to stop. I have actually been there before, but that was quite a while ago...more than a year probably. I used to meet there with a writing group that I was part of. We would get our coffee and read our writing samples aloud and give each other feedback. It was incredibly delightful.

Possibly the first time I was there, I had a white mocha with something in it. And it was delicious!! That was in the fall or winter, so it was cold outside, enticing me to get a hot drink. When we stopped in this time, it was hot outside, so I opted for an iced drink. I had the iced honey latte (surprised?), and it was good. Although, I could tell that they didn't mix the honey with the espresso before they put it all together because there were unmixed honey bits in the drink. It was still a delicious beverage, and it completely hit the spot.

They have lovely decor, with lots of modern paintings and artwork on the walls. There is plenty of space for people to sit, and there was an interesting mix of people there. There were some families with babies, some of the younger, college-aged crowd decked out in TOMS (!!) and toting mac's, and some people who looked like they might be having a business lunch.

That's another nice thing about Hebrews; they have a delicious looking food menu. I haven't tried any of their food, but it sure sounds good, and if it lives up to the coffee, then it will be good indeed.

I did not, however, get my disloyalty card stamped because I didn't order a drink that it works with. I guess I'll just have to go back. Maybe in the next week.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

Kiwi's Heart Coffee Too!!

I am pleased to report that there are coffeeshops all over New Zealand. I had quite the lovely latte at a bay-side restaurant the other day with my lunch. I love that every where I turn around there is another little shop advertising that they have coffee. It just makes my heart so glad. I'm hoping to try out some more coffeeshops in Wellington over the next couple of days.

I'm just glad that there is a universal language of food and beverage that transcends all cultural differences. I may have literally nothing else in common with someone else, but if we are both ordering coffee, we have a connection. Coffeeshops bring the world together. And that makes me happy.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

Coffeeshop Hop

Yesterday, two other coffee loving friends and I had a coffeeshop hop. Two of us started at the Hub with a fantastic cup of Joe from Kenya...best coffee of the year...and definitely earned that title. Very smooth and bold with no bitter aftertaste...my coffee tastebuds were happy.

Later we added our third person, and we went to the Coffee Ethic to hang out for a while, mostly because we wanted to hang out with a friend who works there. We also took the opportunity to sit in the reading cubes in the adjoining library and chill for a bit (chill being the optimum word there as it was ridiculously hot yesterday).

TOMS Party in the reading cubes

We then decided to go back to the Hub because that coffee was just so amazing, and we wanted our third friend to 1) experience the Hub and 2) have an awesome cup of coffee. We had success on both counts before we moved on to our final coffeeshop for the evening (although I did volunteer that we could stop at Heroes on the way...gotta save something for the next time).

We ended our coffeeshop hop at The Potter's House where there were cold coffee beverages all around. Cheers to good friends and great coffee and our many delightful coffeeshops in SGF.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

dancing with joy

I tried a new coffeeshop today. I've been hearing at Dancing Mule Coffee for a while now, but I have just never had the time to get over there until today. It was on my way while I was running errands, so I decided to stop and get an iced coffee beverage to help ease the heat of this day.

The decor was lovely as was the delightful air conditioning. It wasn't really busy...mostly just people sitting at tables and chatting. I had an opportunity to talk to the man behind the counter (I'm assuming he is the owner) while my iced honey latte was being made.

We talked about how coffeeshops are really a regional type of thing. Meaning that the coffeeshop you most often frequent depends on what area you are typically in. Hence the reason I have not visited The Dancing Mule until today. It's on the side of town that I least visit. However, the coffee was so good that I might be back before long.

My iced honey latte (although not the same as what I make for myself) was very good. The coffee flavor was good and there was the perfect sweetness to it. Bottom line, I approve.

And I also got another stamp on my disloyalty card...2 down...6ish to go.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

what is coffee?

I recently filled out an application for a part-time position at The Coffee Ethic. I would love to work there because I love their dedication to making the best coffee product they can. The attention to detail is excellent (as well as the coffee). But even if I am not hired there, I still greatly enjoyed applying because in addition to all the normal and usual questions on the application, they also had a completely different section of questions. One of which was the question: what is coffee?

I actually thought over this question before I answered it because coffee is a delicious beverage, but it is also so much more than that. This is the answer that I came up with.

Coffee is a delightful beverage meant to be enjoyed within a social setting to enhance and enrich life.

I felt like that pretty well sums up my feelings about coffee. Not that you can't drink coffee alone, but that it is best when enjoyed as a social thing to bring an added element to your relationships. There really is nothing quite like sitting down with a friend over a cup of steaming coffee and talking about the deep issues of life.

I'll be gone with The Potter's House to a catering gig for the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to this new experience.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

How To:

make a perfect iced honey latte...

Start with a clean, dry port-a-filter and fill with espresso ground coffee. Tamp and draw your shot or shots (I personally prefer two shots).

While your shot(s) are drawing, fill your cold beverage cup part way (I usually go about 3/4 full) with half and half and skim milk.

Pour honey to taste into a steaming pitcher and once the shot has finished pour it over the honey and mix.

Pour this into the milk/half and half mixture and stir slightly to combine.

Add ice to the top of the cup and don't forget to dump your grinds from the port-a-filter.

Enjoy!

That's how to make my favorite summer iced beverage. Simply delightful.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

coffeeshops are more fun with friends

I love going to coffeeshops with my friends. Such a wonderful time and great experience. And although this last trip was a touch rushed as we were running late to go see a friend off at the airport, I did have a chance to snap a few quick pics. We went to the Coffee Ethic which I have blogged about before, but they just have such good coffee!! So here are pics from my latest coffeeshop adventure.


We all love our TOMS Shoes!! :) And our coffee.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

Heroes

I'm actually not talking about the people you look up to, but rather the coffee company. Heroes however does have a bit of a heroic streak. They fair trade import all of their beans and roast them here in Springfield. Not only does that mean a fresher product for all of the coffeeshops who buy their coffee from Heroes, but it also means that coffee producers are paid a fair price for their beans.

But the awesomeness goes a little farther. Heroes was actually established to fund a mission in Mexico. The couple that founded the company were looking for a way to fund their missions work, and they decided that not only could they help coffee growers, but they could also accomplish their goal of self-funded missions.

How brilliant is that!! They have an excellent product and an excellent purpose. What could be better?

peace

As promised, I am updating again rather quickly...I am trying to make up for not blogging in the last several days...or weeks. I was gone for a while, so that is a contributing factor to my absence. Well, here I am again. Nate tagged me in this revolving blog post, and while I have already actually done this once on my other blog, I will indulge my readers and complete this again...my answers may be different...we'll see.

AbRaCaDaBrA, WoW!
I LIKE boys with real confidence, not bravado
I LIKE girls with keen, intelligent conversation.
I like coffee
I like tea.
I like sunshine soaked days followed by cool nights.
I like learning and growing as a person.
I like friends who know you better than you know yourself at times.
I like waking up to sunshine through my window and a song in my heart.
I like counting my blessings.
I like deep conversations at my favorite coffeeshop.
I like success after hard work.
I like chill Sunday afternoons with a book and a hammock.

I LOVE seeing the world through new eyes.
today I am overwhelmed.
in some ways, I love everything
its less, its less of a thing to like, its less distinct, its less particular
i like things that I like but I love everything
there's more choice in like
cause even the worst things have things you love in them
I don't know what you mean about things I hate
I hate not being the person I could be.
I hate an entire week without sunshine.
I hate prejudice.
I hate thinking with my heart instead of my head.
I hate waiting but in a way, I would rather wait instead of rush ahead.
I hate bad coffee.
I hate when people make cruel statements.
I hate not knowing.
I hate this, wow...
Sorry.

news

A couple pieces of news from the Springfield Coffeeshop circut--

First the sad news. Rendezvous is closed...forever. :(
Yes, it is very sad...

Secondly, there is currently an effort by the Springfield Coffeeshops to encourage visiting them all. It is called the disloyalty card. Here is the announcement with all information included.

Also, The Potter's House is now open for summer hours. I'm looking forward to spending some time there with friends tonight. Lovely!!

Well, there is a brief update on coffeeshop in 417 land.

Until next time (which will be another couple minutes)...keep your coffee strong.

fancy a cuppa?

Confession: So I'm actually just as addicted to tea as I am to coffee. I did live in London for a summer, though, so you will have to cut me some slack as it's a habit I definitely fell into whilst around the Brits. I have always enjoy a spot of tea, but I went waaaay overboard in London-town. I'd say 9 cups in one day is a little extreme even by British standards.

The fact that that was 2 years ago has somewhat lessened my habit, but there are just times when I start craving a cuppa. Lately this has been happening...I have been craving Green Tea with Jasmine. Yes, my tea cravings are always incredibly specific.

And just as with coffee, I am a bit of a tea snob. No Lipton tea for this girl. I will drink a couple of Celestial Seasonings teas, but mostly I am rather picky about my tea. My favorite is Twinnings Teas. That's where the Queen gets her tea, so I guess it's good enough for me. It is possibly the most adorable shop ever. I went there at least once a week when I lived in London.

Hopefully after all the green tea with jasmine that I have been consuming in the last couple of days, I will soon be past this craving.

My impossibly large mug of tea that I had for breakfast.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong (or your tea).

a bit of ranting

There are often times as a barista when I wish everyone was as obsessed about knowing their coffee as some of us are. I understand that that would just be asking a little too much of the general coffee drinking population. When I do come across the occasional person who does know their coffee it is extremely refreshing. I think that's part of what I love about hanging out in coffeeshops (real coffeeshops--Starbucks doesn't count); these people know their coffee.

Connally found this wonderful picture which explains the difference between all these different coffee beverages for those who are coffee-illiterate. I kind of wish I could just blow this up and print it on a poster board and post it by the menu. Then when people order a macchiato they will truly be ordering a macchiato.

Kudos to Connally for finding this little bit of amazing-ness

Okay, rant over...for now. My coffeeshop is currently closed for a couple of weeks, and I miss everyone like crazy...because as I've stated before, this is not just a coffeeshop, but a family, a community, a home. I'm sustaining myself with an iced honey latte, some good music and some work on PoHo business. I might have to go visit some more coffeeshops, though in the next couple of weeks.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

a love affair

I dearly love coffee. I dearly love coffeeshops. What I do not dearly love at this moment are the repercussions I am experiencing from the decision to have a latte at 11 PM.

Here's the situation: I was very tired, so I had my friend make me a honey latte. It was delicious. And it also had two shots of espresso in it. Well, after not having had any caffeine in the past two weeks you can imagine the shock that gave my body.

And here I am 7 hours later, still awake. I guess the good news is that I have gotten quite a bit accomplished. The bad news is that I have a final this afternoon, I am closing at work tonight, and I haven't gotten any sleep.

This is, however, one of the joys of coffee that I was hoping to rediscover after my caffeine/coffee fast, and indeed I have. Caffeine is indeed very powerful, and a very good tool when used correctly.

Lesson Learned: All-nighters sometimes happen even when you don't plan them. Oops.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

Rendezvous

Downtown coffeeshop...open late every night of the week.

Try the Pollock--ask for your second shot (it's free).

All of the Artist inspired drinks are delicious though. The O'Keeffe is equally d'lish (that's how some friends and I decided that delish should be spelled).
My one complaint is that they don't have enough plug-in's for computers.

The environment is chill and relaxing like coffeeshops should be. Exposed brick, ventilator shafts, booths, and board games.

Art on the walls, and the wonderful smell of roasting coffee. A delightful coffeeshop.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

coffee isn't a competition

Two of my friends are former baristas...and they are attempting to have a competition over who can make me a better latte. I told them that it isn't a competition, but they won't listen to me. It doesn't help that they are both men and that they are best friends. Of course, it has to be a competition.

I do look forward to drinking some good coffee, though. Especially since I haven't had caffeine in over a week...I know...scary!! This is probably not the best time of the year to go off of caffeine as finals are looming before me, but when I realized just how much caffeine I was consuming I was a little concerned about my health. I want to enjoy coffee a couple times a week, not 5 or 6 times a day. Well, that's not really true...I want to enjoy coffee 5 or 6 times a day, but for the sake of my health, I think 2 or 3 times a week is a much better option. All things in moderation.

I'm going to make coffee scones for a friend this Saturday. What a brilliant idea to have coffee and scones combined...delightful.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

not better...just best

I am sadly remiss about updating this blog...perhaps when I have more time this summer, I will update more frequently. In the mean time...

Part of the reason I am obsessed with coffeeshops and coffee in general is because I am a barista. My job is to make the best coffee possible so that customers have an enjoyable coffee experience as well as an enjoyable overall experience at the coffeeshop. I had a disagreement with a friend the other day about something having to do with how espresso is made, so I decided to just do some more research (outside of my training) to discover the truth of the matter.

In this research, I not only had a good refresher, but I also learned a few things. Hopefully, I will now be able to enhance people's coffee experience with my newly acquired knowledge.

The other night, I had the opportunity to make coffee for some real coffee drinkers. The typical person who comes into a coffeeshop wants a sweet, coffee flavored drink which will help them stay awake. But then you have the real coffee drinkers who actually want to drink coffee. They know their stuff, and I can talk to them in real coffee talk. I was able to make a friend a real cappuccino (most people who order a cappuccino want a latte), but knowing the she was a coffee person I asked if she wanted a real cappuccino. When she replied the affirmative, I asked if she wanted it dry or wet. Oh, how I love coffee lingo and those who understand it.

I also discovered this morning over breakfast with a friend that I enjoy french press coffee for several reasons, but one of those reasons is that I always feel elitist when drinking french press coffee. I feel like rich people must have their breakfast with strong coffee from a french press. Maybe that's my imagination at work or maybe it is Hollywood distorting reality again, but whatever it is, that is one of the reasons I enjoy french press...I always feel classier when drinking one.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong

...and if you enjoyed your coffee experience, tell your barista thanks. :)