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. :)

A bit Foggy

Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to try out a coffeeshop that I hadn't been to before: Fog City Coffee. I was on my way to watch 2 year-olds and was rather exhausted and this coffeeshop happened to be on my way. Fog City is a small coffeeshop located in a strip mall parking lot with a drive-up window.

I was a little pressed for time, so I went through the drive-thru instead of parking and going inside. Having never been there before I asked the lady taking my order what was good, and instead of answering my question by asking me questions about what I like or by telling me what people usually order there, she just told me it depended on what I like and said she would give me time to look at the menu as she had customers in the shop. I didn't know if I could just order whenever I made up my mind, so I ended up sitting there for quite a while. I was a little disappointed with the service, but the lady was polite and chipper.

I got the coffee and espresso (I think they call it a fog lifter), and while it was good, I wasn't exceptionally impressed.

The entire experience wasn't good or bad but rather just run-of-the-mill. Although part of that is probably my fault for not actually going inside the building. Drive-up windows and coffeeshops just really shouldn't go together. Because coffee is all about social interaction. Somehow, I think the drive-thru just takes away the social aspect of coffee.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.