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?