I had a mocha latte breve, because to me if it doesn’t have cream it just isn’t worth drinking. It was delicious. The last time I was there I felt the espresso was a little watery which made the latte a little flavorless. This time the flavor was rich and full, although it was almost too sweet when you got to the bottom. The barista attempted a design with the steamed cream and it wasn’t bad, although practice is needed if he wants to head to the international competitions.

The decor is awful at this point but I am hoping that it is a matter of moving in. The furniture is in a jumble and there is too much of it.

They have also started serving gelato, and there seemed to be some unique flavors. He asked if I wanted a sample and then forgot to give it to me so I can’t tell you how it tastes. But they advertise the following:

• Red Velvet Cake
• Roasted Almond
• Cafe au Lait
• Pumpkin Cinnamon
• Oreo Cookies and Cream

The gelato is mad fresh in small batches, and is made with ORGANIC sugar and whole milk. SCORE! Now, if only they would get organic coffee!

What I loved:

• Friendly
• Latte was great
• Real cups!
• Gelato sounds interesting
• Organics
• It’s indy

What I didn’t love:

• Decor looked like a storage shed

Scale from 1-5 They get a 3.5 which could end up being a 4.5 if the decor changes significantly. I personally have a very hard time relaxing in a mess.

Should you go? Sure! The prices are good, the coffee is good, and hey, they have gelato!

image:sxc

Post from: Kettle and Cup

The thing is that different people go to coffee shops for different reasons. Marc and I go to have some time alone and talk. Some people go to have business meetings. Students go there to study. Lots of people with lots of reasons and sometimes the lifestyles clash.

So, here are -

The 10 Coffee Shop Commandments

1. Thou shalt not read other people’s laptop screens no matter how tempting it is. Yea, even out of the corner of thine eye thou shalt not.
2. Thou shalt not allow thy cell phone to play rap or acid rock tones at full volume. In fact, thy cell phone shall be set to vibrate for it is distracting.
3. Thou shall speak in normal tones and not screech, cackle loudly, or sing along  with the ipod. This too, is distracting.
4. Thou shalt sit like a lady, if thee be female, and not rest thine foot up on the chair next to thee. The color of your thong or lack thereof  does not need to be a matter of public record.
5. If thou be male and thou likest the porn, thou shalt not imbibe at thy coffee shop. Thy peers really do not want to know. If thou be female the same rule applies.
6. If  thou be stopping for the holy elixir in the midst of errands, and IF thou hast thy progeny with thee, thou must take an isolated table if possible. The fruit of thy womb shall be controlled at all times for thou hast entered a holy place, an adult sanctuary.
7. If thou wouldst meet thy lover in this hallowed place thou shalt not swap spit. Hie thyself to the backseat of thy car like everyone else. This is hallowed ground.
8. If thou be meeting clients and said clients are late, thou shalt not pass the time by passing out business cards to the other patrons.
9. If thou must talk on thy cell phone keep thy voice low and melodious. Thy fellow caffeine worshipers are not interested in the details of thy personal life.
10. Thou shalt not take the last of the half and half without alerting an employee for this is despicable in the sight of all who come after you.

image:morguefile

Post from: Kettle and Cup

Wasn’t it Lana Turner who was discovered in a coffee shop?

When you hear the words “coffee shop” what do you think of?  The first thing that came to mind should NOT be a big corporate owned conglomerate.

I think of a small place, cozy, with great pie and cake.  Coffee in heavy ironstone mugs (or whatever they call it), and someone who knows that I like a dollop of unsweetned whipped cream on the top of my coffee to stir in with just a pinch of Stevia.

I think of  Katherine Hepburne and Bogey, Doris Day and Rock Hudson.  Coffee shops belong to small neighborhoods whether they are in big cities or po-dunk towns in the middle of a cornfield.  A great coffee shop is an entity unto itself.

When people got hooked on Starbucks at $3 dollars a pop (they don;t call it star-bucks for nothin’) they missed the point.  When Starbucks started selling protien shakes THEY missed the point.

A coffee shop has never been about the coffee.  It’s about the smell, the atmosphere, the camaraderie, and the pie.

Scones, lemon bars, and muffins are great for tea rooms but a coffee shop without a thick slice of homemade pie, warm from the oven with thick fruit syrup bubbling out the top…well that isn’t a coffee shop at all.  A coffee shop should be a haven in an unexpected thunderstorm, a dry mecca where your next adventure awaits.

A good coffee shop will remind you of Cheers, Mel’s Diner, and the scene from When Harry Met Sally all at once.

If you find one don’t go anywhere else.  It is a treasure that could easily go the way of gas station attendants and real diners with blue vinyl swivel seats.

Made ya smile just thinking about it, didn’t it?

image:SXC

Post from: Kettle and Cup

I don’t impress easily, y’all know that. I was impressed, however, to read in the coffee news that Peet’s Coffee put up the first coffee roasting facility in the United States to get Leed’s Certification.

This is one “green” certification that is not that easy to get. Peet’s got it because they built the facility with these things in place:

• A work environment for the company’s
  roastery employees that includes ample work spaces, fitness room, lockers,
  showers, bike and automobile parking and expansive lunch/break room
•  Use of natural light and the latest lighting technology which reduces the overall power consumption by 40%
• Xeriscaping the landscape and use of efficient plumbing fixtures that reduces the water usage by 50%
• They have redesigned the heat recovery aspect of the roasting system to reduce gas useage by 85%
• Environmentally sensitive HVAC
• They used significant amounts of recycled materials during construction
• And….they built close to public transportation systems and planned for bicycle storage.

I think that is significant.  As far as I know not all of their coffee are organic/Fair Trade.  I think the company is heading is the right direction in a big way, though.  And…I wish that there was Peet’s coffee shop near us.  I do like their coffee.

O.k..a potential controversial issue…There is a church in Billings, Montana that just opened up a huge facility that cost 21 million dollars.  It is 80,000 square feet and includes, what else, a coffee shop that will be open 7 days a week.

I have mixed feelings about this.  First, I think that it is great that they have opened up a place where people can go, drink coffee, get ministy. I am all for market place ministry.  And i am all for someone getting blessed.  Nothing wrong with prosperity.

But..there is the other part of me that chokes on 21 million dollars spent on a building.  I know of a woman who is running an inner city ministry in the deepest part of the crack neighborhoods in Dallas..She has lived down there for years, dodging bullets and giving crack addicts a place to find a better high.  She has had an amazing success at it too.  All of her staff are people that have gotten clean in her ministry and they are awesome.  I bet she serves them coffee once in awhile..and she doesn’t have a 21million dollar facility to do it.  I wonder what she could do with even 10,000 of that  21 million?  I know missionaries that have been serving in Tibet for nearly 20 years.  They live among the people…they get to know them..they serve them coffee.

And, we have a long time friend that is involved the the underground Chinese church. Not alot I am going to say about that….but they do serve tea on occasion.

There is nothing wrong with having a beautiful faciliity.  Marc and my home church (the one we are DELIGHTED to be back at!) is knock-you-dead-gorgeous. I will post pictures sometime.  It is on the highest spot in south Dallas country and overlooks a lake.  It is built of fieldstone and it is amazing.  We built on cash…and ministry and funds for missions flowed out while we were building.

So, those are my thoughts…a very good thing..and a I’m not sure thing.

What do you think? Is it a waste of funds?

Image:Marye Audet 

Post from: Kettle and Cup

Because of the combination of the rising cost of espresso and the low wages/high unemployment there is a new coffee bar etiquette in Italy.

You head out to meet your peeps at the local coffee shop and order an espresso. ONE espresso. Then you each take a sip from the cup.  Mmm…. compadre! Sharing did not go out of style in kindergarten.

It is polite to sip from a different side of the cup than your friend did, thereby sharing the coffee without sharing the germs. So if one person drinks from the left, the other can drink from the right and if there is a third person they get another side.  It would seem that girls would have an unfair advantage in keeping track as long as each wore a different shade of lipstick.

How do you say “floaties” in Italian?

Post from: Kettle and Cup