mud

mud is a coffee shop that i have yet to visit. it was on my list of coffee shops to hit while on my last trip to ny, but i just ran out of time. isn't their shop adorable?

they also have coffee trucks!

but that doesn't keep me from drinking their coffee. on hubby's recent visit, he brought back a bag of mud and a mud mug to drink it in!

kéan coffee

the owners of kéan coffee are no strangers to coffee. it's in their blood. have you heard of diedrich coffee? ya, same family. they've been in the coffee business since the early 1900's, so they know coffee inside and out.

we visited their tustin store and ended up buying a couple of bags of their coffee, that is roasted on site. after reading all the descriptions, we ended up with a bolivian peaberry and a sihereni from papua new guinea. i added the links in case you wanted to read their tasty descriptions too. mmm.

the coffee shop was packed inside and out. we were lucky to find an empty table out front. they also have a back patio which was a bit cozier, but there were smokers back there, even though they have a "no smoking" sign clearly posted. oh well.

13681 newport ave #14 - tustin, ca

my camano coffee mill saved my life

ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it did save the day. lemme 'splain. last week, the city turned the power off on our street so they could replace a power pole. we were without electricity for 6 1/2 hours! my near catastrophe occurred at coffee time. i only buy whole bean coffee, so no power = no electric coffee grinder. that's where my camano coffee mill saved the day. with a few cranks of the handle, i had ground coffee.

as for brewing without electricity, that wasn't a problem because i brew my coffee in a chemex coffeemaker.

disaster averted. thanks to my camano coffee mill, i was able to enjoy my mug of love and face the day, even without electricity.

are you equipped to brew coffee without electricity? there are several manual brewing methods to choose from: chemex, hario v60, & french press are just a few. and, if you buy whole beans, don't forget your manual coffee grinder!

national coffee day

me (& my mug) are enjoying a cup of bolivian peaberry, black, 1 sugar. what's in your cup?

DJ coffee shop

if hubby and i were to buy this coffee shop, we wouldn't even have to change it's name. it already has both of our initials!
hey a girl can dream, can't she?

how decaf coffee is made

i found this video online and thought it was interesting. in case you were ever curious on how they make decaf coffee, here is the answer.

better buzz coffee

on a recent trip down to carlsbad, we got our morning buzz at better buzz coffee in san marcos. it's an adorable little walk-up/drive-up coffee shop.

yep, that's hubby ordering us a couple of drip coffees at the drive-up window. the brews of the day were caramel creme (flavored), night sky (dark roast) and kenya (peaberry). if you want to drink your brew there, they have a couple of patio tables outside with umbrellas to shield you from the sun but there is no indoor seating. as a matter of fact, there is no indoors. you order your coffee at the walk-up window.

they offer their drip in two sizes, regular ($2.15) and large ($2.35).
we both went with the regular (16 oz), kenya.

this is the sign you will see as you exit the parking lot. they were quite busy with a constant flow of cars and a few walk-up patrons as well. we will definitely be back here. it's a very convenient location for us but most importantly the coffee was very good.

904 w. san marcos bl, san marcos

caffeinated garden art

i love caffeinated garden art and i have a few pieces scattered here and there in my yard. my next project was to reuse this old aluminum coffee pot that i had previously used as a planter.

i knew what i wanted to do with it but i wasn't sure what supplies i would need, so i got hubby and we went to our local home center. we ended up getting the 5 items shown below: 3' pipe, 45° elbow, close nipple, flat washer and a lock nut.

the hardest part of this project is making the hole on the bottom of the coffee pot. after drilling several small holes and one larger one, it just took a little sawing and some filing to get a nice round hole.

then you just screw the pipe, elbow and nipple together. insert it into the hole and from the inside add the washer (for stability) and the lock nut to keep it all together.
note: my coffee pot was a light weight aluminum. if you have a heavier pot, these supplies and application probably won't work for you.

and there you have it. stick the pipe into the ground in your garden and you now have caffeinated garden art.
oh, as a finishing touch, i added a glass "drop of coffee" from the spout.

hidden house coffee

this past weekend we drove down to capistrano for the day. it's been a while since we've been there and there's a great antique shop i love to visit while there. but i digress. on this trip i found an adorable little coffee shop that i never knew existed.

it's called hidden house coffee and they aren't kidding about the "hidden" part. it's down a quiet little "residential" road where all the houses have been converted into various businesses. the mix of patrons ranged from locals to tourists, teenagers to seniors.

i love supporting the independent coffee houses and i always seek them out when i'm in need of a caffeine fix.

hidden house coffee
san juan capistrano, ca

note to self: remove lid before adding beans to grinder.

it's a good idea to take the lid off of your coffee grinder before you pour your beans in; otherwise, you will have this situation on your hands:

reduce, reuse, repurpose

i am always thinking of new ways to use old things. why throw something out, when it still has plenty of life left to give. what started out as a cute little candle ...

... ended up as a "vase" for my air plant.

enamelware

i found this enamel coffee pot at an antique shop in monterey, ca and the matching cup came from ebay.

for a touch of whimsy, i hung the pot on a shepherd's hook under our plum tree and placed the cup on a little table i had in storage. as you can see, not all yard art has to come from a garden center.

sláinte!

today i had my coffee in my new herself mug! gotta love belleek. and i think it made my coffee taste even better.

happy st. paddy's day!

philz coffee

this is the bag of tesora daughter #1 gave me for christmas. do you notice anything out of the ordinary about the package?

the bag of coffee is actually a pound! while most roasters sell their bags of coffee in 12 ounce bags, philz actually gives you a full pound. just like the old days! how refreshing. thanks philz. and thanks daughter #1 for the pound of coffee!

[in august of 2012 i had visited philz and i remember being impressed with the staff. everyone was very friendly. and not the fake friendly you get at other shops. a real friendly, with a real smile. there are over a dozen philz coffee shops, but unfortunately for me, they are all in the bay area.]

christmas coffee 2013

my christmas was filled with family, laughter and coffee. both of my daughter's came bearing bags of beans! they live on opposite ends of the country so as far as coffee is concerned, i've got the best of both worlds.

daughter #1 lives up north, so she came with philz coffee from san francisco and daughter #2 is currently living in new york, so came with coffee from mud.

best. daughters. ever.