souvenirs from ny

most people bring back souvenirs from their vacations, i bring back coffee.

laughing man coffee

while visiting new york, one of the places i wanted to try the coffee was laughing man. two reasons:
1) all profit goes to charity [gotta love a company that gives back]
2) it is owned, in part, by hugh jackman!
it is a tiny little shop, not really what i expected. there is only room for a handful of customers at a time, then the line will be out the door. there is no indoor seating and outside there are only a couple of seats. if you want to sit & relax with your cup, which is what i like to do, that isn't really an option here. we had to take it to go.

to bring home, i purchased the kenya roast which is described as full body, orange, cherry & black currant. and of course i had to buy one of their mugs because once the coffee is gone, i will still have the mug to remind me of my visit.

all be happy!

184 duane st, new york, ny

coava coffee roasters

on a recent trip up to portland, we stopped in at coava coffee roasters. i had seen it online and i was excited about seeing it in person. well i have mixed feelings of the place. it was a very large store with cement floors and an industrial vibe (which i love). however it was quite sparse. even though they opened in 2010, it looks like they aren't finished moving in. they had maybe 3 communal tables in the front, a bar along the length of the store (but it didn't have enough stools) and there was a huge table way in the back but it looked like it might be used for cupping, plus there were no seats. they also had some flooring samples on display which i thought was strange. my daughter and i just stood there wondering where we would sit if we were to buy a cup of coffee because the few seats they did have, were all being used. unless we sat on the floor, there was no room for us so we only purchased bags of coffee to bring back home.

1300 se grand ave, portland oregon

i chose el comun because the description said it "has flavor notes of orange liqueur, lavender, walnuts, and sugar cookies" plus it was from costa rica. we've been drinking it for a few days now and while it does have a very nice flavor, the package seems to be running quite low very fast. i checked the weight and noticed it was 250 grams. normally the coffee bags are 12 ounces. so what does 250 grams mean? i had to go online to convert grams to ounces. wow! 250 grams is only 8.81849 ounces! i paid $14.00 for the coffee, which is about average, but it's average price for 12 ounces. since i only got 8.81849 ounces, it was a bit on the expensive side. it seems a bit deceiving to mark the package weight in grams. i mean really, who knows how many grams are in an ounce? (fyi, it's 28.3495.) so i feel a bit ripped off. i think if i ever go back to portland, i am sad to say i will not return to coava.

blue kangaroo

when traveling to new cities, i like to seek out the independent coffee shops. blue kangaroo is one that i came across on a recent trip to portland. what sets them apart from other coffee shops is that they roast their own coffee on-site. i tried their signature blend, the sundog.

speaking of dogs, they are dog-friendly but ask that if you come with your pooch, to please sit around the corner. along the side of the building there is lawn, a fire hydrant and a bowl of water. the front of the building only has a sidewalk so the side is more comfy for your doggie.

there is comfy seating as well as some wooden tables and chairs. so if you wanna relax or if you need to get some work done, they've got you covered. there is also a children's corner with some toys and books to keep junior busy while you caffeinate yourself.

how do you know you're not in los angeles? when you see a store work off the honor system. to pay for your coffee, just drop your money in the can that is sitting next to the self serve coffee pots. you don't see that in the los angeles area. kudos to portland.

7901 se 13th ave, portland

coffee head painting

i found this painting on the side of the hawthorne theatre in portland oregon. we were on our way to a coffee shop, of course, when i noticed it. we had to go around the block so i could get a photo of it. i didn't get off the car to see if there was a signature on it so i don't have any info on it other than it's a painting of a guy with a cup of coffee on his head. it looks like it's been there a while because it's really weathered and worn. i don't know why it's there or who put it there but i do know that it's cool and i'm glad a got a photo of it.

breakfast with the beatles & a cup of coffee

does anyone still listen to a radio? every sunday morning, hubby and i listen to breakfast with the beatles on klos fm. it is 3 hours of solid beatles music, info and trivia. "all you need is love" .. and a cup of coffee.

happy father's day!

happy father's day to my hubby, my daddy and (even though you are no longer with us) my grandpa!
these 3 men exemplify what it is to be a man and to be a dad. i especially thank them all for showing my daughters how a man should treat a woman and i love them all for that. if my girls find a man that is 1/2 the man these men are, they will be a-ok.

dripp

this post is part review and part rant. as you can see my coffee cup is not full. this is how i received it from the barista. they use a 12 ounce cup (i measured it when i got home) but they only fill it with about 10 ounces of coffee. they charge a premium for their coffee ($3.55!) so to not receive a full cup is a bit of a fail.

when you step into the cafe, you don't see a menu board behind the counter, instead you see several hanging clip boards with the day's offerings. you choose what you want before you get to the cashier. i ordered the ethiopian and hubby ordered el salvador.

they hand pour each cup individually at the brew bar so they are in full control of the amount of water that is added to each cup. we told them "no room" so why then, did they not fill our cups? [this was our 2nd visit here, and the 2nd time we felt shortchanged.]
it's a cozy shop with additional seating in their upstairs loft and a quaint outdoor patio. the coffee was very good, and i would totally order the ethiopian again, but i'm really on the fence about a 3rd visit.

their coffee is fair trade certified and most of their coffee is also usda certified. and of course they sell the typical accoutrements: bags of coffee (though the ethiopian was a whopping $21.95 for 12 oz!), brewing equipment, branded merchandise, etc.

dripp, the shoppes at chino hills

coffee w/ bailey #33: some crust bakery

we love going to super dog-friendly claremont to stroll up and down their quaint streets, filled with indie shops. when it comes to coffee, of course they have a starbucks and a coffee bean, but today we caffeinated ourselves at some crust bakery. added bonus: it's a bakery!


i don't know how many coffee shops actually bake their own goods or how fresh they really are but you can be sure you aren't going to get day old breads here. plus they serve a really good coffee. they brew monkey & son coffee, which is fair trade and organic. that's a win win to me!



i ordered two pour overs but i noticed the water they used was just sitting in a pot on a warmer. i don't know if this is standard practice or if the girl just didn't know but a warmer is only going to keep water warm. you need hot water to brew coffee; around 200 degrees hot for proper extraction. they are ruining a perfectly good bean by under extracting it. i would rate their coffee as being mediocre :(

i will give them another try to see if this was a fluke but if that's how they prepare a pour over, i will not be seeking caffeine at their establishment. as a bakery though, they are top notch.

some crust bakery, claremont ca

a coffee surprise

yesterday hubby surprised me with two bags of klatch coffee (do i have the best hubby, or what). he brought el salvador orange bourbon (my favorite) and a new one we've never tried before, ethiopian sidamo adem chilcho. according to their website "the flavors become defined in the cup as raspberry, blueberry with hints of dark chocolate, providing a bright acidity within a creamy and juicy body." mmm, i am looking forward to giving this one a try!


i was going to take a picture of the coffee with bailey, but she decided to make it a picture of bailey with the coffee. lol

christmas cheer

me & my pop sharing some holiday cheer, in the form of cups of coffee :)
merry christmas daddy!

christmas coffee

i hope your christmas was filled with joy, love, happiness...
and plenty of coffee!

the beatles

i haven't been to any new coffee shops lately so i thought i'd share a picture i found on the internet. whilst these lads may have been drinking tea, i prefer to think they were drinking coffee.

coffee w/ bailey #25: surfdog's java hut

our second coffee of the day was at surfdog's java hut, also in encinitas. this was very different from our first stop at the lofty bean. the java hut has their pre-brewed coffee in pump pots and when i asked the employee what kind of coffee they had, she only said it was a medium roast. what i wanted to know is was it organic? fair trade? african? south american? is it fruity? nutty? tell me a little more about the bean. possibly she didn't know so she didn't offer any more info. after she pumped our cups, she took the pot to the back so i guess we got the end of it. too bad we weren't a bit earlier so we could've gotten a fresher cup.

the shop was really cute; very beachy. the awning outside is like a grass hut with sea life painted on the outside walls. inside has a surf board hanging on the wall and a mosaic of a sea turtle on the floor. there were several tables outside but only one of them had customers when we arrived.

all in all, this place is best for the ambiance. to us, the coffee was just ok. you really can tell the difference between freshly ground and brewed coffee versus getting your coffee out of a pre-brewed pump pot. check back later to see what coffee experiences awaited us on sunday.

java hut, s coast highway 101, encinitas ca

coffee w/ bailey #24: the lofty bean

this past weekend was dedicated to bailey and to finding a great cup of coffee. i had mapped out several coffee shops before we left home so we wouldn't waste any time. we drove down to encinitas saturday morning for our first cup of coffee.

our first stop was at the, very dog friendly, lofty bean. there was even a dog inside the store! the barista reached under the counter and handed him a cookie without even batting an eye. when we got there, the line was out the door! it took quite a while to get this shot with no people in the way.

each cup is brewed when it is ordered and the brew methods they offer are french press ($2.00), pour over ($3.95) and the syphon ($6.50). this photo shows their selections for the day. (we had the pour over honduras capucas.)

bailey enjoyed the early morning sunshine as we sipped our coffee and planned our day. next on our agenda is fun time for bailey. we are taking her to the beach!

the lofty bean is located on the corner of n coast highway 101 & a st, in the lofts at moonlight beach. we will definitely be back. the staff was very friendly and there seemed to be a lot of regulars. even the customers knew each other!

the lofty bean, encinitas ca

coffee w/ bailey #20: the roadhouse

when in temple city, we like to stop in at the roadhouse coffee shop. if you know me, you know i love the independent coffeehouses. they've been there since 1994 and despite starbucks opening up in the same shopping center, they have managed to stay in business. at the roadhouse, i was happy to see they brew coffee from jones coffee roasters, an independent roaster in pasadena, ca. it's like the little guy helping the little guy to succeed. awesome.

the only problem on our visit was that, since bailey was with us, we had to sit outside. that wasn't the problem though. the problem was that we had a smoker to the left of us and a smoker to the right. it was rather disgusting and even doggie was sneezing. however as soon as they left, the air cleared and we could enjoy our brew and the fresh air.

bailey still looks a little woozy in this shot from all the smoke.

but when the air cleared, she was happy again.

coffee for me & water for bailey

>>> the k9 water bottle is available at kibblesplace.com <<<

giant coffee cup

this giant coffee cup is hanging above the registers at our local krispy kreme. did you know that some, but not all, krispy kreme stores brew cbtl coffee?

philz coffee

when in san francisco, and craving a jolt of caffeine, i would recommend philz coffee. their reputation preceded them so on our recent visit to sf, i sought them out. there are several locations but we went to the one on van ness. the line was quite long but it moved along at a swift pace. my barista was very knowledgeable and when he asked what we looked for in a coffee, he suggested i try the red sea blend and jacobs wonderbar for hubby. props to him because we both thought our coffee was, to borrow a phrase, good to the last drop.

"one cup at a time"

coffee for tired people

i saw this bag of coffee while waiting in line at marshall's. i thought it was quite funny because isn't all coffee "coffee for tired people"? of course i don't buy pre-ground coffee, especially from Marshall's, but i just had to take a picture to share.