11.29.12

#foodiechats lesson: there are always people to educate about coffee

This past Monday, I learned how many consumers still needed to be exposed to great coffee. It was a very humbling, if not hair-tearing, experience.

Every Monday, there exists a Twitter chat that anyone can participate in called #foodiechats. From what I understand, #foodiechats grew organically- a solid group of Twitter foodies decided to pick a topic every week and then spend an hour and half discussing that topic. The topic is sponsored by a company or organization and the ten questions are released every ten minutes. The chat started in Chicago and has since expanded to all over the world. It becomes the top trending topic in the country every Monday night.Read More

11.19.12

Chicago Coffee Ladies

This post is long overdue. By about ten days…

It’s not usually until I’m half an hour into a coffee event that I notice how I’m one of ten women standing in a sea of men. Half an hour.

After attending a number of male-dominated throwdowns and coffee-related events, I’ve come to the anecdotal conclusion that there are a number of women in coffee, but not as present as the men. I think coffee ladies in general need to up their competition confidence level. And sometimes, it’s much, much easier to test out waters when you’re surrounded by only women.Read More

11.05.12

Coffee Conversions

I read somewhere that if you make a difference in one person’s life, then it should be a reason to keep on going in your passion’s path. Five months out from quitting my job, I still believe in coffee. The people I’ve met in this industry are some of the nicest people that exist. And while I love the industry professionals, I’m also very interested in the people I “convert” into coffee enthusiasts. I’ve created a few of those already and I’m quite proud of that. Without naming names, here are their stories:Read More

07.29.12

Make an effort to smile

Is it really that difficult to smile? I understand that when you’re exhausted on your feet and you just don’t want to serve cups of coffee anymore, maybe the smile will fall. But that still doesn’t give you an excuse to not smile. You’re in a service industry. Specialty coffee, regardless of how high up the “specialty” ladder you are, is still a food service industry. Fake smile, real smile, I don’t care. Though I can tell when you’re fake smiling, I’ll give you a point for effort. As long as you’re not fake smiling every time I go into the store.Read More

07.15.12

Coffee & Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

I’m a pretty picky coffee drinker. So when my coffee beans go two weeks over the roast date, I just don’t want anything to do with the beans anymore. Unfortunately, this means that at my very slow pace of drinking one cup a day, I tend to have coffee leftover. What do I do with the leftover coffee beans? I bake! Recipe for the fudge is after the jump.

Here’s my supereasy recipe for making fudge. Makes 24 servings.Read More

06.20.12

Word Vomits

I can’t believe this. After two years of not updating this blog, I’ve all of a sudden, in one night, decided to publish three blogs. Three. I must be insane. But I can see the defense for it: personal coffee reflections (this one), Chicago coffee consumers who just want events and without too many opinions (Chicago Coffee Scene), and lastly, the business one (Caffentures).Read More

07.21.10

<2 weeks

In less than two weeks, I will be ending my stint as a barista and returning to “coffee enthusiast” status. Many events have occurred to bring about this difficult decision, but nothing more so as to my realization of how much my interest in coffee has changed. Don’t get me wrong, I still LOVE coffee, but I loved it more when I was outside the retail world. The day-to-day operation of a shop may just not be for me at the moment. Perhaps in ten years, if I’m settled down, I’ll say differently. During my nine months, I gradually stopped visiting shops, reading up on coffee material, and altogether lost interest in coffee. In truth, the thing I’ll miss the most is having the Synesso at my fingertips.Read More

07.21.10

Cupping Comparsions

The following was drafted about a month ago and I just never got around to publishing it.

I’m not a pro at cuppings and I’ll be the first to say that my palate needs some serious work. But what I do know is the feeling I get when I walk away from the cupping. For the most part, I’ve walked away feeling educated, caffeinated, and with a good impression of the roaster.

I’ve attended cuppings presented by a CEO, sales rep, owner, roaster, and a barista. Locations have included a ballroom, classroom, retail shop, and roasting facility. And circumstances have been formal, QC, or even experimental.Read More

05.20.10

Throw it

I attended my first latte art throwdown the other day at Brothers K in Evanston. Since it was my first one, it’s obvious I’d have preconceived notions about how the baristas go about throwing the lattes around. Here are the major points that I converted on:

Prediction: Lots of baristas geeking out on espresso parameters and scrutinizing rosettas.
Reality:  Some discussion on coffee, not a lot of close attention on the art. More time was spent with the snack table (obviously food trumps coffee).Read More

04.30.10

When you want to help a shop

I walked into a recently opened local shop today, hoping to get my caffeine fix with a cappuccino. It was my second time visiting and this time, there was one more customer than during my last visit (and there was no one last time). It made me wonder what was wrong with the shop. There I was, sitting outside on the patio (indoor seating= 10, outdoor seating= 12), the only other customer. On a Friday afternoon and 85 degrees outside. Nothing’s wrong with the location, per se, since the deli next door was packed with customers. But it IS located in a converted house (I almost walked by it the first time) with very little seating. It’s evident that the owners are specialty coffee fans: great espresso machine, grinders, beans, etc. They’ve even hosted workshops and expanded PR into some local news clips and newsletters. So why was the barista on her computer when I entered?Read More