As always, my list of things for which I am thankful, appropriately compiled annually upon the occasion of the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, I'm keeping it down to 50 items because it's 11:30 p.m. and I'm tired -- no less grateful, but tired.
1. My sweet fella.
2. His darling, quirky, accepting family.
3. Adorable, ornery Booker.
4. This brain and mind and consciousness that I inhabit and utilize.
5. ESPRESSO. Sweet, delicious espresso.
6. Bridgit, the Honda Fit, even though she is currently bleeding me dry.
7. Optimism.
8. Dear Rob B., for being my best guy friend through thick and thin, and always getting me into the sold out show.
9. Jeannine, both for being awesome and for being my friend who also lives in my neighborhood.
10. Nights when Kevin makes "the special."
11. Stylin' winter boots.
12. The artwork of Frida Kahlo.
13. Lady Gaga.
14. Baking nights, especially with Kevin's friends (who are thankfully becoming my friends).
15. This beautiful, gritty, dirty, diverse city.
16. Tuesday morning at the Cowtown flea market.
17. Books.
18. Skinny jeans. (On me, anyway, some folks shouldn't be sporting them. Haha.)
19. Yellowstone National Park.
20. My beloved internet creeps.
21. Down comforters and pillows.
22. Alton Brown.
23. The smell of autumn.
24. Freddie J. Mercury, my iPod.
25. My talented and knowledgeable bosses.
26. Quirky and passionate co-workers.
27. The friendly neighborhood cafe in which I work.
28. Our positively fantastic "regulars," most of whom are all too happy to indulge our somewhat strange passion for coffee.
29. NPR.
30. My laptop.
31. Late nights and early mornings, a.k.a. a full social calendar.
32. Self-portraits.
33. The Habeeb family.
34. The chance to go on a 7,000-mile roadtrip around my country with the man I love.
35. These hard candies that Kevin brought home from the Chinese grocery.
36. An incredibly generous and caring mother.
37. A father who, albeit later than I would have preferred, tries very hard to understand his daughter, who is very different than himself.
38. My dear brother, who knows me better than just about anyone and still loves me very much.
39. South Philadelphia.
40. Christmas carols, trees, meals, gifts, etc. All the trappings, the things that are symbols for what I love most of all: happy and celebratory time with family and friends.
41. Jim Beam.
42. Grungy, character-filled diners everywhere, and the lovely, strange people who stock them and keep them interesting.
43. Warm, soft knitted items, preferably handmade. Also related: Regretsy.
44. Babies.
45. Home-brewed beer.
46. An endless wealth (a.k.a. rabbit hole) of things to learn about coffee, as well as places to learn such things.
47. The Burning Man festival, as well as the ability to attend such frivolous, but enriching events.
48. Dance parties, private or public.
49. Friends around the world who unfortunately cannot be named in their entirety within this short list, but who are all incredible and dear to me.
50. Electricity, shelter, clean water, and abundant food.
All Over the Dang Place
There are quite a few things I want to cover tonight. Thus, I once again resort to a numbered list. Sorry I'm not flexing any of those writing muscles for you...
1. I am skipping a cupping right now because I drank way, way too many cups of coffee (and bits of cups of coffee) at work this morning. So much as I want to try that microlot of Golondrina... I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. I'm all hopped up and stomach-achey. It is not fun. Sorry, Aaron. Next Friday we will better police my caffeine intake before the cupping.
2. I have a name for both our coffee book club and perhaps my future website. I'd go ahead and shout it to the rooftops now, I am going to selfishly hoard it instead. What if one of you (lovely) internet creeps decided to steal it? I'd have to kill you, and murder is terribly messy. Let's just say that it perfectly combines both my love for the written word and for espresso and leave it at that. You'll find out soon enough, if all goes as planned.
3. Last night was my very first Philadelphia Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT). There seemed like there was a good turnout -- about 25 people, but I have no frame of reference as to whether or not that is "good" since I haven't been before -- and the competition was so interesting to watch. Regardless of how seriously you take such informal competition, it is, first and foremost, a competition. It being my first, I wanted to merely attend and take in the atmosphere. I didn't even know how such things were run, prior to last night. Now I think I mostly get it, and I will plan to do my own pour in December. As for last night's top competitor, it was my very own boss-man, Aaron Ultimo. He went first of 12 and still managed to finish with the highest score. Well done, well done.
I'm very glad I attended: I met some new friends, spoke with some old friends and co-workers, and solidified some meetings that occurred at work (a.k.a. refreshed my memory on names, I'm the worst at that). I also got to check out another Philly Counter Culture shop, Lovers & Madmen. I adore that name and the shop is pretty cute. I dig the cozy couches, windowed walls, and the brown/blue color scheme.
4. As for my own growth towards "coffee professional," well... I'm growing. The motions are becoming a part of my muscle memory, I'm learning what a good shot and the perfect milk feel like, in addition to their looks (with which I was already familiar). I can do great pours -- and I still pour some absolute crap from time to time. As with the past week or so, my primary focus is continuity, reliability, and refinement of skills. Our shop is a great atmosphere for someone who wants to really, really learn and perfect this art. I know I am not the first to flourish under Aaron's tutelage, so I doubt I'll be the last, but I feel pretty grateful for the insight and guidance he offers.
Aaaand some pictures from the TNT:
Aaron, tamping his shot.
Cool as a cucumber.
Judges, doing their thing.
1. I am skipping a cupping right now because I drank way, way too many cups of coffee (and bits of cups of coffee) at work this morning. So much as I want to try that microlot of Golondrina... I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. I'm all hopped up and stomach-achey. It is not fun. Sorry, Aaron. Next Friday we will better police my caffeine intake before the cupping.
2. I have a name for both our coffee book club and perhaps my future website. I'd go ahead and shout it to the rooftops now, I am going to selfishly hoard it instead. What if one of you (lovely) internet creeps decided to steal it? I'd have to kill you, and murder is terribly messy. Let's just say that it perfectly combines both my love for the written word and for espresso and leave it at that. You'll find out soon enough, if all goes as planned.
3. Last night was my very first Philadelphia Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT). There seemed like there was a good turnout -- about 25 people, but I have no frame of reference as to whether or not that is "good" since I haven't been before -- and the competition was so interesting to watch. Regardless of how seriously you take such informal competition, it is, first and foremost, a competition. It being my first, I wanted to merely attend and take in the atmosphere. I didn't even know how such things were run, prior to last night. Now I think I mostly get it, and I will plan to do my own pour in December. As for last night's top competitor, it was my very own boss-man, Aaron Ultimo. He went first of 12 and still managed to finish with the highest score. Well done, well done.
I'm very glad I attended: I met some new friends, spoke with some old friends and co-workers, and solidified some meetings that occurred at work (a.k.a. refreshed my memory on names, I'm the worst at that). I also got to check out another Philly Counter Culture shop, Lovers & Madmen. I adore that name and the shop is pretty cute. I dig the cozy couches, windowed walls, and the brown/blue color scheme.
4. As for my own growth towards "coffee professional," well... I'm growing. The motions are becoming a part of my muscle memory, I'm learning what a good shot and the perfect milk feel like, in addition to their looks (with which I was already familiar). I can do great pours -- and I still pour some absolute crap from time to time. As with the past week or so, my primary focus is continuity, reliability, and refinement of skills. Our shop is a great atmosphere for someone who wants to really, really learn and perfect this art. I know I am not the first to flourish under Aaron's tutelage, so I doubt I'll be the last, but I feel pretty grateful for the insight and guidance he offers.
Aaaand some pictures from the TNT:
Aaron, tamping his shot.
Cool as a cucumber.
Judges, doing their thing.
Baby, We Were Born to Run
My boss is playing The Boss at the shop. As if that weren't obvious.
My boss has also informed me that I am ready to take the espresso test whenever I would like. So when I feel that I am ready, I will let him know, and then I will make one of everything on the menu in some kind of quick succession (in order to demonstrate both quality as well as ability to multi-task and make with the quickness). I'm thinking I need a few more days to practice macchiatos, if nothing else. They are the most difficult for me. But cappuccinos? Them babies are looking pretty good. Still things I want to refine, of course, but I am pleased with my progress thus far. Would you like to see? Of course, you would.
That's all the coffee-news that's fit to blog. Have a great day.
.
Coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with. -Drew Sirtors
My boss has also informed me that I am ready to take the espresso test whenever I would like. So when I feel that I am ready, I will let him know, and then I will make one of everything on the menu in some kind of quick succession (in order to demonstrate both quality as well as ability to multi-task and make with the quickness). I'm thinking I need a few more days to practice macchiatos, if nothing else. They are the most difficult for me. But cappuccinos? Them babies are looking pretty good. Still things I want to refine, of course, but I am pleased with my progress thus far. Would you like to see? Of course, you would.
Yesterday.
And today.
That's all the coffee-news that's fit to blog. Have a great day.
.
Coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with. -Drew Sirtors
A Few Small Things
1. I am doing this and doing this well. Yesterday work went so happily that Aaron high-fived me at the end of it -- and while he's not what I'd call stingy with the praise, he does favor perfection. Which is good, I think, it encourages me (and the rest of his employees) to keep improving. But I was still extremely pleased with the way that everything went. We had a few of our Philly "coffee cognoscenti" come in and I made them three cappuccinos -- all of which were beautiful pours in their own right, as well as technically correct. Glee! Glee in a cup!
2. This is a very cute way to learn a few facts on coffee. I kind of want to print it out and distribute it at the shop; we'll see about that. Thanks to Peregrine for posting it on Twitter and introducing it to me.
3. I did some online shopping for coffee-related items that I might request on Christmas lists. I already have some nuts and bolts home-brewing items in mind that I'll be buying from our shop when they arrive, but I had a hell of a time finding anything that was both compelling to a hipster such as myself and still "coffee-correct." Where does all the cool merch come from? There has to be some, right? I'm talking t-shirts with portafilters, tampers, etc. Coffee-related art. When I was in Salt Lake, one of the shops there had a great image (that I assume they created) with Alice in Wonderland holding a portafilter -- where are the tees featuring things like that? The hybrid of literary and coffee cultures? Does this exist, or will I be forced to screenprint my own? (I kind of hope the latter.) But even if I do make my own, tips on where to look for pre-existing items would be appreciated.
4. I made a huge list of books from Amazon searches last night. There are quite a few movies, novels, and non-fiction works that would be appropriate for the book club festivities. Not sure how we'd show a movie... but maybe I'll wait on that one. It could be arranged at someone's home, perhaps? I guess it depends who shows up and whether I want them at my home!
5. Work tonight. I am hoping that Aaron lets me pour all night. I'll try to take some pictures, since yesterday I just poured, celebrated, and served. No time for photography, but I'd like to continue to mark my progress.
6. I live next door to a small, local coffee roaster who roasts beans for his shop. I love listening to the whirsssh of beans being thrown in, though I have to admit that my mental image is of a crazy Rube Goldberg-like contraption; I've not yet viewed a roaster with my own two eyes. But I kind of like what I have pictured (think that old Milton Bradley "Mousetrap" game), so I choose to ignore visions of reality that appear on various online sites.
THAT IS ALL, THANK YOU.
.
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness. -Sheik Abd-al-Kadir
2. This is a very cute way to learn a few facts on coffee. I kind of want to print it out and distribute it at the shop; we'll see about that. Thanks to Peregrine for posting it on Twitter and introducing it to me.
3. I did some online shopping for coffee-related items that I might request on Christmas lists. I already have some nuts and bolts home-brewing items in mind that I'll be buying from our shop when they arrive, but I had a hell of a time finding anything that was both compelling to a hipster such as myself and still "coffee-correct." Where does all the cool merch come from? There has to be some, right? I'm talking t-shirts with portafilters, tampers, etc. Coffee-related art. When I was in Salt Lake, one of the shops there had a great image (that I assume they created) with Alice in Wonderland holding a portafilter -- where are the tees featuring things like that? The hybrid of literary and coffee cultures? Does this exist, or will I be forced to screenprint my own? (I kind of hope the latter.) But even if I do make my own, tips on where to look for pre-existing items would be appreciated.
4. I made a huge list of books from Amazon searches last night. There are quite a few movies, novels, and non-fiction works that would be appropriate for the book club festivities. Not sure how we'd show a movie... but maybe I'll wait on that one. It could be arranged at someone's home, perhaps? I guess it depends who shows up and whether I want them at my home!
5. Work tonight. I am hoping that Aaron lets me pour all night. I'll try to take some pictures, since yesterday I just poured, celebrated, and served. No time for photography, but I'd like to continue to mark my progress.
6. I live next door to a small, local coffee roaster who roasts beans for his shop. I love listening to the whirsssh of beans being thrown in, though I have to admit that my mental image is of a crazy Rube Goldberg-like contraption; I've not yet viewed a roaster with my own two eyes. But I kind of like what I have pictured (think that old Milton Bradley "Mousetrap" game), so I choose to ignore visions of reality that appear on various online sites.
THAT IS ALL, THANK YOU.
.
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness. -Sheik Abd-al-Kadir
Half-Shut Eyes
So here's what I've come to, folks:
Coffee, which makes the politician wise, And see through all things with his half-shut eyes. - Alexander Pope
Basically, I'm there. My foam is micro, my milk is hot enough, my pours are coming along perfectly. I can do this. And I am only going to get better. My consistency isn't 100%, but I will get there. Confidence is a beautiful thing. (Hopefully my boss is half as confident in me as I am.)
.
Every Sweet With Sour Is Tempered Still
Triumphs:
-- pouring a pretty decent mocha into a to-go cup (no pictures, we were busy);
-- working the espresso essentially alone and making drinks for customers;
-- getting good reviews on taste of said drinks.
Failures:
-- pulling multiple shots for one drink because of general crap;
-- no really great pours today whatsoever;
-- some stupid, but fixable, mistakes.
One more triumph: I was able to fix my mistakes when I made them.
And to his great credit, Aaron just let me plug along and get it done, while offering small bits of advice that helped me to do so. I know it must be frustrating for him to watch me struggle and finish with a product that wouldn't be as beautiful nor as fast as if he'd done it himself, but I'm making strides, and hopefully we'll be more comparable in speed and beauty with time. It's frustrating, but I am not the sort to get frazzled. I laugh at myself, clear whatever I did incorrectly, and do it again with greater attention to what was previously flubbed. So, all in all, not a fantastic day, but a learning day.
I also handed out a few resumes after work, which is strangely good for this job. Once I have more on my plate, I honestly think I'll be better at the shop. I've always been the kind of kid who functioned best when she had less time to waste. This way, the financials will be more solid, and I'll have to manage my time better -- both good things.
.
Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis -- a good hot cup of coffee. -Alexander King
-- pouring a pretty decent mocha into a to-go cup (no pictures, we were busy);
-- working the espresso essentially alone and making drinks for customers;
-- getting good reviews on taste of said drinks.
Failures:
-- pulling multiple shots for one drink because of general crap;
-- no really great pours today whatsoever;
-- some stupid, but fixable, mistakes.
One more triumph: I was able to fix my mistakes when I made them.
And to his great credit, Aaron just let me plug along and get it done, while offering small bits of advice that helped me to do so. I know it must be frustrating for him to watch me struggle and finish with a product that wouldn't be as beautiful nor as fast as if he'd done it himself, but I'm making strides, and hopefully we'll be more comparable in speed and beauty with time. It's frustrating, but I am not the sort to get frazzled. I laugh at myself, clear whatever I did incorrectly, and do it again with greater attention to what was previously flubbed. So, all in all, not a fantastic day, but a learning day.
I also handed out a few resumes after work, which is strangely good for this job. Once I have more on my plate, I honestly think I'll be better at the shop. I've always been the kind of kid who functioned best when she had less time to waste. This way, the financials will be more solid, and I'll have to manage my time better -- both good things.
.
Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis -- a good hot cup of coffee. -Alexander King
Idea: "This American Life" Sundays
I never catch "This American Life" when it's actually on the local NPR station. Never. And when I do, I am never in the car for a full hour. So needless to say, I subscribe to the podcast and usually end up listening to them in bulk when I'm on a solo roadtrip... or never. Sunday nights are slow, especially the last few hours when everyone has work in the morning. But maybe, just maybe, if we had a Sunday night "This American Life" session, a few folks would turn up, buy a coffee, and hang out for an hour while we played the prior week's episode.
Just an idea. Wanted to record it before I forgot.
Just an idea. Wanted to record it before I forgot.
Pardon The Interruption
My trip was useful and enjoyable, though difficult. Since my return, however, it seems something has "clicked" regarding both the steaming of milk as well as the artful pouring of said substance. I understand it, even if I cannot immediately complete it as well as I'd like. The mosaic below demonstrates three days of progress, and I think it's pretty markedly better as we go:
This evening I took some time in between baking bread and making chili to create a potential flier for the coffee book club. I'm hoping for the first meeting to be in late November, so I really need to get the word out soon in order for people to have time to read the book. I'm toying with the name "Thirst for Knowledge," because all of the books will be coffee-related in some way, and of course, coffee is a beverage which quenches thirst. (Obvious to you, dear reader.) Perhaps not hip enough, perhaps too cliche, but I'm not having much luck coming up with something clever. The only other idea I had was "Happiness Is: A Coffee Book Club," the inspiration for that being that happiness is a great cup of coffee and equally good book. But that seems obtuse. I'll likely run it by my co-workers and see if they have any clever ideas.
Another co-worker has begun a knitting club that meets tomorrow; I'm loving how involved and community-oriented our shop is becoming, encouraging the hobbies and personal relationships between employee and client. Besides, it's FUN. We are a neighborhood shop, after all, it wouldn't be right if we weren't a part of the neighborhood.
Back to my bloody mary and "Hedwig" soundtrack. More to come soon, I imagine.
.
Nancy Astor: If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.
Sir Winston Churchill: And if I were your husband, I would drink it.
This evening I took some time in between baking bread and making chili to create a potential flier for the coffee book club. I'm hoping for the first meeting to be in late November, so I really need to get the word out soon in order for people to have time to read the book. I'm toying with the name "Thirst for Knowledge," because all of the books will be coffee-related in some way, and of course, coffee is a beverage which quenches thirst. (Obvious to you, dear reader.) Perhaps not hip enough, perhaps too cliche, but I'm not having much luck coming up with something clever. The only other idea I had was "Happiness Is: A Coffee Book Club," the inspiration for that being that happiness is a great cup of coffee and equally good book. But that seems obtuse. I'll likely run it by my co-workers and see if they have any clever ideas.
Another co-worker has begun a knitting club that meets tomorrow; I'm loving how involved and community-oriented our shop is becoming, encouraging the hobbies and personal relationships between employee and client. Besides, it's FUN. We are a neighborhood shop, after all, it wouldn't be right if we weren't a part of the neighborhood.
Back to my bloody mary and "Hedwig" soundtrack. More to come soon, I imagine.
.
Nancy Astor: If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.
Sir Winston Churchill: And if I were your husband, I would drink it.
