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.

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No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness. -Sheik Abd-al-Kadir