Archive for September, 2008
Starbucks Shops Bring Comfort To Ike Survivors
As some of you who regularly read my blog will have noticed I will sometimes rag on Starbucks and their coffee. Sometimes the ragging is tongue in cheek, such is the title of my blog which is somehow related to Starbucks... and sometimes the ragging is more straightforward, like when I complain about their bad milky lattes... Yet, I think Starbucks tries to do good things... sometimes. CNN has a great article on how coffee shops, and more specifically Starbucks stores are bringing some measure of relief and comfort to these affected by the recent hurricane Ike. We here in Seattle certainly appreciate our favorite coffeehouses as a place to enjoy good coffee and good company and sometimes even a place for comfort and healing. And yes, someone may point out that Starbucks is only open because it is good business... and though I can't really argue with that point, Starbucks has in the past been open in helpful in times of disaster and catastrophe. Oh and if you're wondering how the title is related, rather [...]
Caffe Migliore, One of Seattle's Best
Migliore Italian Style Coffee, originally uploaded by andai. I stopped by one of my favorite coffeehouses this morning for my usual morning latte. I enjoy dropping into Caffe Migliore, usually in the mornings, for a Caffe Umbria Italian roast coffee. And you know what? In my humble opinion, I think Migliore, is one of the top five coffeehouses in the Seattle area, maybe in the Pacific Northwest. And even though that is my personal opinion, I see there are a number of folks who at the very least think that Migliore does indeed serve great espresso. One thing I really like about the place is the people there are great and the presentation and the service is excellent but not hoity-toity. I do like the fact that when they serve you your latte, even if you are are having it to go, they will still present it to you with a small saucer and a spoon. Now for those of you who put sugar into their coffee like me understand how awesome it is when you can use a proper metal spoon to measure out your sugar and stir [...]
My Awesome Eureka Coffee Day
Katy's, originally uploaded by andai. After yesterday's enchanting coffee experience I promised myself that I would have to go back to Katy's Corner Cafe this morning for another good latte. This morning there was a different barista but that was ok by me cause this was a good opportunity to see if having a different barista would make a difference. Although I didn't have the same earth shattering, enlightening experience, I still thought that the latte was actually pretty good. And unlike yesterday, when I gulped down my latte even before I hit I-5, today I paced myself, taking time to fully enjoy my sips all the way to my client's office. Since I had a client meeting at 1:00 and it was already 12:30, I decided rather than do get takeaway, I'd go to Wild Wheat, get a latte to sustain me, then at 2:00 I'd go back to Wild Wheat for lunch. The latte tasted different from the last time I was there, and that I fully expected since Mark Handman, the owner of the bakery and also the master roaster had been [...]
Katy's Coffee Brought Sunshine to My Day
Katy's Mug, originally uploaded by andai. This morning, I decided to drop by Katy's Corner Cafe to get a latte for my commute to work. One of the reasons I decided to drop by Katy's is because I was a little tired of going to some of the usual near home i.e. Fuel Coffee, Essential Bakery, Stumptown, Arosa, Victrola etc. I wanted to try some place I hadn't tried before, or a least not tried in quite a while. The other reason, actually the main reason I decided to check out Katy's was to get one of their coffee cups. The really amazing thing about their paper coffee cups is that Katy, the owner of the place, personally signs her logo on each and every paper cup, using three different markers on each cup. Personally, I think this personal touch make's her cups one of the coolest around. The logo is simply her name, Katy*s with the asterisks instead of the apostrophe and a love heart on each side. The name is in black, the asterisk is in yellow and the hearts are in red. I think this is really simple but [...]
Jitters Coffee or How Not to Make a Whole Milk Latte
Jitters Coffee, originally uploaded by andai. Ok, I think we need to get this 2% + (1/2 & 1/2) = whole milk issue resolved once and for all... and to do that, first I have to tell you a little story. This is the true story of my visit to Jitters Coffee this morning and meeting the unblinking barista. But before I begin, a little background first. Many, many months ago, I used to go to Jitters Coffee, in Bellevue, every so often for my morning double tall latte. This was when I was working on the East side of the pond and I didn't have time to stop somewhere on Capital Hill for a coffee on my way to work. They have a drive-thru which is great when you are in a hurry and also because it was just easier having to park and all that. As an aside, here's a tip for those in a a hurry, in general drive-thru customers tend to get served faster than in-store customers, no matter what type of store you go to. Anyway back to the story. At the time I was frequenting the place, I was on an extremely stressful and [...]
Meet Wild Wheat's Master Coffee Roaster
Mark's Coffee, originally uploaded by andai. These past few weeks I have been working out at a client site down in Kent Washington. Working in Kent has afforded me the opportunity to checkout out some of the local cafes, restaurants and coffeehouses that I normally would not even know existed. And being that I am a Seattlelite who tends to be a little biased toward Seattle coffeehouses, I tend to skeptical whenever I buy lattes at places outside Seattle. Some of the coffee shops and stands in these smaller Washington state towns can have pretty bad coffee. And yet on more than one occasion I will be pleasantly surprised to find some of the small out nondescript places that actually has pretty decent coffee. Wild Wheat Bakery Cafe & Restaurant turns out to be one of those pleasant surprises. Mark, the owner of Wild Wheat, not only loves coffee, but actually goes the extra step, roasting small batches of coffee in his small 'roasting plant' that's a couple of doors down from the restaurant. As I was [...]
Madison Market Organic Espresso
Madison Market Espresso & Juice Bar, originally uploaded by andai. Madison Market is a great little Natural Food Co-op up on Seattle's Capital Hill. One of the things I like about this market is that all their food and produce, their meats and dairy etc is organic. And this is one of three main reasons I like to get a latte from here. They use organic milk, organic coffee beans and they even have really great organic sugar that seems sweeter and great cane flavor. They actually do make nice lattes that are decently strong and have great flavor. I always use whole milk in my lattes and there's nothing tastier than real organic whole milk. None of that 2%, skim milk or fat free crap for me please! In talking to the barista, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Madison Market actually source their beans from Tony's Coffee. The reason I was pleased about this was because I have had some not so great lattes made with Tony's Coffee. This has happened to me in two different coffee shops and I was [...]