20.3.04
Saturday morning... just cruisin' along. Actually, it was somewhat of a nightmare start to the shift. The grind was really (really) off when I got in this morning and it took forever to get it dialed in. This resulted in the rest of setup and opening running behind. And I was training AT, which added complexity. Of course, it was one of those morning where everyone comes in early. Even so, after all the chaos everything settled down and I just got in one of those grooves. Building drinks, talking smack with customers, selling this and drinking that...
We tasted a bunch of nice coffees including an incredibly nice Kenyaa AA Auction Lot blend. Had all the hide and leather notes of a Thunguri with the fruit and wine of a Kihenia and the floral hints of a Kanake... but balanced! Subtle, light body, Full City Roast. A treat indeed.
Mood - sunny, playful
Music - Hi-Fidelity Lounge
Coffees - Hawaiian, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
Special - caramalized orange honey espresso cortado
We tasted a bunch of nice coffees including an incredibly nice Kenyaa AA Auction Lot blend. Had all the hide and leather notes of a Thunguri with the fruit and wine of a Kihenia and the floral hints of a Kanake... but balanced! Subtle, light body, Full City Roast. A treat indeed.
Mood - sunny, playful
Music - Hi-Fidelity Lounge
Coffees - Hawaiian, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
Special - caramalized orange honey espresso cortado
19.3.04
an homage from a customer
"This place that sells fiction
is home to my addiction
the cup is not an affliction
it inspires clean diction."
Larry Wylie, 2004
is home to my addiction
the cup is not an affliction
it inspires clean diction."
Larry Wylie, 2004
17.3.04
another nice day
okay... it's still really warm.
spring has either come early or mother nature is trying to pull a fast one on us.
regardless, it was a super nice day (especially if you were just hangin' around).
me... i was making espresso. and i had one of those days where everything just seemed to work.
we tasted a whole bunch of good coffee today.
in the next couple days we'll be tasting:
- Ethiopian Dry Processed Harrar Single Lot
- Ethiopian Dry Processed Ghimbi Single Lot
- Kenya AA Auction Lot Blend
- Kenya AA Auction Lot Thunguri
- two new espresso blends
- three new press pot blends
scary!!
mood - mellow, cruisin'
music - minimalist german dub
coffees - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, House Blend
special - triple espresso ristretto
spring has either come early or mother nature is trying to pull a fast one on us.
regardless, it was a super nice day (especially if you were just hangin' around).
me... i was making espresso. and i had one of those days where everything just seemed to work.
we tasted a whole bunch of good coffee today.
in the next couple days we'll be tasting:
- Ethiopian Dry Processed Harrar Single Lot
- Ethiopian Dry Processed Ghimbi Single Lot
- Kenya AA Auction Lot Blend
- Kenya AA Auction Lot Thunguri
- two new espresso blends
- three new press pot blends
scary!!
mood - mellow, cruisin'
music - minimalist german dub
coffees - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, House Blend
special - triple espresso ristretto
16.3.04
background information
i've been asked a few times about Spellbinder. so here is the backstory (so to speak).
Spellbinder is a little coffee bar back behind Spellbinder Books (a super cool indie bookstore). it's nothing fancy (in fact, it could be described as "un-fancy" in almost all ways). it's a tiny little space, with three tables, a big sofa and a bar with four stools (that's right, it probably seats a max of less than 20 people).
we're very small, in all ways. we never have more than one person working at a time, we don't offer sandwiches or ice-cream floats or bubble-tea.
we're known around here as a "locals" place. this is probably due, for the most part, to the combination of our location (hidden back behind the bookstore), our lack of advertising, signage and marketing and very low-key atmosphere. there are a couple other coffee bars in town - and they're bigger, busier and where all the tourists go.
on the other hand... we're also known as the place to go if you care about coffee. we don't spend our money on hip furniture, or cyber-cafes, or advertising. instead we spend it on getting the best quality coffee (Intelligensia) and the best equipment (La Marzocco, Mazzer, etc.) and training our staff to produce great drinks.
Bishop is a super-cool little tiny remote town in the high-desert of the Eastern Sierra. we're about half way between Death Valley and Yosemite. the town is the "big city" in the region - total population is about 3,500. it's a tiny little mountain, ranch type town in a truly gorgeous setting. it's the kind of place that people who love the outdoors flock to. we've got world-class rock climbing, skiing, mountaineering, fishing, hiking, hunting, etc all within an hour.
it's a weird place to find good espresso is what i keep hearing.
that makes me smile.
Spellbinder is a little coffee bar back behind Spellbinder Books (a super cool indie bookstore). it's nothing fancy (in fact, it could be described as "un-fancy" in almost all ways). it's a tiny little space, with three tables, a big sofa and a bar with four stools (that's right, it probably seats a max of less than 20 people).
we're very small, in all ways. we never have more than one person working at a time, we don't offer sandwiches or ice-cream floats or bubble-tea.
we're known around here as a "locals" place. this is probably due, for the most part, to the combination of our location (hidden back behind the bookstore), our lack of advertising, signage and marketing and very low-key atmosphere. there are a couple other coffee bars in town - and they're bigger, busier and where all the tourists go.
on the other hand... we're also known as the place to go if you care about coffee. we don't spend our money on hip furniture, or cyber-cafes, or advertising. instead we spend it on getting the best quality coffee (Intelligensia) and the best equipment (La Marzocco, Mazzer, etc.) and training our staff to produce great drinks.
Bishop is a super-cool little tiny remote town in the high-desert of the Eastern Sierra. we're about half way between Death Valley and Yosemite. the town is the "big city" in the region - total population is about 3,500. it's a tiny little mountain, ranch type town in a truly gorgeous setting. it's the kind of place that people who love the outdoors flock to. we've got world-class rock climbing, skiing, mountaineering, fishing, hiking, hunting, etc all within an hour.
it's a weird place to find good espresso is what i keep hearing.
that makes me smile.
15.3.04
happy happy joy joy
today was my first shift of working on the new machine.
while there were some "issues" (the previous owners clearly didn't have the same cleaning/maintenence schedule that we have), the machine is a serious upgrade!
the quality of espresso being poured today... the quality of milk... the latte art...
oh my!!
and i had a triple espresso ristretto pulled with the Black Cat that was incredible!
mood - joyous
music - all dub, all the time
coffees - House Indo Blend, Colombian Reserva del Patron
special - triple espresso cortado
