Hmmm. let's see... I could have bought a new spring wardrobe at Target...
or helped toward researching a new motorcycle for mancub...
or taken our 14 year old on this adventure...
hmmm... guess which impractical option won...
2/28/2007
WHY I AM SOOOO BEHIND ON EVERYTHING
Hmmm. let's see... I could have bought a new spring wardrobe at Target...
or helped toward researching a new motorcycle for mancub...
or taken our 14 year old on this adventure...
hmmm... guess which impractical option won...
2/23/2007
OK, I love, loVE, LOVE THIS IDEA!!!
Wanna, wanna, wanna do this so bad!
POLLING ALL READERS:
What's yer thots on how cool/uncool it is???
2/16/2007
SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
ANNOUNCING:
3 –DAY SCAA SKILL BUILDING WORKSHOP EVENT
MARCH 22 – 24, 2007
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
SCAA 19th Annual Conference & Exhibition
Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center
Conference: May 4 - 7, 2007
Exhibition: May 5 - 7, 2007
The mission of the SCAA is to be the recognized authority on specialty coffee, providing a common forum for the development and promotion of coffee excellence and sustainability through our:
Commitment to quality
Spirit of cooperation
Dedication to continuing education
Sensitivity to the environment
Consciousness of social issues
Encouragement of sound business practices and ethics
Promotion of the value of specialty coffee to consumers
3 –DAY SCAA SKILL BUILDING WORKSHOP EVENT
MARCH 22 – 24, 2007
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
SCAA 19th Annual Conference & Exhibition
Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center
Conference: May 4 - 7, 2007
Exhibition: May 5 - 7, 2007
The mission of the SCAA is to be the recognized authority on specialty coffee, providing a common forum for the development and promotion of coffee excellence and sustainability through our:
Commitment to quality
Spirit of cooperation
Dedication to continuing education
Sensitivity to the environment
Consciousness of social issues
Encouragement of sound business practices and ethics
Promotion of the value of specialty coffee to consumers
2/15/2007
COFFEE ROASTERS - a home buying guide
These are my opinions, heretowith (I'm stealing Coffee Review's pithy comments)
US GENERAL:
Intelligentsia Coffee
Named Roast Magazine's Roaster of the Year in '06 - they believe that compassionate treatment of people and the environment inevitably yields a higher quality. Based in Chicago. http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: Lovers of discreet drama.
Whole Foods
Roasting Allegro coffee in on-site roasting machines. Beans are roasted daily and sold from the bins within seven days.
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: This blend manages to be extremely dark-roasted while remaining fat enough to produce a decent espresso shot, making it a good choice for dark-roast extremists with espresso machines and a commitment to organic products.
NORTH HOLLYWOOD:
The Supreme Bean
They have no posted hours, and though they will let customers walk in and buy a pound, they are really a wholesale operation- no glamour here. 5750 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood. Website not live yet. Suggest you let the beans "rest" for 3 days.
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: Those who prefer their comfort with complications. (Those who enjoy some tonal complexity in their straight shots and cappuccinos.)
PASADENA:
Jones Coffee Roasters
Coffee Roaster and storefront for customer service. I have known Chuck for years. He will be teaching a coffee class at Descanso Gardens for home coffee consumers in Spring '07. Suggests that you let the beans "rest" for three days. 537 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena : http://thebestcoffee.com
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: A versatile coffee with enough acidity for traditionalists, enough roasty bitterness for coffee-with-milkers, and an ingratiating sweetness that should please all. Blends of two distinctly different roast styles can create a blurred, self-canceling impression, particularly if the dark-roasted part of the blend is too sharp or overbearing, but here the two roast styles work together elegantly.
http://www.coffeereview.com
"FRESH IS BEST!!!" - Saint Espresso
US GENERAL:
Intelligentsia Coffee
Named Roast Magazine's Roaster of the Year in '06 - they believe that compassionate treatment of people and the environment inevitably yields a higher quality. Based in Chicago. http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: Lovers of discreet drama.
Whole Foods
Roasting Allegro coffee in on-site roasting machines. Beans are roasted daily and sold from the bins within seven days.
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: This blend manages to be extremely dark-roasted while remaining fat enough to produce a decent espresso shot, making it a good choice for dark-roast extremists with espresso machines and a commitment to organic products.
NORTH HOLLYWOOD:
The Supreme Bean
They have no posted hours, and though they will let customers walk in and buy a pound, they are really a wholesale operation- no glamour here. 5750 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood. Website not live yet. Suggest you let the beans "rest" for 3 days.
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: Those who prefer their comfort with complications. (Those who enjoy some tonal complexity in their straight shots and cappuccinos.)
PASADENA:
Jones Coffee Roasters
Coffee Roaster and storefront for customer service. I have known Chuck for years. He will be teaching a coffee class at Descanso Gardens for home coffee consumers in Spring '07. Suggests that you let the beans "rest" for three days. 537 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena : http://thebestcoffee.com
WHAT COFFEE REVIEW SAID:
Who should drink it: A versatile coffee with enough acidity for traditionalists, enough roasty bitterness for coffee-with-milkers, and an ingratiating sweetness that should please all. Blends of two distinctly different roast styles can create a blurred, self-canceling impression, particularly if the dark-roasted part of the blend is too sharp or overbearing, but here the two roast styles work together elegantly.
http://www.coffeereview.com
"FRESH IS BEST!!!" - Saint Espresso
2/14/2007
2/11/2007
INTRODUCING- LITTLE OSCAR
Receiving one steaming email inquiry about what home espresso system we possess:
See more about it here: http://www.nuovasimonelliusa.com
We LOVE LOVE LOVE the Little Oscar. Have had it... um... maybe three or four years. Performs really well with minimum commitments on upkeep and maintenance. No plumbing necessary. Got a package deal that included the grinder for about a grand. Purchased at Emerald City Espresso Machines- and brought it home on the plane!!!
See: http://www.emeraldcityespressomachines.com
I trained mancub as barista, and he is the sole barista in our home- I am now not allowed to touch the machine! Way to turn on your trainer, eh???
We figure that the machine paid for itself withing a year.
More on beans and home roasting later...
See more about it here: http://www.nuovasimonelliusa.com
We LOVE LOVE LOVE the Little Oscar. Have had it... um... maybe three or four years. Performs really well with minimum commitments on upkeep and maintenance. No plumbing necessary. Got a package deal that included the grinder for about a grand. Purchased at Emerald City Espresso Machines- and brought it home on the plane!!!
See: http://www.emeraldcityespressomachines.com
I trained mancub as barista, and he is the sole barista in our home- I am now not allowed to touch the machine! Way to turn on your trainer, eh???
We figure that the machine paid for itself withing a year.
More on beans and home roasting later...
NO LATTE FOR KIM TODAY
Mancub is tired...
Poor 'lil espresso machine sits alone with it's red light on, just in case someone notices...
It's jasmine tea this morning for Saint Espresso...
Poor 'lil espresso machine sits alone with it's red light on, just in case someone notices...
It's jasmine tea this morning for Saint Espresso...
INDEPENDENT COFFEE
Mancub has been slacking in barista-ing. Working too many weird hours. So when we want espresso without the corporate aftertaste, one of the independants that we head to is SWORK.
The one we frequent is:
SWORK Montrose
2140 Verdugo Blvd.Montrose, CA 91020
Sun.-Thr. 6 am - 11 pm / Fri.-Sat. 6 am - 12 am
A second location:
SWORK Eagle Rock
2160 Colorado Blvd.Eagle Rock, CA 90041
same hours as above
Think about using independant retailers whenever you can, friends! Enjoy!!!
2/10/2007
THIS QUALIFIES AS THE 8TH DEADLY SIN
Pope Gregory the Great did not have to encounter this - the most decadent thing ever- Trader Joe's Espresso Soda!!!
I felt a mild revulsion upon first glance... but HOLD ON! I brought one can home and mancub and I sipped it gingerly - and oooooh it was fine! Then, I giddily ran in the kitchen and got out the French Vanilla Ice Cream and made 2 small Espresso Soda Floats... and omg!!!! It was like your first taste of a fine Belgium chocolate or the first smell of a heady rose perfume... oooo.
It will wire you until you spin out and crash. Saint Espresso knows. Be very careful, little neophytes. The stuff is sinful! But it falls in the venial category, so go with God!
HOME
Home is where I want to be, Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - burn with a weak heart, I guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better- Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground. Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong . . nothing
Hi yo I got plenty of time, Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me - I love the passing of time
Never for money, Always for love
Cover up and say goodnight . . . say goodnight
Home - is where I want to be, But I guess I'm already there
I come home - -she lifted up her wings, Guess that this must be the place
I can't tell one from another. Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time before we were born, If someone asks, this where I'll be . . . where I'll be
Hi yo We drift in and out, Hi yo sing into my mouth
Out of all those kinds of people - You got a face with a view
I'm just an animal looking for a home - Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops, Love me till I'm dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots... Hit me on the head Ah ooh
2/09/2007
DRINK IT IN
I am now trying a new way of blogging. I think this one will be more photo-centric, as a way of getting me behind my camera more. Let's see how we do. Wish me luck!!!
WELCOME!
Welcome to Kiss My Beans! This blog is intended to keep me engaged with the little things that give me joy- NOT a place to "process my life" or do anything heavy, very little in the way of "news".
I need a place to keep me active in the things that give me energy- photography, espresso, people, love, spirituality...
Thanks for reading.
I need a place to keep me active in the things that give me energy- photography, espresso, people, love, spirituality...
Thanks for reading.
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