Soon to come.

There is a speech coming soon.  Soon enough for our retail meeting next week that is very much inspired by Charlie Trotter and his service.  That’s all I can say for now.  

The Goats

Elvin’s mystery cappuccino was amazing!  The DG got better and better, from being very mono-dimensional to having much deeper rich body with lots of chocolate and signature sweetness.  And I had some Guatemala spro too, it was pretty good, a little bright.  

Charlie Trotter’s

By Heather’s suggestion and my further excitement for reading just a few pages of Lessons in Service by Edmund Lawler I made a reservation for March 25 at 6pm.  

DG from the Coffee House today.

Weird.  I wasn’t super sure what I thought about it today.  For me it was, well my experiences with it, not a magical day.  I tasted egg and way too sweet molasses and winey chocolate.  Elvin, all I remember for his experience was generally good, chocolate,…uh can’t remember the rest.   Someone else though said little to no body but good taste.  I don’t agree, I think heavy heavy body and way way sweet….  I did pour some sweet little hearts.  My non-fat milk looked pretty good. 

Unrelated I am super torn up about my cat but feel so lucky to have the friends that I do.  Two of my very trusted friends, two really incredible people are coming with me to let him go.  I thought that I was going to do it on my own at first and my counselor suggested that it might be a good time to open up and let someone come with.  Good idea I think. 

And book update, Michael Fernandez and I are meeting on Wednesday to talk about logistics.  I don’t know how much I am going to share about the book but he and I are making a book mostly of the Pacific Northwest cafes.  Written sort of like a travel guide with a huge focus on where we, as baristas, like to go, where we eat, stay and more…  We are in the very beginning stages of it.  We’ll see, I think that it will be a summer/fall project. 

The ARTFUL EATER: Edward Behr

Great book and here is a thought from the essay on carrots:

Linda Bartoshuck suggests that “The gourmet’s preferences are strongly influenced by other epicurean opinions, but she says, there acquired sensitivities, the skills used in making distinctions, are real, along with the pleasure taken.” She goes on to compare this to an appreciation for music, “subtlety for its own sake”.

What do you think?  This book is amazing! 

What do you think of this blog so far anyways?  Granted I just started but I am definitely interested in feed back. 

Linus, my Ewok

http://www.starwars.com/databank/species/ewok/  There was a cute picture of an Ewok here.  Anyways, Linus for those of you who have not yet met or heard him is my 16 year old Himalayan cat that I have had for all 16 years.  I have had him since I was 8 and lived in three different states with him.  He and I used to talk walks together when I lived in Corvallis, OR when we lived out on a huge Christmas tree farm.  His general health has degraded so much in the past couple of years.  He has, with in the last year, been diagnosed with Kidney Disease.  It’s a chronic disease, it won’t go away and there are so many lovely things that come along with it: super expensive prescription diet food that is low in protein (a small can is over $2 and a 4lb bag is over $15), he has lost a lot of weight and doesn’t stay as well hydrated as he should be. 

So I am a student that is definitely getting better at budgeting my money but by no means can I continue to afford doctor visits and super expensive lab work.  He has had seizures and brain damage and as many of you know, walks bi-laterally and can’t hear very well.  He knows me very well and is not comforted until he is in my arms on my left shoulder, nuzzling my chin.  Because I am not home enough, with school and work alone, not even considering house sitting and I think that really sucks.  My roommates are absolutely amazing and hang out with him but it’s not that same to him.  He is happy to sit on your lap but he and I just know one another really well.  Anyways,  I can’t be home enough for him, things are expensive and he is ruining, of all things, my bedding.  I am constantly cleaning up after him and it has finally come to a head to me that I think that I need to let him go.  As a responsible pet owner I think that we are often faced, as friends too, with really difficult questions about our furry friends when it comes to the “right” decision concerning life or death.  

I was talking with my mom today and I came to the realization that I have really become accustomed to his many “special” attributes.  He is loud, he is less than five pounds, he is often having accidents, he gets sick more often than he used to, he continues to have little circle-y seizures and I love him just the same.  It’s really hard thinking about now it is up to me to, I am pretty sure, let him go.  Ultimately I am absolutely OK with that.  Really I am.  I have lost so many animals while growing up with them and living on a farm that it happens, it just does. 

I have two friends of mine this last year that I was house sitting for that lost their animals while I was there.  And as unfortunate and sad as it was, and still is from time to time, I can’t tell you have honored and lucky I feel to have been there and see them go.  Time is time and when you have to go you have to go.  And it’s just weird that I am on the other side now with my own little love, and making that decision.  I don’t care for it one bit but I think that it will eventually be better for the both of us.  I’ll miss delinting everything and dealing with his snotty dizzy self.  So yeah, long post but I think that I am going to have him cremated before I leave for my trip.  He just does so poorly when I am not at home and I am going to be gone for some time.  My roommates, mom and friends are supportive that I have talked to so far.  I just have to talk it over with my vet…bleh.

So, I have thought it over more over today and I think that next Friday will be the day.  He and I’ll have one more week together….  It just makes me feel sick. 

USBC

I recently had a conversation with Nick Cho about my mini-tour, food, training and the USBC.  It really was a great conversation and I really appreciated his openness and interest in what I was doing.  He asked me if I was considering competing in this years competition in Minneapolis and I said no.  What with being a way too busy person I don’t feel confident that I would have the time necessary to adequately prepare to be in front of people like that again.  It’s so weird there are a lot of things that I thought that I did so much better at this year than I did the year before but, you know coming in last place, something went a rye.  And as Elvin and I discussed later that day sometimes those magical days that we have on the bar with the coffee, ourselves and the people around us, don’t happen on stage and out of the other 364 days, whatever right?  Well no, not really.  I obviously have a lot of things to work on and even since November this last year in Seattle I have made a lot of improvements.  Anyways back to Nick, two things:  he invited me out to come and train with him like Alex McCraken, (sp?) from Illinois?, did.  And secondly the USBC thing.  After talking with another coffee friend of mine, which variety I am not yet sure of, hmmm, people like coffee and varieties?  Side tangent for another idea later!  Anyways, after talking with my friend I was re-inspired thinking about going out the Midwest again to hopefully hang out with the people I just spend time with and study the shit out of competitors and make more friends.  Batdorf won’t have a booth there this year but a lot of really cool people are going and I think that it would be good again to learn more about Batdorf in that capacity, hang out with these people and satiate this little travel well that is continuing to grow.  Which by the way I am still, I think, as equally terrified as I am excited about this little tour!  Anyways the tickets are now $301, not bad for round trip, non-stop, on a weekend no doubt.  And how fun would it be to take a trip right before my birthday?  I think a lot of fun.  Also on a side note I have been having trouble formatting these posts, hense the long stupid paragraphs,  I need to figure out how to create breaks in these posts, I get lost, as I assume you do to, when I read them. 

Not exactly lagging behind, but sort of.

So, school is a little busy as is life thus the general slow down of my written communication.  There are only 4 weeks left of school for the winter quarter and it feels like the fastest stop yet with school.  Fall quarter, my first quarter, seemed long enough but with planning for this spring break trip and considering all of the details that I need to firm up for it time has just whipped by.  Wednesday, this last week, Michael Fernandez, Jennie and I went to a Coffee 102 training with Van at the roastery.  Since I have been going to school and working a few days a week at the coffeehouse it’s been difficult making time for cuppings and staying in touch with the roastery, and I miss it terribly.  I recently had a conversation with Bob and Scott though about cuppings and they cup pretty consistently every morning so I am thinking about making time in the morning.  As soon as I get my homework under control it will be easier to make time in the morning before school and sit and talk and cup.  I hope to inspire others too, to come down and cup and get more involved.  Anyways I am getting distracted at the Goats working behind the bar with Michael, making magic yet again and working on cappuccinos.  

Birthday Update!

Because I am so often influenced by coffee and coffee related things I have decided to stay at The Ace Hotel (http://www.acehotel.com/portland/) for my birthday May 10!  I plan on ordering room service coffee and also enjoying rad espresso downstairs at the rad looking bar that I have been dying to go and visit.  I really love spending time in Portland and certainly don’t get to go enough.  I think that I might arrive early that Saturday by train and bring my bike and bike around in town while I wait to check into my room.  I got the Superior Deluxe room that is way way too big for me but I am hoping that some people will want to budget and come and spend a night in the city with me.  The room sounds really cool and has a turn table, claw food bathtub and a front side view of the city.  This weekend, well the one in may will be a week after getting back from the USBC, lots of traveling!!!