I have more photos from the Tucson trip (it’s only been a month!) and wanted to post them with some short commentary. I don’t have time right now to write a lengthy review of each place we tried, however I’ll give you the important notes.
The espresso machine at The Coffee Vein.
Mike F. Trevino prepares an espresso while Martha Raymond talks about coffee at The Coffee Vein..
Trevino at The Coffee Vein..
Latte Art — by Trevino at The Coffee Vein..
The coffee vein itself.
Now we’re at 6th Street Cafe and this is a view of the espresso machine.
Menu board at 6th Street Cafe.
Now we’re at Espresso Art. This was a view of the espresso I ordered. I honestly found this place fine as far as coffee goes (Illy) but hated the way they treated me. I was not happy. Will not go back. They mocked me.
Inside Espresso Art.
Another view inside Espresso Art.
Cup of coffee inside Raging Sage Coffee Roasters (What are those bubbles? They were really weird).
Raging Sage Coffee Roasters puts the coffee in a refrigerator for some reason, and immediately after roasting (they were roasting while we were there).
That wraps up our trip to Tucson!
Further reading about Tucson:
Update: The billiards table at The Coffee Vein.
Jason Duncan at A Thought Over Coffee has asked me to host this weeks Coffee and Tea Festival. For the uninitiated, the Coffee and Tea Festival is a weekly or biweekly roundup of coffee and tea related posts from around the web. Here’s a link to the last one, posted on Sept. 18.
Anyways, I will be posting the links this Monday. If you have any nominations, please submit them here.
I’m looking for an coffee guru that is interested in helping out in northern Arizona on a special project. Please get in touch for details.
Bill Gray from Tucson emailed me today to let me know about his new web site at www.coffeetrainer.com, and I wanted to share it with you.
Bill Gray manages 6th Street Cafe and was in our featured 3rd podcast.
I predict that within a month, a dozen sites like this pop up all over the country with the same idea in mind. It’s great to see people taking the campaign to heart.
Which flavored syrups are the best? Torani, Monin or another brand? Which one should I buy? I know of two companies that produce flavored syrups, and I see local shops with each. I often wonder which is best, and if there are any inherent differences?
Where’s the best place to buy syrup in town? I know I can buy it at Cost Plus, but who else stocks it?
I am curious about what the people in Arizona think of flavored coffees? I’m not talking about syrup. I’m talking about coffee that is roasted with flavors like mint, amaretto, almond, hazelnut and a million others (this page lists over 110 flavors).
If you’re into it, do you scout out places that serve flavored coffee?
Is this the coffee you buy for the office?
What’s your favorite flavor?
Read this article which favors flavored coffee.
Oh, here’s another fun one: How to Stereotype Roasters has a few thoughts on coffee flavors.
The Arizona Daily Star gives the new Starbucks “Coffee Conversations” Podcast a review and uses the following coffee terminology: “It’s got zero acidity, anemic body, an uninviting aroma, minimal complexity and its overall flavor is lacking.
You can’t dance to it, either. The soundtrack is some kind of nominally perky, telephone-hold-music jazz that only makes it feel more processed.”
Corporate and boring. Blah.
What are some of your favorite coffee houses outside of Arizona?
Fall has officially arrived in Arizona, and all across town I’m noticing coffee shops expanding outdoors.
One of the best examples of this was on my trip to Copper Star Coffee on Thursday morning. The temperature hadn’t risen much past 70 degrees by 9 am, and there were seats indoors and outdoors.
Since Copper Star Coffee is inside an old oil and lube garage, they have a big garage door with high ceilings. In the mornings they are opening the garage doors, and the fresh air blows into the shop. It’s REALLY nice.
What are some of your favorite coffee shops that have good outdoor seating?
I noticed a new Coffee Bean on my way to work this morning. Right next to where the old Market Street Coffee was, on the north west corner of Shea Blvd & Tatum Blvd. That will give Starbucks some good competition.
I had a gander through the new Imbibe Magazine the other day and really like what I see. I don’t know how much of the magazine is going to be about coffee, however the inagural issue has a giant feature about coffee by Mark Prince.
From the Arizona Republic:
Weather & Coffee is celebrating its first anniversary Sept. 29 with a Stargazing and Chuckwagon Dinner. Tony LaConte from Stargazing for Everyone will have high-power telescopes to view the evening sky. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. $10 for adults, $2 for kids ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Weather & Coffee is at 3607 E. Bell Road. For information, call (602) 485-5282.
www.weatherandcoffee.com
I stumbled upon this cool painting this morning, and thought I’d share it. It’s a Norman Rockwell as best I can tell. I discovered it on this interesting page, which has a brief rundown of coffee history in America.
Awhile back I announced the creation of an Arizona Coffee Email Newsletter, and since then with little promotion about 50 people have subscribed. I’d like to send out an email sometime soon. I figured it would be fun to do some sort of a promotion.
You know, to start things off with a bang.
Shop owners or coffee roasters (or anyone in the coffee biz): Send me a promotion by email that you’d like me to include and I’ll send it out next week (no charge). Could be anything, a free coffee, 50% off, a free donut, buy one get one free, free shipping, a free kiss. It doesn’t matter. Just make it exciting and include all of the relevant details.
Send it to me at cmt at tornadodesign.com or use the contact form on this site. Thanks! Oh, and if you haven’t subscribed yet, you can fill out the form on the bottom of this page to get on board!
Coffee Shops: It is that time of the year again! Less than 3 months until Christmas. The Holiday season is almost here. It’s time to begin thinking about your in store decorations and Holiday Drink Lineup.
