There is a very large bone-like object in the corner of espresso. I mean, it is wooly mammoth big, probably a meter long. I’m guessing, however, that it is not real. Papier-mâché, perhaps. It’s someone’s art project.
Or it is real and I’ve stumbled upon an archeological find. How sciencey of me.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, tea, wooly mammoth
Not a fan of neck and facial tattoos. I’m just saying. … How do you cover up that stuff?
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Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, tattoos, tea
I’m back in more familiar territory today – empresso on Pacific Avenue in Stockton, CA, USA. It was quiet earlier, then bustling, now quiet again, but it may be building to bustling again. The coffee is good and strong, and beautiful women of all ages frequent the establishment. I’m guessing that has something to do with the draw of the businesses on the Miracle Mile, the adult school down the street, and the proximity to the University of the Pacific and San Joaquin Delta College. Whatever the reason, I don’t mind. In rainy weather lately, I’ve been patronizing Exotic Java because it is next door to the Margaret Troke Branch Library on West Benjamin Holt Drive. (I typically walk to empresso in order to avoid a parking ticket and I don’t like walking in the rain that much. There is free parking at this particular library branch.) Nice baristas at Exotic Java and coffee that hits the spot, but it is a bit less active than empresso, probably because it is a block or two from Pacific Avenue. Oh, but it has a drive-through window, which makes it convenient for motorists. I can recommend both establishments.
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Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, drive-through window, empresso, espresso, exotic java, java, joe, Margaret Troke Branch Library, Miracle Mile, Pacific Avenue, pastries, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, tea, University of the Pacific
I nearly forgot. At Exotic Java earlier, I overheard an animated, yet friendly, conversation about whether the coconut is a nut or a fruit. Fortunately, there is WiFi at Exotic Java and the participants were able to learn that a coconut is a fruit. A drupe, to be most accurate.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coconut, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, drupe, espresso, exotic java, java, joe, pastries, tea
Overheard in Exotic Java today that it is located in what used to be a much larger tattoo parlor. The parlor is still there, next door. Also, I noticed that the mural – the one behind the counter with the image of a girl in Daisy Dukes and hot pink hair on a swing hanging from a tree – also has an image of a wizard. The word “tattoos” is woven several times in his long, white beard.
Also, the “Red Eye” is a nice pick-me-up.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, Daisy Dukes, espresso, java, joe, pastries, pick-me-up, tattoo, tattoo parlor, tea, wizard
Two days without coffee. How do people do this? How do they go without coffee? Or tea? Or caffeine of any kind? It’s just not human.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, tea
It’s raining outside the coffeehouse and I’m on foot. It looks like a walk in the rain … whether I want to walk in the rain or not. 😦 It is good that I am fortified with caffeine.
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Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, rain, tea, walk in the rain
I’m not sure what is worse, the woman who was sitting nearby earlier and clearing her throat every 15 to 30 seconds (Take a drink of water or something, for crying out loud!), the guy who has the every-other-word phone plan who replaced her (Dude, really? How many times to you have to say “Hello? … Hello?” to figure out your phone dropped the call?), or the loud, obnoxious woman who is starting to move tables around the coffeehouse. And she doesn’t even work here (She is just plain too loud and her being here may cause me to leave for the day).
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer, Food and Drink
Tagged barista, brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, tea
There is a rather thin woman – I’m guessing she’s a college student – sitting at a nearby table. She very probably does not weigh 100 pounds. But her voice has a certain raspy quality that makes her sound much larger and older and a career smoker. She has on a hat similar to a Greek fisherman’s cap and ass-kickin’ boots. Oh, and a dark top and blue jeans, but the hat and boots very much go with the voice.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, boots, brew, career smoker, coffee, coffeehouse, college student, cup o’ joe, empresso, espresso, Greek fisherman's cap, java, joe, pastries, tea
I returned the next day and spotted a new barista and she was wearing the very same hot pink hair. No Daisy Dukes, though.
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Tagged barista, brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, espresso, exotic java, java, joe, pastries, tea
Tried a different coffeehouse today. It’s located next to a tattoo parlor and near the library branch I patronize. Had the “Red Eye” – regular coffee with two shots of espresso. It should be called “Wide Eyed” because that’s what I needed and that’s what it made me. Mural on one of the walls includes the image of woman in Daisy Dukes and hot pink hair. … I think I’ll be back to Exotic Java.
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Tagged barista, brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, Daisy Dukes, espresso, exotic java, java, joe, mural
A coffeehouse is a great place for a first date. It is more casual than, say, a dinner date or movie date or dinner and movie date. It is more casual than a luncheon date, even. It is a chance to be more at ease during what could be the first and only real chance to impress a woman or man.
And there are chances to bail out of the date with grace because it is such a casual date.
But there are some things that coffeehouse daters need to keep in mind. Below are a couple of observations made over the years that could help in getting to a second date.
1) Don’t be late. If you were impressed by the person enough to ask them out on a date – even a coffeehouse first date – respect them enough to be on time. Being fashionably late is not cool for a coffeehouse first date. It’s not cool for any date.
2) Dress nicely. First impressions are important. Being nicely and neatly dressed might be better than being fashionably dressed. But it is a coffeehouse date, so don’t dress up too much. Take fashion into account, but don’t go Lady Gaga.
3) Don’t spill on yourself. First impressions are important. Heard that before. Well, spilling a coffee beverage – and that’s what you’re most likely going to have in a coffeehouse on a coffeehouse first date – is not cool. It will make you look clumsy, leave a visible spot for your coffeehouse date to stare at throughout the date, and stain your clothes long after he or she has walked out on the coffeehouse date.
4) Don’t spill on your date. Do I really have to go into why this is a bad thing? Really?
5) Don’t spill on anyone else at the coffeehouse. First impressions are important. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve heard it before. But spilling on someone at a neighboring table will make you clumsy – yeah, you’ve heard that before, too – and make you appear inconsiderate. After all, would a considerate person spill something on someone, anyone? No. And people on first dates are looking for people who are not clumsy and are considerate.
6) Don’t flirt with someone else at the coffeehouse. This also means not asking another coffeehouse patron – someone other than your coffeehouse date – for their phone number or starting a conversation with a person at another table. Just don’t do it.
7) For God’s sake, break up that muffin into bite-size bits before shoving it into your mouth. It is not impressive to spit muffin bits at your coffeehouse first date. Or to regale him or her with conversation with your mouth full of bran muffin. Chew your food! Swallow! Then talk!
8 ) Put the cellphone on vibrate or, better yet, silent mode. Saying you “have to take this call” and then answering it with “Hey, Baby, I can’t wait to see you tonght!” is not cool on a coffeehouse first date. Actually, it’s not cool on any date. Unless it is an emergency, every call, every voicemail message can be returned after the coffeehouse first date.
9) Don’t be judgmental, loud or obnoxious. Truly judgmental people are unacceptable. Loud people are rude people and do not merit the time of day. That’s not being judgmental. Obnoxious people are, well, just obnoxious.
10) Be polite and honest. Being polite doesn’t cost anything and it is much, much more impressive than being rude. And being honest should be a much more valued trait than physical appearance, income or the type of vehicle or home a person owns. If the coffeehouse first date is not going to lead to a second date, do not say “I’ll give you a call.” But be kind. There is no need to be impolite, dishonest and unkind, even if you plan never to see the coffeehouse first date ever again.
There, I hope that clears up for people planning a coffeehouse first date. I’m sure there are other tips, but you are just going to figure out those on your own. Good luck!
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer, Food and Drink
Tagged barista, brew, cellphone, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, date, fashion, fashionably late, first date, first impression, java, joe, Lady Gaga, muffin
A lovely young woman in a green sweater and jeans was at the coffeehouse yesterday before I arrived and was still there when I left about six hours later. And she was reading … a book. Not an ebook, not a website, not a blog, not the back of a ceral box. A book. Granted, I believe it was a romance novel, but it was a book. A book! Go figure! She’s back today. And as she did yesterday, she shed her shoes and put her bare feet up on a vacant chair.
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Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged barista, blog, book, brew, cereal box, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, ebook, java, joe, reading
Two women talking about nothing can drown out the lovely British accent of a lovely young woman who returned to the coffeehouse today.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, British, British accent, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, England, java, joe
Some telephone conversations should not be held in a coffeehouse. Boy, oh, boy …
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Tagged barista, brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, java, joe, phone, phone conversation, telephone, telephone coversation
I never should go two days in row without caffeine. Never. Ever.
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Tagged barista, brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, java, joe
Coffee doesn’t solve all the world’s problems, but it doesn’t hurt.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, international relations, java, joe, world, world’s problems
Current and former baristas for chain coffeehouses frequent the independent coffeehouse that is my “office.” It is located in the lobby of an old theater and has an organic, non-commercial feel to it. And the coffee isn’t bad either.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, independent coffeehouse, java, joe, non-commercial, organic
I am sitting next to a table at the coffeehouse where a woman is speaking in a very lovely British accent. It may be the Brit’s best export. … Oh, and she’s wearing a T-shirt that reads “Why I (heart) rugby” followed by a list of reasons. I’m not going to stare at her chest to read the list. I thought that best for international relations.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged "Why I (heart) rugby", brew, British, British accent, Brits, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, international relations, java, joe, rugby, T-shirt
Water fountains in libraries should flow with coffee.
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Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged brew, coffee, coffeehouse, cup o’ joe, java, joe, libraries, library, water fountains
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Letters From Away