so, the blog has a new title. i'm not completely thrilled with it, but we'll see. if you're not familiar with the song, go to YouTube and type in "Black Coffee" it's a beautiful song.
today's topic is my personal coffee awakening.
i didn't start drinking coffee until i was seventeen. i worked at a coffee shop for almost a year prior to my coffee awakening. which makes me really sad for all of the people i served before i started drinking coffee. their drinks probably tasted terrible.
i hated coffee for a really long time. it's kind of silly. i knew that black coffee was very bitter, and the people my age that i saw drinking coffee put lots of cream and sugar in theirs. adults told me that i probably wouldn't enjoy coffee very much. so i believed everyone and every time i tried coffee, i loaded it up with lots of cream and sugar. and i HATED it.
it would have been very simple for me to make a connection and drink coffee for years previous: i drink unsweetened iced tea. i hate sweet tea. the only thing close to sweet tea that i like is Arizona Iced Tea with Lemon and if i'm feeling sassy, Firefly: the sweet tea vodka. so, if i'd thought about it for a few minutes, i would have realized that because i liked tea without sugar, i would also like coffee without sugar.
so, one night i was closing up java jitterz and i was pouring out the carafes of coffee. while i was doing this i thought to myself, "self, you're wasting an awful lot of coffee. why don't you drink some of this?" so i did. i drank two twelve ounce cups of sumatran coffee. it was delicious! it was the best thing i'd ever tasted! that night i was to meet janna and her friend toni at waffle house to hang out. so when i went to waffle house, i ordered coffee and drank it black. and that was even better than the hours-old sumatran from the shop!
i didn't go to bed before four for the rest of the summer. it was ridiculous. i didn't drink soda until about a year ago (now i'm a recovering diet coke addict) and so my caffeine intake was mostly non-existent.
so there you have it. if any of you guys are on-the-fence about how you feel about coffee, try drinking it a way that you haven't before! you may really like it. you may go crazy. or you may just enjoy reading about coffee. that's perfectly fine, too. but i encourage you to give coffee another try.
in other news:
i went to wilmington last weekend to visit my boyfriend. it's a really adorable city with lots of sweet little independent bars and stores. it very much reminded me of asheville. except for one thing: coffee shops. the city is overrun with Port City Java. i have no beef with Port City, i just wish there was more independent coffee to be seen around town. i saw one independent shop and dustin told me about one more. if you're thinking about opening a shop, head wilmington's way! they definitely need it and it's a really great city.
this summer i am trying to get a job in a theatre somewhere in the southeast, so i think this could be my very first coffee-free summer in two years. it makes me a little sad. i might try to see if Caffeind, aka my living room, needs someone to pick up a couple of late night shifts over the summer.
cheers.
13 March 2009
true hope is swift and flies with swallow's wings
--william shakespeare
hey guys. my cause today is not coffee, but hope and friendship.
i have a dear friend with a truly unfortunate condition. ashley (laacreativity.blogspot.com)is plagued by a disease called Mycoplasma. i'm not exactly sure which specific strain of it, but i know about ashley's symptoms and how it affects her, her art, and her friends. when i complain of sore muscles, ashley is plagued by rock-hard muscles that often freeze up and prevent her from moving freely. when friends and colleagues in the department get a cold, ashley gets incredibly ill. we all try to take care of her to the best of the ability, but sometimes her health is out of our control.
right now ashley has the flu on top of the Mycoplasma. her immune system is incredibly weak and her body is shutting down. she went home early for spring break so that her doctors could give her treatments and her family could take care of her.
so if you are a person of faith, please pray. if you believe in the power of optimism, please send your thoughts ashley's way. she is a dear girl who needs all of the optimism and hope she can get right now. if you feel so inclined, drop by her blog at laacreativity.blogspot.com and leave her a comment.
thank you.
my three best college girlfriends. from left to right, amber, me, ashley, and jen is peeking up from the bottom.
hey guys. my cause today is not coffee, but hope and friendship.
i have a dear friend with a truly unfortunate condition. ashley (laacreativity.blogspot.com)is plagued by a disease called Mycoplasma. i'm not exactly sure which specific strain of it, but i know about ashley's symptoms and how it affects her, her art, and her friends. when i complain of sore muscles, ashley is plagued by rock-hard muscles that often freeze up and prevent her from moving freely. when friends and colleagues in the department get a cold, ashley gets incredibly ill. we all try to take care of her to the best of the ability, but sometimes her health is out of our control.
right now ashley has the flu on top of the Mycoplasma. her immune system is incredibly weak and her body is shutting down. she went home early for spring break so that her doctors could give her treatments and her family could take care of her.
so if you are a person of faith, please pray. if you believe in the power of optimism, please send your thoughts ashley's way. she is a dear girl who needs all of the optimism and hope she can get right now. if you feel so inclined, drop by her blog at laacreativity.blogspot.com and leave her a comment.
thank you.
my three best college girlfriends. from left to right, amber, me, ashley, and jen is peeking up from the bottom.
03 March 2009
*moment of silence*
well, BusBarista is BusBarista no more.
i am sad to announce that i have had to take my leave from the Double Decker Coffee Company.
and i mean it. i'm really sad.
it has come to pass that my art has taken over the better part of my time and i can no longer commit to a job. my wonderful boss has mostly let me keep it as a favor anyways. i was only working one day a week. but now i have auditions and performances and commitments that are beyond my control and prevent me from keeping the best job i've ever had.
: (
but once a barista, always a barista! hopefully i will be able to get another job soon.
and with my lack of job, it's probably time for me to change my username. ...also, as much as i'm married to the title of this blog, i feel it's probably a little inaccessible for anybody who doesn't like or know Jump Little Children.
...suggestions my dear friends and readers?
i am sad to announce that i have had to take my leave from the Double Decker Coffee Company.
and i mean it. i'm really sad.
it has come to pass that my art has taken over the better part of my time and i can no longer commit to a job. my wonderful boss has mostly let me keep it as a favor anyways. i was only working one day a week. but now i have auditions and performances and commitments that are beyond my control and prevent me from keeping the best job i've ever had.
: (
but once a barista, always a barista! hopefully i will be able to get another job soon.
and with my lack of job, it's probably time for me to change my username. ...also, as much as i'm married to the title of this blog, i feel it's probably a little inaccessible for anybody who doesn't like or know Jump Little Children.
...suggestions my dear friends and readers?
24 February 2009
but now that i'm rich they give me coffee
--from "Free Coffee" by Ben Folds
and BusBarista is back!
i apologize for my lengthy hiatus. i've been super busy with school, work, theatre, and the drama that comes along with having a personal life.
this will be a brief post, but i'm going to try to do some more posting over the next few weeks since theatre won't be taking over my life as much as it usually. does.
speaking of theatre...
two weeks ago i closed a show called The Dining Room. i was the stage manager, which is NOT an easy task by any means. it requires more time and energy than acting does. i had a truly amazing cast, crew, and director to work with, but we still had our moments. one of my cast members ran into a metal pole and knocked out a few of her teeth. on opening night both my director and another one of my female cast members were violently ill. i had to do the curtain speech and let the girl leave before her last scene. there were more minor mishaps as well, but i won't go into those.
my director is just as coffee-obsessed as i am, so he required that my assistants and i kept fresh coffee in the rehearsal space every night. the cast drank a lot of it, too. it was really pleasant. just like the previous show he directed, A Miracle in Bedford Falls, people took solace in coffee when rehearsals were going poorly and joyously poured themselves another round when thing were going well. we clung to our cups in the cold during smoke breaks in the snow and faithfully kept them at our sides when discussing the ins and outs of the play.
until.
one day we ran out of coffee. not a big deal, right? well, sure. it just meant that we would go without it for a rehearsal or two. just until the department tossed some cash our way and we could run to Ingles to buy some more.
we went without for one rehearsal and that was one rehearsal too many. so the next night our director brought in...instant coffee. i'd never had instant coffee before that night, and i hope that i am never in a position that requires me to drink instant coffee again. i had to put cream in sugar in it. my cast looked at me like i had a large animal crawling out of my face when they saw the cream-colored liquid in my mug. it was the look of, "surely that's not OUR stage manager! certainly not! she drinks her coffee black."
even with the powers of cream and sugar combined, this coffee was SHIT. it was very oily and tasted like it had been grilled--not roasted. it had a very distinct chicory taste.
the next night our director brought in a can of delicious maxwell house coffee and we drank our fair share of it, forgetting about the rotten experience we'd had the night before.
i had a cast member take a picture of me with the instant coffee so that i wouldn't ever forget about the horrible taste and remember that as long as i'm drinking coffee that has to be brewed, not stirred, things can always be worse.
and BusBarista is back!
i apologize for my lengthy hiatus. i've been super busy with school, work, theatre, and the drama that comes along with having a personal life.
this will be a brief post, but i'm going to try to do some more posting over the next few weeks since theatre won't be taking over my life as much as it usually. does.
speaking of theatre...
two weeks ago i closed a show called The Dining Room. i was the stage manager, which is NOT an easy task by any means. it requires more time and energy than acting does. i had a truly amazing cast, crew, and director to work with, but we still had our moments. one of my cast members ran into a metal pole and knocked out a few of her teeth. on opening night both my director and another one of my female cast members were violently ill. i had to do the curtain speech and let the girl leave before her last scene. there were more minor mishaps as well, but i won't go into those.
my director is just as coffee-obsessed as i am, so he required that my assistants and i kept fresh coffee in the rehearsal space every night. the cast drank a lot of it, too. it was really pleasant. just like the previous show he directed, A Miracle in Bedford Falls, people took solace in coffee when rehearsals were going poorly and joyously poured themselves another round when thing were going well. we clung to our cups in the cold during smoke breaks in the snow and faithfully kept them at our sides when discussing the ins and outs of the play.
until.
one day we ran out of coffee. not a big deal, right? well, sure. it just meant that we would go without it for a rehearsal or two. just until the department tossed some cash our way and we could run to Ingles to buy some more.
we went without for one rehearsal and that was one rehearsal too many. so the next night our director brought in...instant coffee. i'd never had instant coffee before that night, and i hope that i am never in a position that requires me to drink instant coffee again. i had to put cream in sugar in it. my cast looked at me like i had a large animal crawling out of my face when they saw the cream-colored liquid in my mug. it was the look of, "surely that's not OUR stage manager! certainly not! she drinks her coffee black."
even with the powers of cream and sugar combined, this coffee was SHIT. it was very oily and tasted like it had been grilled--not roasted. it had a very distinct chicory taste.
the next night our director brought in a can of delicious maxwell house coffee and we drank our fair share of it, forgetting about the rotten experience we'd had the night before.
i had a cast member take a picture of me with the instant coffee so that i wouldn't ever forget about the horrible taste and remember that as long as i'm drinking coffee that has to be brewed, not stirred, things can always be worse.
08 January 2009
another picture post!
hullo again.
here are some more pictures of the java jitterzjunkiebean in mount holly, north carolina. it's actually where i'm posting from right now! aaand thanks to the lovely anna diemer, i have pictures of le bus in downtown asheville.
here's a shot of the cafe area at the java jitterzjunkiebean. which, really it has only been that way since it became java junkie and has stayed like that for the java bean. it's a really cozy space. we can control the lights with a dimmer for the music that comes in and during the day we close the blinds when it gets really sunny because the shop heats up like an oven. when all of the side work is done and there aren't any customers, i usually curl up on one of those couches and read...and try not to sleep.
behind the counter. it's really strange switching from the double decker, which has almost no wiggle room to a full-size bar with plenty of room to run.
there she is from the other side of the street on Aston.
and this was taken from the garden. we have outdoor seating as well as indoor. the garden is really pretty and wonderfully pleasant on summer nights in asheville.
and this is just for fun. i took a picture of my coffee with the flash on at waffle house the other night. i thought it was neat that you can see my camera.
---
today is my last day at java. i'm going back to school on saturday afternoon and so i'll be back in the bus, which i'm pretty excited about. but i will miss java. i really miss my regulars. i've been serving these folks on and off for two and a half years and i always miss their company whenever i have to go back to school. we don't have very many regulars at the bus because we don't have a bathroom and people don't like to stick around for too long. i'll be back for winter break next year though. no matter what stage of java the shop is in.
stay caffeinated.
here are some more pictures of the java jitterzjunkiebean in mount holly, north carolina. it's actually where i'm posting from right now! aaand thanks to the lovely anna diemer, i have pictures of le bus in downtown asheville.
here's a shot of the cafe area at the java jitterzjunkiebean. which, really it has only been that way since it became java junkie and has stayed like that for the java bean. it's a really cozy space. we can control the lights with a dimmer for the music that comes in and during the day we close the blinds when it gets really sunny because the shop heats up like an oven. when all of the side work is done and there aren't any customers, i usually curl up on one of those couches and read...and try not to sleep.
behind the counter. it's really strange switching from the double decker, which has almost no wiggle room to a full-size bar with plenty of room to run.
there she is from the other side of the street on Aston.
and this was taken from the garden. we have outdoor seating as well as indoor. the garden is really pretty and wonderfully pleasant on summer nights in asheville.
and this is just for fun. i took a picture of my coffee with the flash on at waffle house the other night. i thought it was neat that you can see my camera.
---
today is my last day at java. i'm going back to school on saturday afternoon and so i'll be back in the bus, which i'm pretty excited about. but i will miss java. i really miss my regulars. i've been serving these folks on and off for two and a half years and i always miss their company whenever i have to go back to school. we don't have very many regulars at the bus because we don't have a bathroom and people don't like to stick around for too long. i'll be back for winter break next year though. no matter what stage of java the shop is in.
stay caffeinated.
07 January 2009
pictures!
picture post!
heya addicts.
here are some pictures of the double decker taken by me.
i'll also post a few that my friend paul took of the inside of the java jitterzjunkiebean.
enjoy!
this is a shot i took of the back of the bus. it's taken from where the barista sits at the computer or takes orders. see how tiny it is?
a barista's-eye view!
here's a view of our brews and flavors. underneath the counter you can see how little storage we have for our coffee beans.
this is one of the pictures that paul took. it's behind the bar of java bean. i love this shot.
another cool shot from paul. that's me, apparently moving with some conviction, serving some folks.
aaaand last one. preparing a drink.
hoorays for the picture post!! i'll have another one soonish of the outside and upstairs of the bus. i'll also take some pictures of the seating area and outside of the the java jitterzjunkiebean.
stay caffeinated.
heya addicts.
here are some pictures of the double decker taken by me.
i'll also post a few that my friend paul took of the inside of the java jitterzjunkiebean.
enjoy!
this is a shot i took of the back of the bus. it's taken from where the barista sits at the computer or takes orders. see how tiny it is?
a barista's-eye view!
here's a view of our brews and flavors. underneath the counter you can see how little storage we have for our coffee beans.
this is one of the pictures that paul took. it's behind the bar of java bean. i love this shot.
another cool shot from paul. that's me, apparently moving with some conviction, serving some folks.
aaaand last one. preparing a drink.
hoorays for the picture post!! i'll have another one soonish of the outside and upstairs of the bus. i'll also take some pictures of the seating area and outside of the the java jitterzjunkiebean.
stay caffeinated.
05 January 2009
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