Friday, April 13, 2007

coffee snob? whatever..

according to my husband, i'm a coffee snob. i asked him what he meant by "snob," and he just peered over his glasses at me with the "you know what i mean" look.

i tried to forget about his comment, until this morning when i threw out that blasted pot of coffee. watching the steaming blend of beans and water swirl down the drain caused my conscience to taunt me, "coffee snob.. coffee snob.. coffee snob." how do you plug the ears of your conscience?

in my defense, what was supposed to be coffee (black) turned out to be more like tea (not so black). the second pot wasn't so great either (yes, i know how to make coffee but someone brought home the wrong filters) but i decided it was just plain WRONG to waste yet another pot. however, let's get back to the point: so i like my coffee black as night, so i prefer my no-whip peppermint mocha from one coffee house and my non-fat sugar free almond latte from another, so i don't like the taste of my latte or mocha or cappuccino when i make it at home (i hate our machine - long story), does that really make me a "coffee snob?"

and i'd like a straw please.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

mary mary, quite contrary...


...how does your garden grow?

Have you ever wondered if your used coffee grounds could be put to better use than filling the ol' garbage can?

Several years ago, I recalled something my biology teacher from highschool shared with the class. He talked about how every morning he would have his cup of coffee outside on his deck. Following his daily habit, he would throw the last little bit of "joe-gone-cold" off the edge, which always landed on about the same spot amongst his tomato plants. Sure enough, when the tomatoes had ripened, those that were inadvertantly victims of the cold coffee turned out to be the largest, reddest, most juicy and flavorful tomatoes of his garden.

For plants that love acidic soil, splashing the soil with your left over cold coffee, or folding in those used coffee grounds, is a fantastic fertilizer! Why waste it on the landfills?

Hint: If you need more than what you create yourself each day, many coffee houses are more than happy to supply you with their leftovers!

Thursday, March 22, 2007

lessons learned

Okay.. so things aren't going quite as smoothly as I'd like them to, but I will be the first to admit that I'm a bit of a rookie here with a budget the size of a mustard seed. For one, my website skills are being stretched to the max, and being a mom of a toddler and an infant, I'm finding that I'm not getting as much done as quickly as I'd like to.. big surprise, huh?

I've started on Oregon Roasters, and I've put up some of the coffeehouses and drive-thru's for Washington. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out some of the issues I'm having with the quantity of coffeehouses vs. the space I have to post them :p

Then I've got the issue of how to make this pay for itself. I've got an idea or two, but getting the page functioning well and making it more appealing to the public eye will have to come first.