Tuesday, November 07, 2006

A passion for Coffee

I love coffee. I've often dreamed about owning a coffee shop, roaster and perhaps having an adjoining book store. Only a dream because there is too much art to be done....but it's fun to think about all those other passions and what other paths one might have taken. Meteorology for instance...another dream. I hear that in Phoenix there is a coffee shop owned by a local meteorologist where they have computers hooked up to the latest radar. How cool! I will certainly have to check that out...

I'm not a morning person...but when I wake up and think about the fresh brewed coffee, the paper and the view of the sea or the superstition mountains it is enough to get me excited about the day's possibilities.

I have several favorite cups...In Maine, they are mostly blue and white. In Arizona I like a wonderful yellow and blue mug from Italy. Lately though, I really want to SEE my coffee. You who are fanatics will know what I mean. So here it is in all it's beauty. A cup of really good strong (much to the alarm of many of my family and visiting friends ) coffee with cream and brown sugar..

My favorite roaster here in Rockland is Rock City Coffee.... www.rockcitycoffee.com and www.carrabassettcoffee.com from near Sugarloaf ski area.
I can't wait to visit my favorite AZ spot, www.goldbarespresso.com in Tempe Arizona when I return there next week.....

All of them are independent and small batch roasters . Wonderful stuff.
The only pity is that I can't drink it after 3 or I'm wired all night....... Posted by Picasa

6 comments:

Victoria Pittman said...

It's too cold to work in the basement so the computer is getting a workout!

I don't think I could ever wean myself off coffee. I love it too much.
I've tried the delicacy of green tea and it is OK for an afternoon break and it is so good for you but it just leaves me looking for more taste.
Wind. I love wind! Later on today , I hope

Anonymous said...

i wish i could drink coffee. the caffeine knocks me out. but nothing goes over the smell of fresh coffee. hmmm. i adore your writing, again and again. what tool do you use to write your words? how large are the originals before you alter them in photoshop? how long have you been practising calligraphy? are you interested in artsy mailart swaps?

Victoria Pittman said...

Hi Ramona.
Like Kristen noted, I too will get the withdrawal headaches if I don't get enough caffeine so I've had to cut down ..mostly because when I travel to teach if miss my afternoon cup I wake up with a whopper of a headache and it's tough to function. Still...I can't give up the morning cup and an occasional treat. De-caf is OK but doesn't have that edge and punch for me...
Re: the lettering. Thanks for the compliments.
I usually write with either brause or tape nibs but lately most of the writing on the photos is done with speedball sizes. 0 1 or 2..
The originals are usually 1" or less. Some of the brush lettering is larger but not by much.
For brush I love the Winsor-Newton / Cotman's

ARt swap sounds fun. Are you a part of one??

Victoria Pittman said...

Oh.Yeah. I took my first calligraphy class in 1978 but didn't really get into it until the early 80's.
I keep thinking I should be WAY better by now!

Victoria Pittman said...

I'll have to check out the glabal Coffee and will commit it to my places to visit! I always love a new coffee place.
Maybe I should try for a ski trip/elko visit!

Victoria Pittman said...

We have a Snowbowl here in Flagstaff. I do ski but not last year. No snow until late int the season. One year I spent a season doing the ski bum thing in Stowe, Vermont! Learned to ski back East in pretty icy conditions so when I moved West it was pure delight to ski in so much powder.
Re: coffee
My daughter told me about the pinon coffee and how much she loved it. I will have to look for it here again. I remember looking for it last year but couldn't find it. Pinon should be plentiful in AZ,eh?
I'm off to a Trader Joe and Whole Foods run tomorrow!