The Newer Shop Update

They've redone part of their interior. It looks fantastic. Much warmer and very inviting. I love it.

Today they had a "free latte until 7pm!" promotion going on (received a message via text message from the mailing list.. excellent concept, btw.. saying so), which implied to me that both owners would be there.

So, I dropped by. Both seemd pretty happy to see me(a good sign), and it was great to see both of them again. He told me I could make my own if I wanted, but I didn't want to impose. Double 12oz latte. The foam was a bit on the large side, but it still tasted sweeter than most places. The espresso was slightly bitter and lacked complexity, I suspect, due to 1) the blend 2) the roast and 3) the age. The beans aren't exactly the freshest they could be, but I guess that's expected when business slows down unexpectedly. All things considered, it was much better.

He proudly told me the grinder was turned off(it's an automatic Nuova Simonelli model.. MDS Automatic), and that he was trying to work through the grounds in the doser to grind per shot.

Good to hear.

His distribution and tamping technique was drastically improved. It made me proud to see the basics of my own technique in use on a commercial level by a shop's owner.

They also told me they were thinking about maybe hiring me for one day a week as sort of a novelty(think latte art) on Sundays if I was interested. They'd hire me on solid if they could afford to, but due to their location and warm weather, business isn't all it could be. It's improving, though.. slowly. Already they've had a few people compliment them and say how much better it is than Starbucks. Which is something.. especially considering that the new presence of Starbucks down the street from my current coffee home has hurt business majorly there. Considering the fact that it's a franchise, the quality has somewhat of a ceiling. But even still, there's a lot that can be done to help things along.

Free samples help considerably if the product is great. I might try to start sampling espresso if I ever get the chance. As most of us know, good espresso tastes amazingly wonderful. There's nothing harsh or negative about it at all, and it opens one's eyes to new possibilities. The trick is getting people to trust you enough to taste it in the first place.

Until next time, here's some crappy art I poured a few days ago. definitely not my best.