SKIN, BABY, SKIN!

USA TODAY
Seattle-area coffee shops show a little skin to compete for business, and I say, "Why not?!"

Click and meet the baristas at The Sweet Spot Cafe, Cowgirls Espresso, Natte Latte, and Moka Girls.

French Press Only.

1st Cup: El Salvador
Originally uploaded by Spinnaker007.

My espresso machine is still broken. I know I need to get it repaired, but I am just too lazy to drive (far) and take it (heavy) to a shop I don't know too well. So French Press is the only game at my place, and I am not complaining...Excellent coffee!

Nessun Dorma!

I like this more and more...
It is chic and not stuffy.
(I have trouble obtaining the dark chocolate shade...)

Liquid Pea Ravioli.

Hungry In Hogtown

Billy Wilson’s superior performance at NWRBC last October won him the title. His signature drink - “espresso caviar” sure generated a lot of interests.

I had been surfing the net to figure out how it was made. From what my understanding is, that you need to mix espresso shots with the sodium alginate solution, then use a syringe and drop-by drop this solution into a soup of calcium chloride. The chemical reaction will form a thin layer outside of the espresso/sodium alginate solution, within a minute, you will have those little espresso caviars. Here is a video clip shows how it is done.

There are many possibilities, different flavors and different shapes. You can do tea, juice, chocolate or whatever, into shapes of a sphere or noodles. Even Anthony Bourdain was impressed with this liquid pea ravioli.

Pulling Single...

Naked single shot 1
Originally uploaded by King Seven.

Before, the single basket is a four letter word. Now, people are more willing to give it a try. Look how beautiful it is. If you are a barista, you ought to know how to pull one, not just use it as a door stopper!

The Swan

I saw this free pour @ Dwell Time. Those guys and girls at Caffe Artigiano are so talented. When you visit Vancouver, don't skip Caffe Artigiano!

Greetings to 2007!

I have been working on a personal project for the past few years. This life changing undertaking has met with many challenging roadblocks and struggles. During this process, like a sailboat in the fog, I had lost my directions and motivations.

This morning and out of nowhere, I remembered a quotation by Henry Thoreau, which is embedded in my email that reads, "I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." Like a fresh wind, it lifts all fog, fills my sails, and ready to take me where I want to go.

It is a brand new year, let us all make things that are important to our hearts happen...