Guess what’s coming to Steam Espresso Bar...
noise dept.

roma★

JBB: An Artblog!
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
will byers stan first human second
art blog(derogatory)
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DEAR READER
Xuebing Du

JVL
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
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Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
wallacepolsom
$LAYYYTER
Mike Driver

ellievsbear
Three Goblin Art

Kiana Khansmith
trying on a metaphor

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@themugdiaries
Guess what’s coming to Steam Espresso Bar...
One of the faces behind Wild Love Bakehouse in Knoxville, TN; full post coming soon on themugdiaries.com
Steam Espresso Bar | Denver, CO
Kaffeine is a craft/specialty style coffee shop, which has a location on Great Titchfield and another on Eastcastle. I looked around for many shops in London that would be a great fit for the blog and Kaffeine was one that stuck out from beginning to end; even their site expresses a love to converse about the craft that they are partaking in.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Peter Dore-Smith, the founder and operator of Kaffeine, in order to discover more about the business that he had started. "For me it was about starting a hospitable environment for customers to enjoy a great product." Peter went on to discuss, while hospitable and friendly environments are obviously good for business, he saw that this type of service had diminished in London, and he wanted to show his customers that there were still places out there that would provide a friendly welcome. That is what you get when you enter Kaffeine (at both locations) smiling baristas who not only care about what they are going to serve you, but also about how your day is going. Peter likes to think that "Our first impression, is our lasting impression." Peter got his start in the specialty coffee industry when he opened Kaffeine six years ago. Because Peter was surrounded by craft coffee shops in Australia, where he is from, his shops definitely display an Aussie type of service from entry to exit. It is seen that Peter truly does give his customers the service that they pay and arguably goes beyond. In terms of equipment and coffee, the Eastcastle location has a machine that I was not necessarily familiar with, but a machine that I quickly researched after my visit, The Black Eagle by Victoria Ardunio. The Black Eagle has a very sleek and clean design, which matches that of the Eastcastle location. On the other hand, the Great Titchfield location has a machine that I am much more familiar with because I have worked with them, the Syensso Cyncra. However, both machines have great reviews and still serve a fantastic shot pulled. In terms of roasting, Kaffeine does not roast their own, but they have developed a great relationship with the award winning London roaster Square Mile Coffee. I asked Peter why he chose this roaster in particular and he stated, "They continue to supply the best supplies and the best roasts that people can find." When we talked design, Peter told me, "I had a fairly specific design that I handed over to the architects." Kaffeine holds fantastic brick walls, high tables with views of the street and the baristas at both locatons, and a warm industrial feel. Unfortunately, I do not have shots from both locations, but this should just be more encouraging for individuals to seek out both Titchfield and Eastcastle venues. Kaffeine was definitely one of my favorite shops that I visited in London and I will definitely return there when I venture back across the pond. From award winning baristas to prestigious achievements in cafe culture, Kaffeine has it all. In all of my shop visits, whether it be in the States or in Europe, Kaffeine was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had. I probably spent the majority of my time chatting with the baristas and talking about our mutual interests in coffee. Please do give Kaffeine your business, it is well deserved. http://kaffeine.co.uk/ For Achievements: http://kaffeine.co.uk/GreatTitchfield/Reviews.html PS | We would like to apologize for the amount of time it took us to get this post up. There was a large amount of technical difficulties that took place and we had to retrieve to shots that were lost.
Get ready for our post of Kaffeine in London, England tomorrow!
themugdiaries.com
Prufrock Coffee | London, England
High Five Coffee Bar is a venue which is passionate about serving great products to its community in Asheville, North Carolina. Here is a special interview with Jay about his shop and his story...
Some of the best producers in the world. Levelup.
Be sure to check out the full blog post on Counter Culture Coffee on themugdiaries.com.
Help us out with recommendations especially in the Brighton and London areas!
Do it. Just do it. You like coffee, we like coffee.
Counter Coulter Training Center | Asheville, NC
K-Brew | Knoxville, Tennessee
Travel With Us.
Over the month of July, The Mug Diaries will be visiting various shops throughout London and the UK, as well as venues in the South of France if possible. Informative posts are to come, subscribe on themugdiaries.com for full information.
Old City Java | Knoxville, Tennessee
Alpine Modern Cafe | Opening July 15, 2015
Post on Alpine Modern Cafe in Boulder, Colorado coming soon on themugdiaries.com.
Autoethnography: A Progression Through a Coffee Life The way coffee tastes on the tongue is different from most other liquids on this earth. It can be rich yet subtle, sweet and bitter; there is and always has been quite a variety. For many different fans of coffee, people have a relationship that goes back to childhood, whereas my connection to coffee is very different. To dislike coffee now would be the equivalent of jumping over the Empire State Building; it simply isn’t possible. Three years ago I could not stand the taste and would never consider spending a single penny on a liquified coffee bean, but shortly after something changed. I grew up in Maryville, Tennessee, a place neither extravagant nor having many options by way of coffee. However, there was one shop in my hometown called Vienna Coffee Company that pioneered its location in the terms of coffee. The owner and chief roaster of the company, Jon Clark, probably did not know my name even though I spent countless hours at his shop every week. Vienna Coffee was a place I would go after school to avoid my thirty minute commute home. I would play cards and buy a bottomless cup that would sit and never contain a drop. Eventually, I ventured out of my comfort zone and spontaneously purchased a white mocha; I would describe this drink as the beverage that takes many peoples’ coffee virginity, were they not raised on the substance. It would be my guess that I sipped on this beverage for about 6 months before I started actually drinking regular drip coffee. At first, the cup contained more cream than it did coffee - and I did not find any problem with that. Now, that would be catastrophic considering I drink nothing but black coffee when I buy the beverage. With me, you see, there is always a weaning process into new situations. It is an extremely long process; I will not fly before I start to jump. This white mocha was my experience in a new, coffee-filled world. Jon Clark, a man at one time I was actually frightened of, does not realize that the days I saw him walking around his shop and coming from the roastery showed me a completely different side of coffee. The sight that I saw from this man was the hands, the dirt, the skill that coffee stems from. Beginning to realize the importance of the work behind coffee completely changed my view, I started to understand why this drink has been globally popular for centuries. At this point I began to explore outside of Vienna. I visited other shops where I tried to seem knowledgable about the craft that they were partaking in, but usually failed to understand a single word that came out of their mouths. Because of these embarrassing interactions, I decided that I truly needed to explore more, spend more time with these baristas and roasters. I visited Java, Remedy, and K-brew; I started to take the classic “hipster” photos of coffee that most people think is “ artsy.” Today is a different story. I soon after moved to Denver because I loved theatre, but what I did not tell my parents was that Denver had a massive coffee scene that I was determined to explore. The first few months I began to get my bearings of the city, mapping out shops to visit and meeting people to contact later in my coffee conquests. Soon, I realized that these explorations might be able to prove useful in finding an entrance and insights into the world of craft coffee. For this reason I started “The Mug Diaries”. The Mug Diaries is not just some internet showcase, but something I take very seriously when reviewing the unique places around Denver. I took the time to develop relationships with many owners, managers, roasters, and baristas, because I knew that they all had their own individual views on the story of coffee, why they were at the venues they were. I would ask questions such as “what makes this venue different than the different venues in Denver?” and “what has been your mission with your craft coffee adventure since you started?” Most people do not realize that each person holds a piece of the puzzle in the coffee industry. There are so many ways to create good coffee, so many different tastes and styles and brews and beans to use. With each venue comes a different feel, a different attracted customer demographic. Everyone brings something to the table and The Mug Diaries helps let me share the vast knowledge and view with the world. As my journey progressed, I knew that I would want to work in coffee, and what better place to pursue this task than in Denver, Colorado. After this large hunt, I realized that the place most likely to hire me, with my lack of experience, was a place called Pigtrain coffee. Pigtrain was my obvious choice because of its queer blend between craft and commercial coffee. Pigtrain was the perfect place because it was a new venue and needed staff to man its high volume customer flow. They hired me because they knew that I was in love with the art of coffee and was extremely eager to learn about the craft. I have to say, I think the selling point was the fact that I ran a very in depth coffee blog. So yes, about three months ago I completed the task of being a barista, one of the things on my todo list that was at the very top. I currently still work at Pigtrain and have learned the art of being a barista over the past three months. Becoming an espresso machine master was one of the most important aspects in being apart of the coffee community, if you are not a roaster, because it allows you to meet many people in the business and gives one certain knowledge that allows people to be able to converse without confusion. As one can see, coffee is not just something I buy or drink because I simply like it. Craft coffee has become a part of how I think and who I am; constantly, I am trying to find new venues and create a network from person to person to fuel my knowledge. My main goal now is to spread my experiences to other people through places like The Mug Diaries. I have purposefully created a place where people can go to find out about new venues and roasters through my own writing. I try to help provide individual information they can use to cary out their own fandom with coffee and by doing so, I contribute to my own. Not only does The Mug Diaries allow me to share my knowledge, but it also allows for people to follow my process as I pass through the world of coffee. My first post versus my last post has a large spread in the knowledge category. People will now be able to see how to become more involved in coffee and where to go in order to do it. By reading The Mug Diaries people can truly discover a new cultural experience, and my story is just a small piece of the puzzle that is the craft coffee industry.