Category Archives: Uncategorized

Coffee Wednesday: A Nod to Tradition–Spella Cafe

image

Step into Spella Caffe and find yourself transported, if not in time, at least in locale. Now I’ve not been to Italy, but from what I read, Spella is an inspired take on a classic Italian espresso bar. And in the midst of Portland’s 3rd-wave coffee culture, a refreshing nod to tradition.

Slender and stylish, the caffe allows for only a few customers at a time, accentuating the “expressly-for-you” nature of the service. A Rancilio  piston-lever machine, combined with some really killer barista skills, create a cappuccino with foam so thick and ‘goopy’ it’s like marshmallow fluff. How’s the espresso? Burnt sugar, oak, sweet cranberry, tactile, and pleasantly lingering.

Portland, OR / afternoon / Spella Caffe

The Secret of Discovering Vision

image

Vision. It was lacking, or rather sporadic, for me until recently. Until, actually, we became unexpectedly pregnant with our Little Alien and started having to get our shit together. In a few short months we left the cradle of Independence, MO, and embarked on a country-wide road trip to discover whatever it was we were meant to do in life.

What we discovered was how much we loved coffee and coffee people across the country. I had the same feeling this week while visiting San Diego. Cupping four coffees from around the world–an Ethiopia, a Guatemala, a Honduras, and a Papua New Guinea–in the light-filled space at InterAmerican, I felt that I had come home.

This community? It gives meaning and direction. Count me in.

–San Diego, CA / mid-morning / InterAmerican Coffee

Do You Swim in Wonder?

image

Benign sun warms my hair, cool ocean breeze kisses my face and exposed arms. The smells of saltwater & sunscreen fill my nose. Children shriek in delight as the cold water kisses their toes and sends exploratory fingers up their thighs. The sky is an impossible shade of blue, lightened toward the south where it provides a powdery blue backdrop for the villas that coat the hillside.

Eire crosses her arms and looks at the ocean while the sun glints on her tousled hair. She’s covered in sand, and the salty wet has reached her waist. I can’t even begin to guess what’s happening inside her mind, but one thing I can see we have in common: a sense of wonder at how much bigger the ocean is than us.

–Little Corona Beach, CA / mid-morning / off the grid

Coffee Wednesday: Cafecito Organico

image

I walk through the leafy maze, brushing hanging viney tendrils with my sunburnt arms. The memory of sand still clings to my legs as I ogle stylish shoppers and willowy models in photoshoots. Breaking open the lava surface of a molasses-apricot cookie, I watch the dark crumbs fall on the darker table.

I hold a cappuccino, graced with a relaxed swan. Its bitterness stands in counterpoint to the earthy ginger and sorghum of my cookie, the textures silk and chewy grit. Pages of notes glow in the light. Baristas chatter about their favorite obsolete breakfast cereals.

I am at Cafecito Organico, where the motto is Cafe O Muerte—Coffee or Death. Nestled in the maze of retail stores in Costa Mesa’s The LAB Antimall, Cafecito is a unique shop with a familiar and comforting vision—great coffee, grown on earth by humans.

I, for one, feel more human here.

—Costa Mesa, CA / late morning / Cafecito Organico