Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Snapshot: Grind (UWM)

Hola Javaheads!

I am ever so pleased to be joining Mike and all the other talented writers here on the Milwaukee Specialty Coffee blog! Since there’s little doubt that this is an introduction post, I'd like to share a few things with you about myself.

Aside from accepting Mike's kind invitation to come aboard, the main reason for my presence here can be explained simply through the words of a well known tune: "I love coffee, I love tea, I love the Java Jive and it loves me." But I am also here because, like my fellow bloggers, I love a myriad of other things--some that obviously have a clear connection to coffee and tea, such as Fair Trade issues and organic farming, and some that seemingly have very little to do with coffee and tea, such as art, music, literature and philosophy.

Now, just to be clear, I write "seemingly" because I believe that, in the end, the creative arts and humanities do have a connection to coffee and tea, and a very strong one at that. I mean, would the works of the famously coffee-addicted Honoré de Balzac be as incredibly detailed and nuanced had he not imbibed in the java juice? Would the words of Confucius be as deep and profound had he not indulged in the meditative and lingering craft of sipping tea? Would the magical surrealism of Salvador Dali’s painting and sculpture even have materialized without the espresso doppio? I say, "No!" And I suspect you say the same.

So, now you know why I am here. I do hope that my small contribution to this blog will in some way interest you and inform you and bring you happy dreams of what we all love--that is, coffee and tea.

-Mary

Contributing Author Suzanne Kreuziger: Cigarant

I am not a smoker, but I love someone who is, and - this may seem like a double standard - although I do not allow him to smoke in our home, we like to patronize restaurants and cafes that will allow him the enjoyment of a leisurely cigarette or two.

Fuel Café in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood officially declared itself smoke-free on October 1st, 2007.  This came after reducing their late-night hours.  Fuel was our longtime regular haunt.  We courted there.  The new non-smoking rule was a surprise and felt like a slap in the face.  It felt strange to breathe smoke-free air there, particularly with the too-bright fluorescent lights on- it felt like an hour-long “hurry up and leave so I can clean up and lock the door.”

Blog News: Welcome Mary Dally-Muenzmaier

Please welcome Mary Dally-Muenzmaier, our new co-author.  You may know her from the Stone Creek Coffee blog--now, we're pleased to have her contributing her talents right here!

Travel: Forbes Traveler Article about Third Wave Coffeehouses

Forbes Traveler magazine has a fantastic article on third-wave coffeehouses, featuring our very own Alterra Coffee.

Here's the slide with Alterra.

Snapshot: Caribou Coffee in Mequon

Another Caribou Coffee location, this one in Mequon, has a real La Cimbali espresso machine and employees who know how to use it.  This evening, I received a very good double espresso (granted, not in the league of Alterra et al.) and friendly service to match.  I'm not sure what the moral of this story, if any, is.  Chains supposedly offer a promise of consistency, but I don't find this to be the case.  At least Caribou hasn't retro-downgraded their older stores by removing the real espresso machines.

Snapshot: Starbucks in Mequon

Rich people get to have fire at their Starbucks.  Too bad this isn't along a hiking trail--I'll have to keep this place in mind as a walking destination if the weather snaps cold again.  One of the comfy chairs is parked right next to the fireplace--talk about a hot seat!

I'm drinking Breakfast Blend.  It's one of the rare Starbucks coffees I've had that taste like something other than the dark roast.  In fact, this tastes like. . .peanut butter.  Mind you, I eat peanut butter like it's going out of style, so that can't be a bad thing. 

There's a steady stream of customers, but almost all of it is to-go business.  I have a theory that the more affluent the area, the less public space will go utilized.  (More to the point, folks around here live in nice houses, not crappy, cramped apartments they're dying to get out of at every opportunity.)

Snapshot: A Tale of Two Espressos

I've acquired the habit of a double espresso at dinnertime, as between my paying job and this site, I work late into the evening.  Twice this week, I had the pleasure of partaking in this ritual at Alterra on Humboldt.  A regular espresso there, made by my favorite barista (not sure of the name--the guy with the hat) was a masterpiece.  The next night, a decaf double espresso, made by a different barista, was merely very, very good.  Both drinks required a short wait, perhaps a few minutes.

Tonight at Caribou at Bayshore, a double espresso order resulted in a huge portion--maybe six ounces--of indescribably awful wretchedness.  Knowing they have a superautomatic espresso machine, I knew the espresso would not be good.  However, there is a kind of "not good" that is also not that bad.  This was that bad.  Indeed, it bore no more relation to espresso than the "Cappuccino " (almost always French Vanilla) at your local convenience store bears to a barista-crafted beverage.  Not surprisingly, it was handed over to me while I was still completing the payment transaction.  No multiple takes there.

Specialty Coffee Drinks: 'Dollar Menu' Wars

Apparently, some bold independents are following Starbucks' lead in rolling out $1 cups of coffee.  The Java Connection in Waukesha has 99-cent cups.  This interesting article states that Starbucks will honor the $1 price for a short coffee here (it's actually a Seattle promotion), which I didn't know.

Plastic Bags Blow: China Bans Many Plastic Bags Effective June 1st

With its huge population, any policy implemented in China will have a massive impact--in this case, a positive one.  If you can get past the broken English in places, this is a great summary of relevant facts and figures.  China has a nice name for the blight caused by plastic bags and food containers: "white pollution."