Coffee roasting class at the Domestic Institute of Technology

If you want to start roasting your own coffee beans at home — or are at all interested in how beans are roasted — check the website of the Institute of Domestic Technology for upcoming classes. The first coffee roasting class took place in October, taught by LA Mill coffee roaster Ian Riley. Another is scheduled for Jan. 22, says Joseph [...]

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

For every season there is a coffee beverage. I always hear people getting so excited when the seasonal drinks come to their local coffee chain because they wait all year for that one particular taste. Summer brings the frosty, icy drinks. Winter brings all things peppermint. And fall? Fall brings the return of the pumpkin [...]

Seasoning Your Menu

Solutions for Operators I hate to point this out, but Fall is nearly upon us in the Northern Hemisphere. This morning upon waking, the air was chilled; admittedly sensitive to cold, I had to wear sweats. Do you change your cafe menus with the seasons? It’s a great way to keep your existing customers intrigued [...]

Remix – the Spanish Coffee

One of my favorite drinks can be found in Portland, Oregon at a long-lasting bar called Paddy’s. Paddy’s is a gorgeous older bar, with a back bar nearly forty feet wide and sixteen feet tall, replete with two of those rolling library ladders for the bartenders to get to the ultra-premium top shelf. This bar, [...]

Daughters, Oil Changes and Hot Chocolates

A few nights ago I was with a good friend, hanging out in the garage, as he taught his young teenage daughter how to change the oil on a SUV. They were both under the truck, poking around, as he explained everything about oil’s function in engines. This time they spent together was pretty awesome [...]

The Cool Dad’s Guide to Blistering Heat Wave Mocafe Smoothie Iced-Pops

Ayup, you are a Dad. In modern marketing, you’re the guy. You run that backyard grill with ease, get greasy ala ‘Dirtiest Jobs’, can drive a semi on ice roads and haul king crab in a raging Dutch Harbor sea – all while riding a horse bare chested offering pearls. You’re the dude of the [...]