Sketches made on napkins, evidently with coffee, that document one man’s history with coffee.
Category Archives: coffee-life
Table service
When you are running a cafe, one of the decisions you need to make is whether you will offer table service, or if you will set up an “order and pay at counter” situation. With the former, there’s an extra staff cost, but it comes with the benefit of making your customers more relaxed, and …
buy coffees, get something free
I’ve been thinking about this for a while: although not all the cafes offer loyalty cards, when they do, it’s an extension of the cafe-going experience, so it’s worth considering. I’ve scanned in a few that I picked up recently, and thrown them into this post. In my own experience, my first encounter with these …
grind – new website
One of my favourite cafes, Grind, in Cronulla has a new website.
what goes best with a coffee?
A reader asks – what is something that you’d could be persuaded to buy when you go for your coffee: specifically, something with a long-ish shelf life. No one wants, for example, stale croissants, but it’s possible that you might like to have a small, gourmet chocolate. In my travels, I’ve seen a lot of …
the mysterious short cappucino
This old slate article explains that you can (could?) get a short cappucino at Starbucks – a better, cheaper coffee, but it’s a secret. Why? It’s all about extracting the most money a customer is prepared to pay. If someone has no idea there’s a cheaper version available, they will spend the extra money on …
the espresso ceremony
the espresso ceremony What prompted me to have a brief respite from the world of decaf, and try a real shot of coffee? Was it that Velluto Nero has won awards for their coffee? Was it that a commenter said I should look at the caffeinated coffee, not the decaf, when reviewing a place? Was …
on the closure of many starbucks
Not wanting to jump into the fray too soon – rest assured, gentle reader, I was watching the news on Tuesday afternoon, waiting for an announcement to see what would happen – I’ve had a chance to think about the Australian Starbucks closures a little more, and thought it was about time to comment. Whether …
frothing milk
Frighteningly detailed guide to frothing milk over at coffee geek. For beginners, though, perhaps it’s better to think about it more simply. Start with cold milk, in a metal jug with a pouring spout. No more than half-full. Remove any “froth enhancing” elements on your steam wand – they’ll over-lift the milk, and it won’t …
sites that review cafes
People often recommend cafes for me to review, but on occasion, I have to find a place without a referral. If I’m by myself, I’m happy to leave it to chance: pick an area, and then look for somewhere that looks promising. Other times, I’ll look at a different website (or a book of reviews) …