From the newspaper today:
Coffee shops to celebrate fundraiser
Valley Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores have donated thousands of packages of ground coffee to American troops in Iraq during a fundraiser that ran from Memorial Day through July Fourth.
In honor of this achievement, all 13 Valley stores will be offering free coffee to immediate family members of troops all day Thursday.Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Phoenix is at 20235 N. Cave Creek Road.
Information: coffeebean.com
Here is a great link to some coffee drinks that have been illustrated. This sort of material would be really handy in explaining the espresso drinks menu to someone new to coffee.
Someone reminded me about The Beanery Bakery & Deli, in Peoria and I wanted to post the address in case anybody wanted to check it out. I’m not out that way very often, but I’ve added it to my list to visit next time I have a reason to drive that way.
The Beanery Bakery & Deli
8267 W Lake Pleasant Pkwy.
Peoria, AZ 85382
Phone: (623) 561-1985
Is anyone familiar with Into The Bean Coffee House? I ran across it, of all places, in the Arizona Coffee archives. They appear to be right across from Mesa Community College and have been open since 2004.
Into The Bean Coffee House
1710 W. Southern Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85202
Phone: (480) 890-0579
Located between Dobson & Longmore, across from MCC
On my way back from a meeting, I decided to stop in at Unlimited Coffee for a quick refresh. I’m pleased I did. I’ve driven past this location at least a hundred times, always wondering about the story.
Inside, it’s one big room with a massive conference table in the center. I count 14 chairs around the table. This is road-warrior central. They have power outlets at every seat, and the wireless internet is flowing.
Around the walls there are white leather couches. They look a bit warn, however they are super comfortable. One of the barista gets up from his seat when I walk in, and makes my drink. It’s close to 110 outside and so I order a frozen vanilla latte. It blended, and the vanilla flavor is strong. I’m counting the number of people here. There are 14 people here. Not too bad for a Thursday afternoon in Phoenix.
Because of the set up, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Unlimited Coffee is a daily hangout. In 2006 the Arizona Republic called it “Cheers without the alcohol.” Interesting.
One of the owners is behind the counter talking to a customer. He’s telling the customer about how they have customers who call them while they are on vacation. Definitely like Cheers.
Anyways, I wanted to post about this place since it looks like a good place to hang out and get on the internet, while enjoying a coffee.
Unlimited Coffee
741 E Glendale Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85020
Phone: (602) 252-1200
Randy writes:
Chris,
We are getting close to opening. Would you please post that we are now accepting applications for experienced baristas. We anticipate opening in October.
Applications can be downloaded on our website, www.toshisroast.com.
Thanks,
Randy
Toshi’s Roast
17058 West Bell Road, Suite 100
Surprise, AZ 85374
Phone: (623) 518-6279
It’s a Grind Coffee House in Tucson made the newspaper.
When Julie and Felix Muñoz decided to chase their dream of working for themselves, they decided on coffee.
“We love the coffee shop environment,” Julie Muñoz said. “We enjoy meeting and greeting customers. We knew we could create an atmosphere that’s fun and upbeat.”
It took the couple 18 months, from research to opening day, to realize their dream. They opened It’s A Grind Coffee House, 7805 N. Oracle Road, near West Magee Road, in December.
It’s a Grind Coffee House
7805 N Oracle Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85704
www.itsagrind.com
Tucson coffee shop Caffé Lucé will soon ad music and other events to its calendar. The Arizona Daily Star has the story.
Owners Michael Foster and Martyn Meisner plan on starting a live music series — first on weekends then also on weeknights — as soon as the University of Arizona’s fall semester begins.
The two-month-old coffee shop, 943 E. University Blvd., will feature local acoustic artists as well as national touring acts. Foster says Meisner has the right connections to bring in some quality musicians — Meisner had a five-year contract with Sony/Epic Records during his time with the Mayfield Four in Spokane, Wash.
Over time, the coffee shop will also add poetry readings and art walks in addition to its already established free Wi-Fi.
“We are not here to rape and pillage like major corporations do,” Foster said. “We want to give back and integrate ourselves within Tucson. We built this company as a community company.”
Caffé Lucé
www.caffeluce.com
943 E University Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85719
I noticed that Ground Control has been featured in the newspaper. Congratulations on the press!
Brewing up community
Annemarie Moody
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 14, 2007With a European sensibility, Ground Control in Goodyear is both a cozy neighborhood coffee shop and an urban wine bar with live music three nights a week.
Goodyear residents Sean and Tara Rassas opened Ground Control Coffee, Wine and Gelato Lounge on June 30.
The couple met while attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Sean now is stationed at Luke Air Force Base and is flying F-16s.
They got the idea to open a wine bar while living in Germany, then decided to combine it with a coffee lounge.
“In Europe, the coffeehouses were really community-centric. We wanted to re-create that here,” he said. The couple have lived in Goodyear for two years and have spent much of that time working on getting Ground Control off the ground.
The Rassases employ experienced baristas who turn the French-pressed espresso drinks into something special with flavors such as mango, coconut and pistachio. For an extra coffee treat, several baristas can design the foam to look like anything from a heart to a tiger.
Ground Control barista Steve Kelly has 21 years of experience to offer customers of the lounge, in a shopping center on the northwestern corner of Litchfield and Indian School roads.
The lounge’s unusual features and products include a coffee-bean-shaped center counter, freshly made Italian gelato, imported beers on tap, a nearly completed bar with 110 wine bottles, local art and music, specialty beers on tap and tasty panini sandwiches and pastries.
The Rassases want the lounge to be the place people come to hang out, have a drink and talk with their friends, family and neighbors.
“Business has been steadily increasing,” Sean said. “Customers are already good at being regulars and are loyal to locally owned businesses.”
One thing you won’t find is Wi-Fi. Sean said he’s resisting the idea of people on their computers because “we already sit all day in front of them.” They want their customers to talk to one another and enjoy the atmosphere.
Tara said the cozy corner booths are the most popular, especially favored by the weekend crowd.
Ground Control is the Rassases’ first business venture, but they relish the opportunity to bring their overseas experiences to the Southwest Valley. Their 7-year-old daughter, Sydney, has already been to 35 countries.
The couple’s other children, Cole, 3, and Connor, 2, spend time with their parents at the lounge, taking advantage of a children’s play area in thront corner.
A private meeting and party room should be finished by early September, adding to the something-for-everyone attitude at the lounge.
Ground Control
14140 W. Indian School
Suite B1
Goodyear, AZ 85395
Phone: (623) 935-2604
Anthony Santa Cruz writes (in a press release sent to us):
We are very please to announce the introduction of the first organic coffee bar drink menu available in the Phoenix area. We now offer a full organic drink menu including all organic milks and a selection of organic flavored syrups to go with our organic and fair trade coffees and teas. We have proudly carried only the best in organic and fair trade coffee beans and tea leaves since opening in June 2006 and our new menu is the latest in our continued effort to provide our customers with the best product available. Here at Bunna Coffee Tea and Market, our mission is to provide organic and fairly traded coffees and teas to our community and to educate our customers to the high quality and positive social effects that result from eco-friendly products and practices.
Our recent partnership with Shamrock Foods and their new organic dairy line of whole, 2% and nonfat milk has allowed us to replace our conventional milks and add to our existing organic soy and rice milk options. We also proudly carry organic flavoring syrups by Monin and Liquid Planet that allow us to make nine out of every ten drinks we sell to be 100% organic.
Here at Bunna, we are passionate about providing organic products for several reasons, the foremost of which is quality. Organic products are farmed and produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides and without the use of genetic engineering. Organic coffees and teas receive a higher quality of care then most non-organics and because of the lower crop yields only the best available plants are used to begin with. It is this attention to detail that sets organic products apart. Organic products are therefore produced without the negative ecological impact that many conventional products create. Many of our coffees and teas are certified shade grown as well; which, coupled with organic growing techniques, allows native ecosystems to continue to thrive along side coffee and tea production. In addition to shade grown, our organic coffees and teas are certified fair trade. The fair trade mark certifies that farmers and producers are paid a fair and livable price for their goods enabling them to continue to produce the best coffee and tea in the world. The pairing of organic and fair trade labels encourages coffee and tea growers to practice these renewable methods without the threat of being forced to sell their goods at an artificially low price set by local governments or export restrictions.
On a related note, as of September 1st, Bunna will no longer be using conventional plastic products. Thanks to Reed Paper Distributors, everything from our hot and cold cups and to-go containers to our utensils will be made out of natural plastic products derived from corn or bamboo. We not only want to give back to you, our customer, but to the earth as well. Thank you.
Bunna Coffee Tea & Market
7520 S. Rural Rd. Suite #12
Tempe, AZ. 85283
Phone: (480) 377-2886
Elliot & Rural on the NW Corner
A teenager was rushed to hospital after overdosing on espresso coffee.
The 17-year-old downed seven double espresso coffees while working in the family’s sandwich shop and was left “burning up and hyperventilating”.
I received an email yesterday from Charlie Panipinto and Renee Wold letting me know about their switch to Intelligentsia.
In celebration of FOUR YEARS of service we are proud to announce our new business alliance with Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea! Intelligentsia is definitely a coffee connoisseur of independents with a serious mission to work at origin. This means directly traveling to their coffee’s source each of the 12 months of the year. So when you see the Intelligentsia Direct Trade logo on the bag, you know how much effort has been invested in each bean. We at Elixer believe in honoring that hard work and with tremendous responsibility, skill and knowledge we’ll do justice to the end product—your coffee.
We share a common passion. We are both companies that take great pride in our product and we feel that we share a responsibility in utilizing our unique platform to showcase and make great coffee. So we are thrilled to be collaborating with people who share our vision of quality. We look forward to sharing this experience with you and will answers any questions of all aspects of our new coffee solutions.
Download PDF. This is an exclusive for Arizona Coffee, they haven’t even sent these out to their customers yet — and apparently there are more goodies to come.
Thanks for keeping us informed!
Elixer Coffee Solutions
Located On North Patio Of Fry’s – Rooney Ranch Center
10661 N Oracle Road (First Ave And Oracle Road)
Oro Valley, Arizona
Last Friday I needed a break from work and so I drove over to Copper Star Coffee. I must have driven past 10 other potential coffee spots, but I knew I could get a comfy seat and a brownie. Mmm.
Espresso bar.
Interior shot, menu boards.
Funky shot of the garage door.
Espresso machine.
Delicious latte.
Did you know that Copper Star Coffee bakes all of their cookies and treats on site? They have amazing cupcakes!
Copper Star Coffee
4220 N 7th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85013
Phone: (602) 266-2136
Does anybody know who roasts coffee for Hava Java? We’ve been enjoying some Vienna Roast here at Tornado Design and enjoying it quite a bit.
