Arizona Coffee

Towards the end of this Chow Bella interview we learn that Hayes McNeil is planning a new coffee shop at the Farmers Market downtown. It’s a small shop, though, at 160 sq ft.

This just in… The Coffee Plantation’s location in Tempe will be closing at the end of day Saturday, May 30th the Arizona Republic reports.

Through tears, a Tempe Coffee Plantation worker said the Mill Avenue store was closing Saturday.

The shocked worker said she had learned of the closure Friday morning.

Store Manager Cody Peck said the longtime coffee shop that has served generations of downtown Tempe regulars would serve its last cup of coffee tomorrow.

The store is open today until 9 p.m. and shuts its doors permanently tomorrow at the same time.

Thanks for the tip from Chuck.

The Coffee Plantation
680 South Mill Avenue
Suite 101
Tempe, Arizona 85281

Last Friday I had this cappuccino at Press Coffee. They’ve just hired a new barista that moved here from Wisconsin and worked at Alterra for 5 years.

Ron Cortez was on LaFusion today. I filmed the spot and you can watch the video below. Great job, Ron!

Thanks to C.C. Royal for this tip: Winfield’s Cafe was featured this morning on ABC 15′s morning show called Sonoran Living. You can read the story and watch the video clip here.

A couple of interesting things:

1. Employees are volunteers — curious about how that works?
2. Coffee is roasted by Matador Coffee.
3. Winfield’s Cafe is located at 7025 East Osborn Road in Scottsdale.
4. It’s part of the First Baptist Church of Scottsdale.
5. The shop is named after Winfield Scott, the founder of Scottsdale.

I visited Lola Coffee on Thursday morning for the first time. It’s a coffee shop that just opened up on May 11 and is owned / managed by Daniel Wayne. He is the former owner of Lux Coffee and Lola Tapas (with his ex wife). According to Chow Bella, the two shops share a name and nothing more.

Daniel Wayne – Owner

Latte

(more…)

Seriously, can you believe there’s so much to talk about that there’s a whole blog about coffee in AZ? Thanks Arizona for being both interesting, and for improving coffee. And thanks for all of the loyal followers/readers who push coffee shops to push out quality drinks. Since I started this site, coffee in AZ has improved significantly.

West valley coffee-goers can rejoice that another shop has opened up. The new shop is called Pacific Grind Coffee Co. and was formerly known as Cornerstone Coffee House.

I only know about the sale and reopening because of Clintus, so props to him. You can view photos of the shop on this Brightkite page.

Pacific Grind Coffee Co.
13915 N Dysart Rd
El Mirage, AZ 85335
@pacificgrindco

Keith Shull wrote to let us know that Matador Coffee has opened a new shop.

Mario Martusciello of Matador Coffee Roasting Co. has moved the roasting facility and has opened a coffee shop. They’re now at 3230 E. Union Hills Dr. – Suite #135 (just north of Paradise Valley Comm. College). And they’re hosting a coffee tasting event as a fundraiser for a local ministry.

Thanks for the news.

After a short sabbatical Elixer Coffee Solutions has resurfaced at Harlow Gardens Nursery. Owners / Operators Renee and Charlie wrote to announce the news and provided a couple of great photos.

The company, if you remember, operates out of a Studebaker truck. They boast Intelligentsia Direct Trade coffees. If you’re in Tucson, be sure to stop in and taste the coffee.

Elixer Coffee Solutions at Harlow Gardens Nursery
5620 E Pima St
Tucson, AZ 85712
M-S 9 to 5, and Sun. 10 to 5

Just as I was leaving from my visit to Lola Coffee this morning owner / operator Daniel Wayne stopped me and asked “who are you writing for?” because he had seen me taking photos and video. I mentioned Arizona Coffee (I don’t think he was aware of the site) and he offered to make me something with latte art.

I accepted and here is my photo. It came out beautifully — he’s obviously talented. In fact, he told me he had won a regional latte art contest last June (I regretfully don’t remember the name of the contest, but he said it’s coming up again in June). I have more photos and coffee pictures which I’ll post soon.

Lola Coffee
4700 North Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: (602) 265-5652

Did anybody else notice the triangle of coffee shops forming downtown? All within walking distance!

Also, I find it really interesting how Lola Coffee is just a half mile north of Lux. Talk about cannibalizing your previous establishment. Not that it will hurt Lux, that place is always packed anyways. The great part is they’re all within reach of Light Rail and walking distance, including Copper Star.

There are all sorts of new shops opening up downtown soon. It’s really exciting.

Lola Coffee
4700 North Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: (602) 265-5652

LUX Coffee Bar
4404 N. Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: (602) 696-9976

Copper Star Coffee
4220 N 7th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85013
Phone: (602) 266-2136

Hooray, a new coffee shop has opened in Phoenix! Lola Coffee is just south of Camelback on Central. I’m planning a trip over there this week but for now you won’t want to miss these great photos.

There are also some good reviews on Yelp!

The owner is Daniel Wayne who also founded Lux (and sold it) and Lola Tapas. I understand the baked goods are made by the previous owners of Sweat Pea (which was a bakery on Jackson St. that recently closed).

Lola Coffee
4700 North Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: (602) 265-5652
Note: Cash only

I was talking with a friend today over at Coffee Plantation and he asked me if I had seen this video of Malcolm Gladwell talking about spaghetti sauce. I said I hadn’t. After watching the video I came to the conclusion that you can learn a lot from what Malcolm Gladwell says.

Towards the 10 minute mark and again at the end Malcolm touches on coffee briefly. The whole video helps with understanding taste preferences and how we’re all alike, yet completely different.

Here are the 1st through 3rd place photos from the Latte Art Throwdown at Press Coffee. The rest of the photos can be seen on my Flickr profile.

1st Place: Natasha Bell

2nd Place: Jason Calhoon

3rd Place: Steve Kraus

Thanks everybody for coming out. If you want to see the rest of the photos, check my Flickr profile.

Rankings:

1. Natasha (66 points)
2. Jason (63 points)
3. Steve (58 points)
4. Arielle (52 points)
5. Carrie (51.5 points)
6. Chase (46 points)
7. Lisa (36 points)
8. Dante (34 points)
9. Katie (32 points)