Sun Shining Through

A gift high: Sun shining through after a rainy day.

A gift low: My feet-they are not so swollen and feel a lot better!

A gift far away: My mother working out details to come and visit after our little lady arrives.

3 gifts of endings:
~Ending of our season of our family being made of two.
~End of the summer, start of autumn.
~End of one book (start of a new one).

3 gifts fresh:
~The cleaness that follows rain.
~Refreshment of tea with a friend, leading to a fresh prespective.
~Also fresh perspective from time alone with Him (of far greater importance than the first).

A gift on vacation: The treat of a Jimmy Johns sub ;).

A gift home: A good sleep in my own bed (there is just nothing like your own bed).

A gift in relaxation: Refreshment in reading.

3 gifts of beginings:
~Finishing getting little girl's room ready.
~Reading to learn how to care for baby girl.
~Learning to more fully embrace the gift of contentment.

3 gifts together:
~Bright beads;
~New pattern;
~New addiction to a new beadwork stitch.

3 gifts heard:
~God's faithfulness spoken through His Word to my heart.
~Words of love and care from my husband.
~Words from a friend that lift up.

Peru Chanchamayo

As I type this I am getting ready to press the last of my Peru. Sadly I can't get anymore for now.
I figured it was time to get in gear and finally blog about it...sorry I don't mean to be a tease.
I really love Latin American coffees. I guess it's the nuttiness and cocoa notes that are usually present. I'm not sure :). Most are pretty acidic, so that is probably part of it.

(Break to go and pour water into my press)

However, I found Peru to be very different. The roasted nut and herby notes are very distinctive.

(Just took my first sip)

I find the aroma to be very rich and enticing. You can really smell the roasted nut notes. I'm going to miss this one very much!

I initially paired this coffee with a ginger molasses cookie as we don't really have anything herby in the store. It was ok this way, and I still really liked this blend right away.
However, pairing it as they suggest, with savory food and cheese really makes the flavors pop! Especially cheese.

A few other specifics:
~The beans used in this blend are grown on the eastern slopes of the Andes mountains. They are slowly ripened, which contributes to their unique taste.
~Peru is made through the washed method. (This means that after the coffee cherries are picked they are emerged in water for a period of time, then the pulp is removed. It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's not what this post is about.)
~Peru is a medium roast with a medium body.
~Peru is quite acidic, leaving a clean finish in your mouth after you take a sip.
~Peru is a certified Organic blend.
~Peru is certified Conservation international, meaning the area in which it is grown does not interfere with the ecosystem.

Community

There is nothing quite like community.
Having grown up in family like churches all my life, I have long believed this. I have had family everywhere I've moved, even when I was single, simple because I was a part of the family of God-it's amazing!

Little did I know though, when I was hired at Starbucks that I was going to become a part of a new community, one in which a passion and love of coffee drew us together.

After being hired I stumbled on one of my new favourite blogs: Starbucks Melody
She is a big starbucks fan, and posts a wealth of interesting information about starbucks and coffee. It's a really fun and informative blog, and the community there is uplifting (something that is greatly lacking "other" places).

So, after poking around for a bit, I started to comment. I even entered a contest with some photos of chalk art in our cafe.

I also chatted with her a bit on twitter.

Then one day a few weeks ago, this arrived:

My first thought "cool stamps!" (the man said the same thing of course). Then "who?" I open it and find a "Thank you" card..."what is this?" I really had no idea what this was!

I open it to find a starbucks gift card from the first starbucks cafe! "NO WAY!!!"
Melody had my address in case of winning the other contest and sent this as a thank you for participating in her blog! I've since learned more and more what a generous person she is and how she loves to send packages :) Thank you Melody for brightening our lives with your passion! It is appreciated!

Have I told you latey how much I...

I started that sentence not that long ago and poor DH looked so crest fallen when I finished it "l love my job." Poor guy (yes, I love you ;) ).
This past week I have been especially grateful to my wonderful co-workers. I've been having some killer headaches (migraine anyone?), and have been so glad to be backed up in my job, and not have them rolling their eyes at what an idiot I am, but rather encouraging me and telling me I'm doing fine. They may see this as just doing their job-but that just shows what character they have.
And I'll tell you what, when you've not had that in the past, you really come to appreciate it.
That and I love working somewhere where Barista girl and Barista Cowgirl make an appearance...

Kenya!

ok, so I've found a better phrase "Coffee Geek".
Maybe just Coffee Geek in training ;).
I like it a lot better and I defiantly am not a coffee connoisseur as I'm just taking my first baby steps.

I'm finally taking the time to post this :).

I DO really love trying different coffees, finding the different smells, mouth feels, flavour notes. I find it fascinating.

So, when you taste a coffee there are three different steps and different things that you are looking for. I'll touch on them since this is my first coffee tasting post:

~Aroma
When you smell the coffee (Black of course!), you cup your hand around the top of the cup and really inhale. Some smell nutty, earthy, spicy or floral.
When I did this with the Kenya I thought that it smelled lighter and fruity, and not just fruity but I could really smell the Citrus!

~Acidity
This is not like the acidity in wine, but rather how smooth it leaves your mouth feeling once you have swallowed. I found the Kenya left a very crisp and clean feeling on my tongue-so this means it is quite acidic, something I really like in a coffee.

~Body
This refers to how heavy it feels in your mouth. A good way to think of it is comparing how whole milk and skim milk would feel in your mouth. Whole would be very heavy and skim very light. This is also referred to as mouth feel.
I found Kenya to be very light on my tongue (it has what is referred to as a medium body).

~Flavour
What flavour notes do you taste? Is it earthy, nutty, floral and so forth.
I found the citrus notes in Kenya to be amazingly pronounced.

Another aspect of coffee tasting is pairing-eating a food that ascents the notes that are found in the coffee.

I made lemon loaf to go with my Kenya and found it made the citrus in the Kenya just pop!

I also found that when I added milk and sweetened it a bit (something I rarely do with coffee, just milk please ;) ) it really brought the fruitiness out even more.

African Coffees tend to have a really strong citrus undertone, the defining word for Kenya is Grapefruit.

Dark Cherry Mocha

Yes, warning, deep deep post to ensue.
I do have some deeper thoughts that I want to share, but I will wait for a clearer head to do so. I've been fighting off migraines this week. Fun stuff! So, this is just for fun :).
The dark cherry Mocha has arrived on the scene! So, here is my take on it-I am not a huge mocha fan, and really not a fan of full strength syrup mochas i.e. peppermint mocha. But, if you are one, you will probably really enjoy one!
The syrup is not overpowering, although, if not blended properly into a drink may remind you of cough syrup...however, if you are ordering a drink at starbucks and not throwing a little into something as an afterthought, it will be blended ;).
So far, I like the dark cherry syrup:
~By itself in a latte, hot or cold.
~With white mocha -white seems to blend a lot nicer in my opinion (I love it this way in a double shot!)
~In a vanilla bean frappuccino blended cream
~In a green tea latte
~In a black tea lemonade...
~Less sweet in a Strawberry banana smoothie
Now, what should I try it in today???

Just a little furthur...

How much does it take to make someone's day?
How much does it take to take an awkward moment and turn it into a moment of joy?

I had God hand me a little lesson a couple of days ago.
I was serving a customer who told me that she wanted two mocachinos. So I asked her if she was looking for a hot or a cold drink (as this is not something on our menu). She looked a good deal miffed. I then proceeded to finish putting her through the till and giving her her cookie. I decided that I should push a little out of my comfort zone and go further and explain why I had ask for clarification and how I just wanted to make sure I was giving her what she really wanted. This led to an immediate smile. Wow, that was not very hard and made a world of difference!

Later, as I was doing what we call a slide of the cafe (collecting dishes, straightening up) I saw her and asked her if they had enjoyed their mochas. She raved about how good they and her cookie were.

Amazing.

So I was thinking and praying about this later. Okay God. I'm getting your message. How often do I miss opportunities to reach others around me because I am comfortable in my little bubble. How often are there people around me who need a little something, or a big something, and I simply pass them by-because it is easier.
May I truly, but His grace live by this verse:
Ephesians 5:2
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.