Robusta is in the house! Now through Saturday approx.

Yes, most specialty coffees are from the arabica coffee strain. The Robusta strains have higher caffeine (significantly higher), produce more crema (nice for espresso blends), but are often lower quality (boo hoo).

This is a good one! Try it out if you come by soon. Only 15 pounds total available, so do or die.


It is Blupet Estate AA Sitara Robusta from India! From the karnataka Indian Plantation. . Thanks Greg (from GCBC) for distributing this one...

Cheers you coffee geeks!

-Nimbus

Here is some background on this coffee:

Karnataka Plantation Coffees is the premier importer of Indian coffee for the US (IMO). They have given beans their own grading system based on size and quality, and Ujwala (the beautiful owner of the business) is very well-connected over in India. These robustas are high-grown and washed, and treated like arabica throughout the process resulting in a very clean product. Their Sitara (Bright Star) AA grade robustas made a big splash this year, getting notice for their unprecedented quality and potential as a SO coffee. I have tried the Sethamuran Estate regular and peaberry, which are both very palatable as straight robusta. As a SO espresso, this bean won a barista competition, and if you can handle going into warp drive (2.5 to 4x the amount of caffeine as arabica) it is quite tasty. From the Karnataka website:
Quote
Sitara - (bright star) - is the crème-de la crème of the Robusta harvest far surpassing the Kaapi Royale. Connoisseurs in the Italian & American market have much admired the individuality of this washed blue-green coffee with bold beans & minimal defects.

Farmer Jason at Ray's on Saturday, Dec. 6h.

Saturday, Leone Ray turns 6 (whoohooo!), and we have Farmer Jason coming, and then at night it is Bardstown Road Aglow...Hope to see ya....

Here's the press release on Farmer Jason:

Farmer Jason Show - kid/family showSaturday, December 6th, Ray's Monkey House, 1578 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, http://www.raysmonkeyhouse.com/, (502) 459-4373 Show-time: 1:00PM, Ticket price: $5.00
Jason Ringenberg/Farmer Jason Information
There are photos suitable for print (both B&W and color) for Farmer Jason athttp://www.farmerjason.com/presskit.htm and Jason Ringenberghttp://www.jasonringenberg.com/01_jr_content_%20pages/14_jr_presskit/jr_presskit_frameset.html
Jason new album BEST TRACKS AND SIDE TRACKS 1979-2007 was just released on Yep Roc Records. The double CD set is a complete overview of Jason's solo career to-date including his pre-Scorchers band Shakespeare's Riot and new versions of Farmer Jason and Jason & The Scorchers favorites. A co-bill or the right support spot is fine.
Jason & the Scorchers received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Americana Music Association in Nashville, TN in September.
For over two decades, first as front with country-rock pioneers Jason and the Scorchers and now as aninternationally acclaimed solo artist with three solo cds under his belt, former Illinois farm boy JasonRingenberg has blazed a path as both innovator and interpreter of American country music. Jason has spentthe past three years touring the U.S. - even Alaska, all over Europe, and Australia. A hard-working performerwho travels light - just him, his guitar and his trademark yelp-Ringenberg has earned the moniker "the rockinest folksinger that ever lived!" The Scorchers recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with re-issues on Yep Roc Records.They toured with artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Carl Perkins, and REM among many others. http://www.jasonringenberg.com/

Jason Ringenberg's "twin brother" (wink wink), children's music star Farmer Jason, has been drawing sellout crowds with his rollickingdelivery of catchy songs and good times. He has a video program based on his songs playing on several PBS TV stations around the country."Rockin' In The Forest" explores a musical woodland where children experiencenatural wonders and receive subtle lessons on ecology, fitness, and history. He performs at schools, festivals, public libraries,museums, and other performing art spaces all over the globe. He recently performed at the ACL Fest in Austin, StagecoachFestival in Southern California, Big State Festival in Houston, Winnipeg Folk Festival in Canada and Old Town Schoolof Folk in Chicago. Disney's Family Fun Magazine named "A Day at the Farm with Farmer Jason" one of the top five children cds of the year.You can find out more information at http://www.farmerjason.com/.
Thank you for your time.

Soup!!!! Hot, yummy, homemade

Title says it all, homemade hearty veggie soup. Green beans, corn, potatoes, fake meat (seitan), white beans, onions and more....TASTY. Served with bread for $3.75.

Warm yourself up, also look for rotating varieties...

Cheers!

-Nimbus

Weekly Activities Updates

Nights of the week ACTIVITIES List !!!!


Mon, 7:30,
Movie Night (documentaries, environmental, political, activism etc)


Tues, 8pm-midnight
Bluegrass Jam, open to all. We get some great players here, but beginners are welcomed with open arms. Or just come to watch, listen and hang out.



Weds, 8-close
Singer songwriter /open stage


Thurs, 7-close
Awesome acoustic music by Shine-ola


Fri, 8pm-midnight
Jazz open stage


Sat, Kids storytime 4pm-4:45, Kids open stage (kiddie carnival) 5pm-7pm
then
8-close
Live Music TBA



Sun, 7pm- 10 pm
Euchre Night - please sign up at the shop. Prizes! All welcome.

Ethiopian Sidamo Korate and Upcoming Events

Hi!!!!

I don't know if I've yet mentioned our wonderful new Ethiopian, a natural processed Ethiopian Sidamo Korate -organic of course. It has a bunch of fruity flavors, mostly berry and some that are hard to identify. But they come through very strongly, accompanying a pleasant sweetness and some chocolate caramel flavor. I've been roasting it both medium and dark, and the dark roasts have really surprised me in how well the flavor comes through. Usually, in a darker roast, the fruitiness will be long gone, but in this bean it is obviously pronounced, leaving a nice rich full bodied cup. Give it a try when you're in... (french press recommended).

Upcoming:

1. Heidi Howe will be giving a special Family Concert Saturday, Sept. 6th, 4pm. She teaches Kids Rock! Music Classes at Louisville School of Rock in Industrial Park. Join us for this free afternoon show...

2. Mon (9/8), screening of "1932: Speak Not of Parties But of Universal Principles" Lyndon Larouche's film about a political journey through the history of the United States.

3. Tuesday (9/9), our Bluegrass Jam continues. 8pm to midnight...the first two weeks have gone really really well, with great turnouts and plenty of good music, so grab an instrument, or just show up to have a beer, coffee, tea, etc and watch...

3. Weds, 9/10...A Special Event with a filmmaker from Durham screening their film at 8:30, followed by a short Q and A, and then their band (also from Durham) plays a set, then our own Julia's band plays from 10:30-close. The film is called "Seeing Through the Fence" and is a grassroots documentary about veganism, animal rights, and human responsibility. Their band is called Beloved Binge and reminds me a little of both the B-52's and the Violent Femmes.

Julia's Band is "Say Darlin' Say" - they are a mix of bluegrass and old-time. All women, playing Banjo, Fiddle, Mando, guitar and lots of harmony vocals. They don't play out often, so don't miss this show!! Best yet, it is all FREE!!!!

4. And a new great band playing friday night...I'll tell more about them shortly! (There name is Break Zero, and they'll be playing BOTH friday and saturday nights!!)...kind of acoustic grunge - hard to categorize, but original music mostly....

G'night

-nimbus

Live music and upcoming events

Stuff coming right up...

Sunday Aug 24th 8pm: Crittenden Free plays "Songs of Protest" Free! Acoustic, with a folkish sound but definite Punk influences....should be a lot of fun!

Monday, Aug 25th: Movie night continues with "The 11th Hour" ....Leonardo DiCaprio's magnficent movie about the environment....7:30 showtime.... FREE!

Tuesday, Aug 26th: Bluegrass Jam/Open mic...bring an instrument or your voice, or just show up to watch. We start at 8pm...This will be a weekly event! Julia hosts this evening, and she'll be performing as well...YAY...

Thurs, Aug 28th: OBAMA acceptance speech party! Watch on a big screen with a bunch of us! We'll start gathering around 7pm...

Cheers,

-Nimbus Couzin

Beer and Wine now at Ray's Monkey House!`

Well, I applied in late April, and it took until Mid august to get the licenses, but we finally are selling beer and wine at Ray's.

Expect to see at least three local beers on tap. Currently we have two from Browning's and one from BBC. Cumberland is supposed to do an espresso stout for us soon. And New Albanian Brewing will be making us one of their first accounts in Louisville (they're waiting for their Kentucky license to come through - any day now).

Here's a preliminary beer/wine list...expect additions soon!

Oh! Happy hour 3-7 weekdays, and all day Sunday. During Happy Hour we sell draft beer for only $2.75 (cheap!), and all bottled beers are $1.00 off. Wine is $1.00 off also. PBR longnecks are always a happy hour price of two bucks.



On Draft
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (Kalamazoo, MI) $4.00
BBC Amber Ale (Louisville) $4.00
Browning’s Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout (Louisville) $4.25
Browning’s She-Devil (Imperial Pale Ale) $4.25
Stone Arrogant Bastard (San Diego, CA) $4.25
Bottles
Anderson Valley Hop Ottin (CA) $3.50
Avery Karma (Boulder, CO) $3.50
Avery Old Jubilation $3.50
Bell’s Amber Ale (Kalamazoo, MI) $3.50
Bell’s Pale Ale $3.50
Bell’s Porter $3.50
Bell’s Oberon $3.50
Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout $3.50 Boon Frambois ‘95 Marriage Parfait (750ml) (Belgium) $14.00
Dogfish 60 Min. IPA (Delaware) $3.50
Franziskaner Heffe Weiss (Germany) $3.25
Franziskaner Hefe Dark (16.9oz) $4.25
Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale (Cleveland, OH) $3.25
Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold $3.25
Great Lakes Edmund Fitz. Porter $3.25
Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale $3.25
Guinness Draft Bottle (Ireland) $3.50
Mackeson XXX Stout (England) $3.25
Newcastle Brown Ale (England) $3.50

North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout (Ft. Bragg, CA) $4.25
North Coast Red Seal (Ft. Bragg, CA) $3.50
Pabst Blue Ribbon (Wisconsin) $2.00
Pyramid Apricot (Seattle, WA) $3.25
Pyramid Hefe (Seattle, WA) $3.25
Rogue Dead Guy (Newport, OR) $3.50
Rogue Mocha Porter $3.50
Samual Smith’s Organic $4.25
Samual Smith’s Taddy Porter $4.25
Sheaf Stout (Australia) (25 oz) $5.25
Spaten Optimator (Germany) $3.25
Woodchuck Cider (Pear, Granny Smith, Dark and Dry, or Amber) (Vermont) $3.25 Young’s Double Choc. Stout (16.9 oz) (England) $5.25



wine Menu

Pinot Evil Pinot Grigio and Pinot Evil Pinot noir. These wines are both imported Italy and France respectively. Our two tasty house wines feature monkeys on the label. The Grigio is a simple crisp white with tropical notes. The Noir is equally light and easy to drink. Both of these wines are perfect for the patio or just as an afternoon delight. $5.00
Round Hill Chardonnay, This is from the Rutherford Wine company, a subsidiary of the largest organic grape producer in the USA. Grown throughout California and produced in Napa, this is a fantastic wine for the money $6.00
Paringa Shiraz, From South eastern Australia this wine is big, jammy and easy to drink. Imported by the grateful palate wine company, this is sustainably farmed and truly delicious. $6.00

Stay tuned for more wines coming soon...

Wheelchair ramp is finally done...Yippee

After about a month of on and off construction, we've finally finished our wheelchair ramp on the side of the building. Inspection passed, so it is open to business! So we are now more handicap accessible. (our bathrooms were built to be ADA compliant).

Jeremy did the bulk of the work for this beast, including the framing. Greg and I did a bunch of work also. Thanks guys!

I'll post some before, during, and after pictures here shortly!

Cold Brewed Iced Coffee

Hey all....

I'm behind on writing, but I'll post a few posts and then add some pix ASAP...how about that?

We finally started doing COLD BREWED coffee for our iced coffee! The way it should be done! No more espresso shots over ice for us, which both creates bitterness and melts the ice, thus watering down the final drink.

We're cold brewing using a commercial Filtron. Really simple. We grind the coffee (lots, 4-8 pounds) and add room temp water (3-6 gallons). Then wait. And wait. After 24 hours, we open the spigot, and - thanks to a double filter, out comes nice strong concentrated coffee. Very cool.

The cold brewing reduces the acidity by about 80%. The caffeine still makes it through, so you end up with a nice smooth mellow brew. Yummy. We've been using the Ethiopian Sidamo Korate for this one, and once I tried our new Nicaraguan. They both came out great..... yay! Progress!

Cheers!!

-Nimbus

New Arrival....Rain Maxwell Bolduc Couzin

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of our new baby, Rain Maxwell! He was born May 27th (three weeks after his "due date") and weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces. They measured 21.5 inches long, but a week and a half later at his first checkup he was 23.5 inches. Big kid! He has been eating well, and is up around 11 pounds already. He and mommy are doing great!

Special thanks to Jessica for her Birthing From Within class, and of course Amy and Juliet, and everyone else who helped us along the way....

-Nimbus


Here are a few pictures:

Hi everyone,

Movie Screening of "10 Questions for the Dalai Lama" and Monk speaking on Tibet

Hey all,

So on April 15th, prior to our screening of "10 Questions for the Dalai Lama" (highly recommended), we had a monk from the Drepung Gomang Institute speak about the current situation in Tibet. He spoke for about thirty minutes, and answered questions following the film, although afterwards he deferred to the Dalai Lama for the best answers.

The Dalai Lama does support the olympics, and doesn't want to deprive the people of China of having it in their country. Nor does he want the athletes to be punished. Nor does he call for a boycott of Chinese goods, because it would lead to suffering by the people of China. And of course he doesn't want violence. I personally find it interesting and sadly amusing to hear Chinese political leaders calling him a terrorist or similar. But we know how that word can be misused by leaders (such as Mr. Bush and his allies). I am encouraged by recent moves by China to meet with the Dalai Lama's envoys, and hope progress will be made, in no small part due to public pressure and grass roots protests, like the ones we had on Bardstown Road!

Cheers...and keep up the activism people..it really does work if you stay organized and "never give up!"

-Nimbus

Great American Meatout at Ray's Monkey House

Hey, free vegan food is hard to resist, so we had a great turnout for the annual Great American Meatout at Ray's Monkey House, sponsored by Earthsave. Between Nate handing out cupcakes (asking people "would you like a vegetarian cupcake?" he got a few funny looks, because people may think "as opposed to a meat-filled one?") and the college kids visiting from CUNY playing guitar for our open mic, it was a fun evening all around...

Here are some pix: (pretty sure the date was Mar 21st)

Thailand Trip ! Coffee, Thai wedding, elephants, bro, etc..

Jody and I made it to Thailand for a brief visit Feb 27-Mar 10th! We visited a bunch of coffee shops, one roaster, one coffee processing plant, visited my brother in Chiang Mai, had a traditional Thai wedding, went to an Elephant rescue sanctuary, and a bunch of other stuff....so we were busy, but it was great!

Here is a writeup of my "coffee stuff" plus a few pictures and a link to my other coffee pictures. More pix available upon request...

When I got off the plane in Bangkok I had only had Starbucks coffee for the past 24hours. From the Louisville airport kiosks (where their workers are no longer permitted to accept tips), to the three flights on United Airlines (which serves only Starbucks) I had few options. It was better than the airplane coffee of the old days, but it left me looking forward to exploring the coffees of Thailand, and Chiang Mai up north in particular. That was where I was headed.

Bangkok had plenty of coffee, mostly espresso or americanos for me. Soy milk was hard to come by, which didn’t bother me – I seldom drink anything but black coffee – but it did bother my wife, Jody, who as a vegan doesn’t drink cow milk. Our guest house had instant coffee in the room, and a coffeemaker with local (Chiang Mai) beans for breakfast and during the day. The owner explained that she no longer used Starbucks beans because they were too expensive. Our most pleasant coffee was probably an indie place on the river, where I had a double espresso. Price was just under $2 (55 baht).

On to Chiang Mai, far in the north near Cambodia and Laos. My brother had just moved there (days earlier) from Beijing, and we were set to be married in a traditional Northern Thailand Buddhist wedding at the end of the week. The husband of our wedding coordinator, an expat from BC Canada who had lived in Chiang Mai for 20 years, knew quite a bit about the history of the local coffee industry. Here is some information that I extracted from him: (in no way fact-checked or verified, but Simon does almost qualify as a local now)

History of Coffee in Chiang Mai, according to Simon:
In the 80’s, an NGO, the German Thai Highland Projects brought coffee trees to the hills outside of Chiang Mai. Originally, they only had lowland Robusta. Quite a bit was planted, and before long there was coffee. But they quickly realized that there was no infrastructure to get the coffee out. Nobody was buying it. Then a dutch guy – Gerald – came in and started to roast and sell locally. He was married to a member of the Lahu hill tribe, and lived there as well. He got it going in a few restaurants, but the market was still very limited. But others noticed his coffee, and started copying. So before long several roasters sprang up.

Gerald died in the early to mid 90’s, with the Chiang Mai coffee industry still in its infancy. Gerald sold his business to JJ Coffee. There was also Duong Dee Hill Tribe coffee, which began selling packaged coffee at grocery stores. Before Duong Dee, local coffee had pretty much only been sold in restaurants. Bon Café started marketing heavily strictly to hotels.

Starbucks came to town in the mid to late 90’s, located at the Night Bazaar. They chose a spot that would give them heavy visibility to tourists. For them, it was largely a marketing location. From then on, trendy coffee spots began popping up, and gradually spread throughout the town.

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are now almost entirely Arabica beans, with Robusta being produced down south.

One funny story about Starbucks early days is that they introduced a “hill tribe blend” and on the packaging used the logo from Duong Dee Coffee. They eventually came up with their own local blend.

Well, that is the abbreviated history according to Simon.

I was personally surprised at the sheer number of slick trendy coffeeshops around town. One stretch of road had one every half block. They appeared to be fancy Starbucks clones, with very few distinguishing features. Their clientele was almost all locals. Also, around town, one could find coffee nearly every block in small stands. Many would have real single group espresso machines and proper commercial grinders. Some would have mediocre non-commercial machines, which of course produced inferior shots.

Many of the fancier shops had decent latte art, which impressed me. Their presentation was often quite nice. Some shops, and roadside stands even, would serve a cup of tea to cleanse your palate after the coffee. Very pleasant. The average store price for espresso was about 45 baht ($1.50) and a latte was 55 baht (just under $2.00). Coffee on the street ranged from 10 baht to 60 baht, usually 25-30 baht (just under $1.00). Nescafe instant coffee was widespread also.

Many stands also made what is called “Ancient Coffee” or “Bag Coffee.” This coffee is made by keeping a cloth sack (bag) in a medium size steel pitcher for a long period of time. More coffee and hot water were added periodically, but it seemed kind of like a very long-term French press, without the pressing. The resulting coffee ended up very black and almost smoky-like. Carnation “oil” (it had sort of an oily creamy consistency and appearance) is added first from a can or squeeze bottle. Then, Carnation condensed milk is added. Then it is filled with the black coffee and stirred. I actually liked the ancient coffee. My local stand in Chiang Mai sold me large cups (about 12+ oz) for 15 baht (fifty cents).

We managed to visit a local Roaster, and Coffeeshop … The roaster there, named Noi, gave me a tour of his roastery. He works on a small Probat, and L5, so it is basically identical to what we have at Rays, just smaller. He was very friendly, and I enjoyed his americanos. He had a special discounted price if you bought the banana pancakes with it. (highly recommended)

In general, I didn’t find the local espresso or americanos particularly good. I’m fairly spoiled by Ray’s Monkey House freshly roasted super high quality coffee. But it was extremely exciting to see a new and growing coffee industry taking root in Chiang Mai. I wish them the best of luck, and I’m sure they will get better and better. I took plenty of pictures, so here are a few!

Cheers,

Nimbus

More coffee-related pictures from my trip can be found at http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/nimbusbeer/Thailand%2008%20coffee/

February Ice storm, and new vent stacks for the roaster

Well, anyone living in Louisville remembers the freaky weather from this winter. Tornadoes (twice) and ice storms (feels like a couple decent ones). Anyway, the first ice storm knocked down a big chunk of the old old tree in our backyard. Fortunately it landed between the house, shed, and parked vehicles (pickup truck and cruiser) and missed everything - even our compost bin...

The second ice storm resulted in a 7 am phone call from Jacob telling me the awning had collapsed. I hiked over from my house (two blocks) and sure enough the whole thing was on the ground blocking the front entrance. He had cleared a path on the side porch for people to get in. After a little warming and melting, and with a hand from someone next door at cumberland brews, we slid the 25 foot awning to the left of our shop where our other neighbor doesn't use their storefront and voila, a front door again.

It took the awning company a couple days to pick it up for repairs, and over two months to finish getting it back up there (and about 50 phone calls and ....you don't want to know). Contractors. Grumble. But it is finally up and finished (finished April 25th!).

Benjamin took some pictures of the awining in front, so I'll post them here soon...

---

Inside the shop, I was working on upgrading our roaster vent to increase airflow. I had it at the correct diameter according to the Probat spec manual, but acting on advice from the roaster over at Ritual Coffee in San Francisco, I went ahead and put in 8 inch pipe. Here are the pictures (I know, not too exciting for non-coffee geeks):

-Peace

Nimbus

Finally a new post from me !!

Hi everyone!

I'm way way behind on posting here, so let me try to play catchup, starting from way way back in February. So much has happened - and fortunately I was taking pictures. I've just been too darn busy to put them onto photobucket and then drag them over here...anyway, excuses excuses so let me get rolling in chronological order: I'll split it up into multiple posts, that way I can make slow progress at least (after 1 am right now, so I don't expect to get done tonight...).

The good news is that Ray's is rolling right along, everyone is well, big exciting things are happening left and right, AND our baby is due any day now....

Cheers!

-Nimbus

Whoops...forgot to post pix of the new sign

Hi Everyone!!

A few pictures for ya...nothing too new and exciting to report. We're changing our movie nights from Sun to Monday night (730). "The Corporation" is playing this week, a great documentary examing the power of Corporations in modern society. Story times continue to be Tues at 6, and Sat at 4pm. Open mics on Thurs (6pm) for adults and Fri (6pm) for kids.

I just completed upgrading our roaster vent pipes from six inch to eight inch, would may not have been necessary, but there is a chance that it'll give us even better control of our airflow through the roaster. Not essential, but we're very focused on quality so we're always on the lookout for ways to get even better. Also, I finally got the software working for a neat new temperature probe to get bean temperature accurately. It monitors the bean temp just inside the sightglass, and sends it wirelessly to my laptop computer, giving me a nice precise graph with data points every second. We had been taking data every 30 seconds by eye, so this will help us a lot. Yay. Again, just another piece in the puzzle...

Another bit of excitement is that our webpage is nearing completion, thanks to the hard work of Jacob. We'll let you know when it's up and running.




Typing away during Storytime at Rays....

Hmmmm...well, you can't see the detail from these photos...I'll find a better version from a photo we took on the ground.


Jacob, working on another coffee drink...

And April behind the bar while Adam makes up his mind...

Last, but not least, some yummy Ethiopian Sidamo is being brewed for the next few days. Get it while you can. We'll have a few bags for sale too.

Cheers

Sumatra Blue Batak

Hi all...

Just wanted to let you all know that we have some Sumatra Blue Batak available by the cup and even a little for sale by the bag. Limited time only for this somewhat rare coffee. It is very tasty and the best adjectives to describe it might be rustic, and brown sugar. I'm not sure what rustic means, but it is the word I thought of while cupping it, and then I found another reviewer using the same word, so it must mean something. Also hints of molasses. Enjoy while it lasts...should make it through the weekend and into Monday....

-Nimbus

Storytime at Ray's Monkey House

Hey...we had a good turnout for Storytime last Saturday, and Nicole from the C-J took some photos that went onto the online version of the Courier Journal, as well as onto Kentuckianamoms.com website.

Here's a link to the photos http://www.kentuckianamoms.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=B2&Dato=20080107&Kategori=MOMS&Lopenr=801070810&Ref=PH

Thanks John for more great storytelling.

I've got some more photos coming soon of my own, so keep a lookout...

Hey...haha...some of you lucky people got to hear me read a few stories tonight (Tuesday). John was sick, and I figured the show had to go on. Went ok, other than my little critter Leone running around like a wild one. Tough to read stories and discipline a five year old, so he got to have a little extra craziness. I'll try to leave it to the pros, but we will try our best to have stories at all the scheduled times.

What else is new and exciting? Some more Ethiopian Harrar, from a different lot than the last bag we had. Nice and fruity, with some blueberry flavor.

New coffee labels were done, but then Jacob's computer decided to eat his final version just before he emailed it to me. File was corrupted. So hours of work lost, but the next final version will be even better. We're using the center panel of Noah's store sign - slightly modified - and it should look really cool...

This Sunday, for movie night, we'll be showing "Earthlings," which deals with humans and animals and the relationships between the species. Viewer discretion advised. Here's a link to the film site: http://www.isawearthlings.com/ and a summary from them:

EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby.

Oh....word of warning, our decaf espresso grinder is broken (faulty switch). Should be running by tomorrow if all goes well (parts coming in overnight, and I'm having fun learning more about the inside of a Mazzer Super Jolly espresso grinder)....so watch out you decaf mocha drinkers - you know who you are!

Peace

-Nimbus