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

Open mic nights at Rays...and coffee of course

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to announce two new open mic nights (one for kids!) starting in a week...also, we're currently serving some nice Sidamo dry processed coffee that is very tasty. Fruity berry flavor along with chocolate. I have one brewing right now, and another - from a different lot - that we'll fire up when this one runs out. Also, a Sumatra Lintong Triple Pick batch that is ready to roll... For dark roasts, we have a Malawi Mapanga curently.

Here's the scoop on open mic:

BOTH OPEN MIC nights start at 6 pm...and run til' we're done!

"Conscious Creation from Chaos! The Carnival is a continual birth of images, sounds, things to egg on the ear drum, tickle the tastebud, fascinate the feelers and perplex the peepers. Most of all, it is the uttering of understandings." "

The Carnival is currently celebrating:in Louisville, Kentucky.Ray's Monkey House (Coffee Shop) 1578 Bardstown Road

Thursdays: Adults Open Heart Purgery: (starting January 3, 2008)
Every Thursday: an accoustic open stage for adults to share their talent and open heart with us, whether with music, storytelling, jokes, poetry, or just unloading some thoughts, take the spotlight and open your heart to us. Make it fun!

Fridays: The Kiddie Carnival: (starting December 28)
Every Friday: A chance for kids to shine like they're born to do. This accoustic open stage for kids gives kids a chance to get up and express themselves (music, jokes, stories,show, share their week, and tell of a favorite item, what can you offer as a gift to us?), experience an open jam atmosphere, get to know others, and be commended and praised for being themselves. There's also performances by special guests for the kids.

More on the Conscious Carnival:
"Marvel at the Mystery of You! Behold the Beauty of BE-ing! DEFY your Fears and Revel in the Free Gift of Life! As we all walk our journeys, we are experiencing and learning about ourselves. We create to share what we have learned. We are processing what we experience so that we may try to gain understanding. What better way to process than to come together and share our understandings with each other? We might be surprised that we are not alone, and that there are others willing to accept and support us. "

Rockin' 'N Rollin' for Bardstown Rd Aglow (and Accordians)

Accordians and all were out in force for Bardstown Rd Aglow on Dec. 1st (thanks Noah, for the accordian performance and the great artwork). We all had a good time and a lot of people made it by the shop for their first time. Very cool.

The Ethiopian Sidamo we had brewing that night was one of our tastiest batches yet. And I roasted some Bolivian Cup of Excellence, which we should have as our medium roast of the day this week (Wed-Fri approx).

Cheers...

-nimbus

Week six...wow...time flies

Hi Everyone,


It feels almost like we opened yesterday, and at the same time it feels like we've been open forever. I've managed to take virtually no pictures of the place, but so much has happened and I keep learning something every day. No major diasasters, plenty of minor ones, and life goes on....





Benjamin has taken some good photos, and I've taken a couple too, so I figured I'd post a few, while Leone Ray sleeps....

-Peace,
Nimbus

FINALLY Open....WhooHooo!!

Hey ya'll...

We finally opened our doors on October 15th. Yay. Sorry for the slow post here, but way way too busy. Everything has gone pretty well so far. Lots of people have come by, enjoyed coffee and baked goods (and tea), and a lot of kids have played with the toys we have here (and spinny chairs). Overall, quite a smooth first week.

We had a fairly steady trickle of people throughout the week, and finally got busy on Saturday and Sunday. Jacob and Andrew had the pleasure of the first big rush of people and handled it well. In fact all of our Baristas have been doing a great job. Thanks everyone.

Benjamin and I have kept on roasting, barely keeping up with the coffee drinkers. But at least we're staying one or two steps ahead. My favorite coffees thus far have been the heavy chocolatey and fruity (blueberry, apricot??) Ethiopian Likempte (Fair Trade Organic and we have two big bags!) and the Brazilian Poco Fundo (also FTO), which has a lot of body and fruit as well, almost reminicent of an Ethiopian. Our Mexican "elephant bean" was great roasted dark also.

Up next is our Yemen Mokha Matari....should be ready in a day or two! Pix coming soon...but still running around....

Cheers!

-Nimbus

As usual, getting closer

just testing

trying to get the comments button working again...