Java, java, java mmmmm java!

I have not really liked Tuesdays for the last 6 or 7 years... all work related of course, but Tuesdays have seriously been a bad day for me.

However there is one glimmer of 'pretty darn good' on my Tuesday mornings, and that is my stop at a favorite coffee shop in Cochrane called Java Jamboree.
They seriously have the best Americanos I have ever had.  Yes, even better than the ones I used to make.  They are really the cherry on the whip cream on top of the best cake you've ever had.

Creamy thick espresso with crema the colour of dark caramel poured slowly over hot water... I always have to look into my cup before adding a dash of cream (I know, blasphemy to some, but delight to me).  And then the smell...

Oh the smell.  I close my eyes and have been transported to heaven.  The smell of rich dark coffee transports me back to a time of good friends and terrific conversations, leaving me feeling a little melancholic yet also brings a smile to my face. The smell wraps itself around me like a satin ribbon that is brought alive by the gentle evening breeze, caressing me, enveloping me.

Then the taste.  I like to wait until it cools down a little to bring out the true flavour of this incredible bean. 
Smooth, sweet and rich as it slides across my tongue and down my throat awakening my taste buds into a frenzy of need and want.
The after taste lingers like great memories from the past, leaving with me a sense of pleasure that can be enjoyed again and again.

I finish my wonderful cup of coffee and since there is no garbage handy I place the empty cup into my purse... forgetting about it.
That is until on my way home I feel a wet patch on my left buttock, I reach back realizing my purse is also wet as the scent of my morning bliss meets my nose.

Guess my coffee wasn't completely gone as it cools in the late afternoon breeze..... what a waste of the last drop!

Java Joys

So this opportunity arose that I just 'couldn't' say no to..... even though my mother kept asking what was in it for me and that I 'better' get a job out of it.......... a volunteer experience at the  Prairies Regional Barista Competition.

I was given the job of score keeper.
At the time I was thinking I would just be adding up numbers that were handed to me and that would be that.... and I was just handed numbers.
However I would enter these numbers into a program on the computer and then compare my entries with a buddy who was doing the same..... we then recorded the correct totals to a score sheet......

Our position at the Championship gave us the honour of looking like we were in a huge position of authority............ and we kinda were.......... with knowledge!

We were the ONLY ones in the entire building who knew, KNEW, who was in first place or last place.. not even the judges had this information.
It was great.

But what was even better was being able to see the score sheets and read all the comments from the judges.  I felt like I could get up there and compete myself that very moment knowing what they were looking for.
I 'learned' so much.. and from the best top Baristas in our area...

My mother was wondering what was in it for me.... experience, knowledge,connections, and a sense of belonging... that was what I got out of it.
I am going to miss this community of 'coffee' very much... and my time at this Championship had me questioning my motives for selling my business (only briefly).
But I do know I want back in the coffee industry somehow..... not owning my own place, but perhaps working for one.
I would love to either work for Fratello OR a trendy coffee shop that sends it's well trained Barista's to competition and focuses on latte art and extreme coffee knowledge.
There are some incredible high end roasters in this province, Fratello, Transcend, Phil and Sebastian and Kienna coffee, and they were all present at this competition, we are lucky to have this quality available to us Albertans...... Time to go on a province trekk and hunt out the shops that were competing this weekend.

I think for me it will always be about the java... how could it not... it has been who I am for the last 6 years.