coffee break
(click to enlarge)
artist: norman quebedeau - 1983
chaen chan - 1993The lithograph above was purchased from
the above artist who became a friend,
after meeting him at the Caffe Trieste.
He was at the time, an artist working on
the side. After many visits he invited me to his
house and studio. He studied in Europe in
his younger days and is very well known.
Last yr I wrote about my experience at
Starbucks, which can be read here.
It just so happened they opened a store 45 minutes
away from us, not long after we closed our
coffeehouse. Thinking it would be a good way
to get into management and be able to move
once again to a larger city, I hesitantly
applied. Although I was the only person who liked
and had coffee experience, it took me a yr to
become a shift manager.
I lasted 2 yrs and the rest is history.
It's with a bit of humor that I see McDonalds
getting ready to put espresso machines and
baristas in their stores. And with even more humor
that SB rehired Shultz to put it in order again.
After my experience and seeing that most people
who frequent SB go for the flavored, not real
coffee, I think McDs will effectively kick
SBs ass in their endeavor. There can
be no real difference in quality nor
appreciation of the coffee bean and
where it comes from.
Not the worker bee who makes the drink,
who doesn't know or care about coffee.
10 comments:
I found your place because you had left a comment on a post where I had left a comment, so I followed your link and here I am. And so glad too. What a lovely blog. I look forward to spending time here.
btw, I couldn't get any pictures to load on this post. maybe blogger ate them?
i have always loved that trieste card, and still have some tucked away in the "archives". i sure do get nostalgic for the (former) north beach. in many ways, you wouldn't know it now. :(
Caffe Trieste, cool site.
You remind me that so much of life can center around coffee. I had visitors this morning. As I ground the coffee, I learned from them that they had never before experienced freshly ground coffee. I believe that I could have sold them a coffee grinder, had I had an extra one.
we fought the coming of a Starbucks to our town, but to no avail. we don't go there unless family or friends are visiting and just have to have an 800 calorie coffee with flavorings and whipped cream. it was a meeting place for a small group we had but the lack of cleanliness drove us out. (4 female baristas talking and goofing off while the tables and floor were sticky and disgusting) Many of the younger people in our family seem addicted to Starbucks and drink two or three flavored coffees a day. Our local Mall has so many Starbucks kiosks--I don't see how they can stay in business--it looks like over-expansion here and in NYC.
Even though we have an SB's our many coffee hangouts are doing well too, and have brisk "to go" traffic as well. Pretty much everyone in my town is walking around with a coffee cup in hand.
I sometimes feel guilty because I am a tea drinker. But I do understand the political and social consequences of places like Starbucks. Overall, we are all casualties of the same war, just different battles.
cm: Thanks for stopping by, no matter how you arrived. Will check your blog out soon.
annie:You must have an amazing archive! ; )
Yeah, I'm afraid to come back even for a visit. ; (
mary: It's a fun place, especially on Sats when they sing opera!
ssn: Like everything, enjoying coffee as it should be consumed, is an education and very unlike any SB experience!
Glad to hear you grind your own beans. I should have known! ; )
squirrel:SB is now paying for their WalMart attitude, that's for sure.
robin:Oh, we drink tea too (just not in the am)and need to post about that soon.
cool litho.
I love the minimal - as you well know!
hr9:Chaen's a very nice guy, pulled a great espresso and his studio was "way cool!"
Thanks for stopping by! You are so right when you say, "most people
who frequent SB go for the flavored, not real coffee." All those sweet sugary milky whipped-cream drinks. Ugh.
I read your account of working there, too -- and it really is all about quantity over quality.
Great blog!
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