Mugs

Call me crazy...but I think what holds the coffee is important. Not as important as the coffee inside...oh no no. But when I'm at home, I gravitate towards certain mugs. Whether because it's a style, or a color, or a message. I like my Billy Joel 2008 mug, for instance, because I love the hell outta that guy and got to see him in concert this year. I also have a half-size mug I picked up when my grandmother moved, and it's just so small and unusual looking I can't help but use it.

Most coffee shops give you a disposable cup by default. My one complaint about Dunkin Donuts is they use styrofoam cups...I mean, c'mon now. That stuff will be puzzling the archaelogists for eaons. I think the paper cups that White Castle use really are part of the flavor...you can't help but pick up some of it as the coffee flows through the mouthpiece. Paper is also nice because you can recycle it, and make the cups themselves out of recycled material (watch for that when I open my shop).

Something that just tickles me pink when I go to a coffee shop is when they offer a mug to their dine-in customers. Caribou does this (I believe...though now that I've typed it I'm 2nd guessing myself). Lookout Joe's does for sure. I've even seen Starbucks do it. It makes the shop that much more like home, makes my Wednesday night date or meeting that much more like Saturday morning at home.

So...I think...when I open my shop, there will be an emphasis on providing mugs. Not some standard set from Sysco. Maybe thrift store mugs. A mismatched set. Odd looking ones. Different sizes. Something to provide character, because character brings in repeat business:

Cafe Hound Joe: "Man, I really want some coffee, but...no idea where I want it from."
Cafe Hound John: "What about that place with all the crazy mugs?"
Cafe Hound Joe: *Floors accelerator*

Or something like that. Joe and I were much better at remembering the names of places, for one thing.

More about the selection process, later. But for now, think about it. Do you like a place for coffee because of their cups? Do you hate a place because of their cups? Are you more or less indifferent?

Life Rears It's Ugly Head

So one of the keys to getting a coffee shop off the ground is having the savings to live off of before you actually make money.

Right now, I'm carrying a bit too much debt and have precious little savings. This necesitates a 2nd job, which at first I thought would only be a couple days a week, and wouldn't slow me down much.

However, somewhere in my development I picked up a few things that are detrimental to having an easy time at work:

1. Work ethic (I don't like standing around at work)
2. Initiative (There's spilled food on the floor...so I clean it up)
3. Ability to grasp simple concepts (If the sticker says 16" pizza, the sticker goes on a 16" box!)

This means I now have more hours than I know what to do with. I like this, because money is nice. I may actually have enough soon to actually buy coffee from a shop someday soon.

How does this affect you? I'm getting jealous of my free time, and need to scale back the blogging. For the time being, I'll only be posting once a week, on Wednesdays. I'll make sure they're of amped-up quality and worth the wait, but otherwise can offer nothing but apologies if this disappoints.

Thanks for the eyeballs!

Why I DO Go to Coffee Shops

The main reason I go to a coffee shop is the fact it offers something I don't have. I've broken that down into several areas below.

• Coffee:

Usually, that means espresso. I DO have an espresso maker, but it's the $25 Mr. Coffee version. It makes some yummy stuff...but simple stuff. It's not really good at pulling shots. The steamer is sketchy sometimes and my foaming attachment broken. I can make a latte, sometimes a cappucino, but that's it.

And that's assuming I have espresso beans handy. Not usually the case with my budget.

I also don't keep the same level of flavor syrup, mocha powder, etc etc that your average Starbucks does. If I want something sweet and jolty, I usually have to go out for it.

• Atmosphere

Coffee shops are typically hip, y'know? Places of activity. People around, nice music playing. It typically beats the pants off whatever I have going on at home. It's a nice place to get my think on, because the people and the noises around are vaguely stimulating, but easy to tune out. A nice background noise if I'm planning on writing or reading.

• Friendship

Just read the last few posts about different coffee shops. I was at nearly all of them to meet someone or hang out with someone. Some people think about hanging with friends and go, "Let's hit a bar." Me? I say, "Where can we get a cup of coffee?"

• It's a Treat

Just the other morning, I realized I hadn't had a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee for over a month. There's one down the road...sort of on the way to work. I could leave a few minutes early and have myself a nice lil treat. I thought that'd be a good thing, since I've been so careful with my money since vacation. I ended up not doing it, but just thinking about how I could get some yummy coffee was a bit of a pick me up.

So while you have all those things against going to a coffee shop...there's some key things you just can't get at home. That's what a successful coffee shop needs to bank on: providing what the customer doesn't have and can't easily get themselves.

Apologies...

Sorry folks, but it turns out that last weekend when I hit "Publish" at the bottom of my posts, I was actually only hitting "Save."

In Search of the Right Blend will now continue on it's normal schedule this week!

Why Should I Stop?

It's about 345 in the morning, and I'm heading into work. I've got a few minutes to kill, and I'm passing right by a Dunkin Donuts.

But, it's on the left side of the road. And I've got my already bought and paid for coffee in the cupholder. The BBC is playing an interview with some interesting foreign minister (or a really sweet song is on, the kind you don't hear during peak advertising hours). I like getting to work a few minutes early, setting things up for the day.

There's no telling how long it will take. If the coffee is fresh. If I have enough cash to cover it. If it's worth the gas to pull out and head over. Do I really wanna wrestle with buying a donut? Or something?

So I keep on driving, drinking the coffee I brought from home. I mean, seriously, why should I stop and buy coffee?