Cupping Lab

If anyone recalls my previous post regarding a coffee shop review of Joe & the Art of Coffee, you may remember me mentioning the classes they offer there. Well, I finally did it and went to one of their free Cupping Labs!

I rushed over to their 13th St. location after work and barely managed to make it. By the way, they do offer seating at this location! Hallelujah! Although, all of said seating seemed to be taken at that moment. It was a very lively Friday night and the caffeinated patrons were definitely buzzing. After asking the barista where the class was, she informed me that everyone was waiting until the manager was ready and then she would announce the class. While I waited, I looked at the art on the walls from local artists and the ginormous blackboard behind the counter. I was marveling at the lofty position of the manager's office, which you had to reach by ladder into a whole in the wall, when the manager popped out of the office whole, climbed halfway down the ladder, stopped, turned around, and with a Japanese teakettle in one hand and the other clinging to the ladder she made the announcement of  the beginning of the lab. She looked like a jaunty coffee pirate. She had short black hair in a pixy cut, a plaid shirt, jeans, a grey sailors cap, 2 lip rings at the left corner of her mouth and a crystal stud sparkling from her right cheekbone. We all followed our fearless leader past a tall fridge crammed with milk, squeezed past a couple of trashcans and walked down a narrow staircase into the basement. The first thing I noticed was the smell of coffee everywhere. Heaven. It was a room filled with sinks and shelves of coffee machines and coffee paraphernalia, so I wont describe every little detail. It was amazing though.

Buono Coffee Drip Kettle $59

Everyone who showed up for the class was very friendly and eager to learn. There were people from Spain, Greece, Japan, and NY (of course). Most of the 10 person crowd seemed middle aged, but we were all newbies to the cupping experience and we were told that we would not be doing a blind cupping today because of that.

Our pirate queen led us through the ritual as precise as any Japanese tea ceremony. She seemed to be very knowledgeable and told us how she had started in Seattle (the coffee capitol of the US) and had helped to test some of the first of the elusive Clover machines!


We learned how to experience the coffee in its many forms, with all of our senses. We had three regions to test from:  Brazil, El Salvador and Rwanda. We smelled it dry, we smelled it wet, we broke the crust and smelled it again, we tasted it hot, we tasted it cold. We tried to identify all the different nuances of flavor, acidity, mouth-feel, and aftertaste. (Interesting Tip- you taste so much more of the flavor when it's cold than when it's hot!)

In the end, I decided my favorite was Brazil and, a close second, was Rwanda. All in all, it lasted an hour and I was sad to see it end. It was nice to be around so many people who shared the same passion as me. I thought it was a great experience and would definitely recommend more classes.

Has anyone else been to one of these classes? How was your class compared to mine? I'd love to hear your story!

Once More Into The Breach!

Well, I've been good and lazy for long enough! The time has come to get back in the game and start cooking again.  I have to start looking for a weekend job asap! Either at a bakery or as a barrista at a coffee shop. I'm not happy about working seven days a week but it's a necessary evil.

After several months of saving, my savings account is a whopping $15, I need some clothing essentials, I really should go to the dentist, I must find a new apt., and I really miss cooking. Sigh.


Sometimes I just want everything all at once. And then, trying to do everything at once ends up just making me more exhausted and I end up right where I started. It's so frustrating. But I have to look at the big picture and remember my plan. Taking 3 months to recoup and relax was part of the plan and now that that time is over, it's time to find a weekend job where I can keep learning about cooking and save money at the same time! In theory.

Now all I have to do is find that perfect job in a less than perfect economy.
Baby steps.

And I have to admit that ever since Winter hit, I haven't been exercising at all. The idea of running in the cold night with all that Winter air rushing through my lungs like sandpaper is not appealing. At one point I had gotten down to around 142 lbs! But changing jobs, not exercising, and holiday munchies etc, means I've somehow managed to get up to 158 lbs!! I'm not proud of this at all. I'm still reeling from the shock of it actually. How did I manage to gain almost 20 lbs in 3 months?!

And so, like many people at this time of year, I started looking into detox cleanses and diets etc. Everyone seems to think detox diets are a great way to cleanse your colon, liver, skin, and your body in general. You lose weight, gain energy, the birds are chirping and rainbows are everywhere. However, I did a little research and, according to the nutritionist at Spark, there are not many facts to support these claims. According to her, our bodies are already made to be an efficient cleansing machine. And our bodies are perfectly capable of handling the amounts of toxins etc in the average diet. Any claims of elevated energy and so on are probably a placebo affect (I.E.- our bodies are tricking us). Now there isn't anything that harmful about the juice cleanses, so long as you stay hydrated and get all your vitamins,  but they don't really help you that much either.
Instead, she suggests just eating foods that are more natural (I.E.- there should be only 4 ingredients on the package label), if it can go bad, it's good for you, cut out the alcohol & smoking, and cut back on sodas.

So I tried cutting out my morning milk and cereal or bagel and cream-cheese for a homemade fruit smoothie with flax seed and protein powder. (Supposedly, these will keep you full longer.) I would usually include: 1 banana, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 apple, 1/2 pear, 1-2 handfuls of spinach, 1 Tbsp of flax seeds, 1 scoop of protein powder, and 1/4 cup apple juice. Although maybe the protein powder was overkill considering I already had a good protein in the form of yogurt. It was more than enough for my trusty thermos and it would really keep me full! So full in fact, that I'm actually beginning to think it's making me gain weight! So now I'm conflicted and actually considering going back to my tried and true Slim Fast. It's definitely less hassle to prepare, you just grab a can and go! Though it's probably more expensive. Or maybe I should just eat less of the smoothie, and maybe cut out the protein powder?


What are your thoughts? Slim Fast vs. Au Naturale??

The Art of Coffee

This week I went to Joe and the Art of Coffee.

See! I did too go!

I went to the location at Grand Central Station, which was very difficult to find. (Tip: If you are looking for this location, use the entrance closest to the Strawberries clothing store, around the South-East side of Grand Central.) We also got there pretty late, and managed to slide in right before they closed the doors. There was no one in the store when we got there, except for the two exhausted looking baristas. The decor was a nice, soothing robin's egg blue, not unlike the signature blue of a Tiffany's gift box. They also had some neat coffee facts posted around the store.

Fact. It says so.

I had researched the place beforehand (of course), and was looking forward to taking home the Columbia Finca Santuario Micay blend advertised on their website. Unfortunately, they were out at the store, so I purchased the Kenya Kiunya blend instead. A little pricey at $18. I asked the girl behind the counter to grind it a little coarser than espresso grind, like the consistency of sugar (just right for my little pour-over). I should have known from the blank stare that she wouldn't get it right, but I'll chalk it up to working a long shift. Everyone makes mistakes. It turned out the grind was more like powder and brewed a very strong cup of coffee. I never really fell in love with this blend, but that could be because of the grind.


I ordered a latte and my boyfriend ordered a chai. My boyfriend was not impressed with either drink, but I thought they were great! I thought the chai had great body and flavor (though I usually like a little more spiciness to my chai) and the latte was so good I didn't even need to add sugar to it! Joe is known for having great foam art and for putting their baristas through a rigorous training process. I have to say the foam on my latte did not disappoint. It was beautiful and rich and light at the same time. By far, the best foam I've had yet!


Joe even offers classes on espresso making, foam art, the history of coffee, and much more to the general public! (Details are on their site.) Though classes are only offered at one of their locations and seating is limited (so be sure to RSVP) but many cost as little as $25 and some are even free! I also really liked the sense of community on their site. They even have a running club you can join with their baristas, and they offer free coffee afterwards to those who participate! Also, all of their baristas have a biography on the site (though that seems a little risky in this day and age).


Again, my complaint is the lack of seating. It's more of an in and out setup that doesn't encourage lingering. Their emphasis is more on the product than the experience. And there's nothing wrong with their product, but I'm looking for both. Although this could have been just because of that particular location being inside Grand Central Station. Their main location may be bigger.

Doot-di-doo, people wandered in.

Baristas in their native habitat! Oooh-aaaah.

Love the penny-tiles on the backsplash.

Like how her scarf matches the decor.

I hope you liked this latest review! I'm thinking of taking one of their classes so if you've been to one of Joe's lessons or to one of their locations, I hope you'll comment on your experience!