Archives for April 2007

For the last 8 springs at Tazza D’Oro we have been recycling our coffee and espresso grounds for anyone interested in using them in thier gardens or composting bins. Bring in a can or bucket and we will fill it for you.

Each year our garden at Tazza D’Oro flourishes and I think the secret is using our coffee grounds. I have found that my tomato plants especially love it. Avid gardeners tell me that any acid loving plant will do extremely well when coffee grounds are mixed in with the soil. I’m planting all my seeds this weekend and I can’t wait to see them grow.

Here are a few tips about coffee grounds and gardening and also check out Sustainable Enterprises for more information. Also check in with Betty at Gardenalia. Betty will give you some terrific tips on gardening,planting seeds and landscaping. In fact, Gardenalia has a whole program called “Seed to Table“. “Seed to Table” was developed by Betty to teach Urban Gardeners how to plant seeds, design an urban garden and then use their harvest for cooking or storing. You can contact Gardenalia at 412.441.9611 or gardenalia@comcast.net.

• Mix coffee grounds into soil before you plant your garden
• Add coffee grounds around acid loving plants, trees, shrubs
• Mix coffee grounds into your compost bin to accelerate the composting process. They say the the coffee grounds should not be more than 25% of the composting material
• Worms are great for your garden or compost – they love to eat coffee grounds

I just looked at an email that was sent from one of our Team Caffeine riders reminding me about a really fun site called Bikely. Bikely is web site that allows cyclists to post bike routes from literally anywhere. I have found the site really fun and useful, plus it’s easy to become a member. Looks like John posted a ride from Tazza D’Oro to Fox Chapel and back. So, if you also have a good bike route you’d like to share – please post it. Also note, if the route/map does not have a cue sheet and you are viewing a map of the general area, as you start the tour you can click on any “balloon” on the map to get specific street/road names or comments about the route.

Don’t forget Tazza D’Oro also has maps and cue sheets located on Team Caffeine info page.

Patricia and I want to invite you all back to Converstion Cafe on May 3rd for our one year anniversary.  We want to express our graditude and appreciation to all the women who have supported the success of Conversation Cafe.  Thank you for your committment and heartfelt sharing.  WE will be honoring our year together with conversation, connection and nourishing food.  The topic will be:

The only thing you can count on is CHANGE;  How do you befriend or resist CHANGE?

 

VT Hokies – we hold you in our thoughts, we hold the hope for peace, we hold the hope for forgiveness, we hold a community in deep grief and we hold the hope for a country who can take the time to grieve.

Batdorf and Bronson has been roasting and blending Market Blend since 1988. The Olympia Farmer’s Market (located just down the street from the roastery) was the inspiration for this amazing and delicious blend. This coffee showcases floral, honeyed bouquet and notes of lush, tropical fruit. The Market Blend is one of my favorite coffees prepared in a press pot (French Press).

If you haven’t tried pressing some of our coffees – please give it a try. A press pot is really easy to use and you can consistently end up with a great cup of coffee. I’ve seen Bodum Press Pots for sale in the range of $15 – $30 depending on the size and design of the pot.

Great coffee, grind, good water and temperature are important for brewing coffee at home. Most home brewers do not allow the water to get hot enough to extract all the fine characteristics from the coffee. But here is how I usually prepare my coffee for a press pot:

• 2 tablespoons of freshly roasted whole beans per 6 oz  – ground coarsely but evenly. I prefer to use a conical burr grinder made by Bodum or Solis Maestro Plus. Also, the finer the grinder the more difficult to press and resulting in more
• Use cold, filtered water and bring to near boil
• Add the freshly ground coffee to the press pot
• Fill with hot water to desired volume, pour water evenly to ensure all coffee grinds are wet
• I like to stir the coffee a little too
• Place plunger on top to keep the coffee from cooling but do not plunge.
• After the coffee has steeped for 4 min then press the plunger down with an even pressure on the plunger rod.
• Serve your coffee immediately.

We currently have the Market Blend at Tazza D’Oro this week – 5 lbs left. Stop in for a cup of buy some beans to try at home.

Saturday, April 14th is National Climate Action Day. The organizers of the day are asking states, cities and neighborhoods to gather and let congress know we need to change – cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050. Gee, that seems a long way off! There will be an event in Frick Park on Saturday – Steel Mills to Wind Mills. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it but I will make sure I walk or ride my bike as much as possible as I do everyday.

I’ve been spending a lot of time these days assessing how I can make changes in my life to aid in the contribution of ending Global Warming. It’s more complicated than I’ve ever imagined. Lots of things need to change for me and having a car is a necessity because of Tazza D’Oro. But I also believe the little steps are important – recycling, joining a CSA (community supported agriculture), buying paper products that are not made from trees but from recycled paper, purchasing a car with great gas mileage, changing our light bulbs over to energy efficient bulbs, walking and cycling, composting…

In the last week I met 2 new customers – one from Martha’s Vineyard, MA and the other from Tacoma, Washington. Both had an interesting perspective while in Pittsburgh. They both thought it would be easy to lose sight of our impact on the environment when living in a city like Pittsburgh. Huh? I said, so how do you keep the perspective – easy, when you see the glaciers melting on Mt Rainier or live on the ocean… and they have both adjusted their lives in major ways.

Pittsburgh is a beautiful city and leading the charge on greening. We may not have the majestic beauty of Mother Nature in our sight but as a community I am hopeful we will help each other keep the perspective.