How to Make Great Coffee with a French Press July 20th, 2009 @ 7:42 am PDT
Last year while visiting David Snyder, my business partner and a man who positively oozes class, I enjoyed for the first time a cup of coffee made with a French press. It was just about the best cup of coffee I’d ever had. I remember when I was in high school my father went through […]
The Seam and the Hole April 28th, 2008 @ 6:13 am PDT
When the barista at Starbucks handed me my coffee this morning, the hole in the lid was directly over the seam in the cup. This, I have come to learn, is a recipe for disaster. If the hole is within a centimeter of the seam you are almost guaranteed to experience “coffee drip” on your […]
Christmas in November November 13th, 2007 @ 10:35 am PDT
On November 4th I entered my local Starbucks and laughed when I saw the entire store was decorated for Christmas. There happened to be a manager and a “barista” working the counter, so I mentioned that it was a bit early for Christmas decorations. The manager replied, as if I was daft, “No it’s not. […]
A Wet Laptop June 11th, 2007 @ 1:37 pm PDT
My mom just sent me the following text message: I just dumped a venti starbucks on my work computer! Help! Attempts to contact my mom via her cell phone have failed. Unfortunately even if I could get her on the phone, the only advice I could give her — after over a decade of working […]
The Secret Superpower of Starbucks March 9th, 2007 @ 7:11 am PDT
When I have the opportunity I am apt to choose the underdog. Aside from the sinfully delicious Cinnamon Dolce Latte, for example, I dislike Starbucks and will generally go to the mom-and-pop coffee shops scattered around Los Angeles. More often than not lately, though, I am finding that Starbucks’ secret superpower is consistency. Mussolini kept […]
Chinese Instructions, Part 2 March 2nd, 2007 @ 10:24 am PDT
I got a new insulated coffee mug a few days ago. There was a little slip of paper inside it with “instructions”. This is a coffee mug. It’s very nice and this morning it did an excellent job of keeping my coffee hot while I drove to the office. Here’s a bit of the writing […]
Good Karma April 18th, 2005 @ 7:54 am PDT
In which I find a lost phone
Evil Coffee Nerves April 4th, 2002 @ 10:50 pm PDT
From The Orphange of Cast-Off Mascots: Case #752: Mr. Coffee Nerves Not a popular mascot. This poor reproduction doesn’t do justice to the hideous domestic discord he delights in wreaking. While employed, his job was to exhibit glee over the violent effect of caffeine consumption …
Headache February 4th, 2002 @ 8:50 am PDT
Did you know that I also own ilovedavidgagne.com and terribleheadache.com? I’ve been wondering what to do with terribleheadache.com for a while now. I’ve just finished a large Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Swiss Mocha Latte and swallowed two Excedrin Migraine gel caps (with 65 mg ea.) so I have somewhere around a kilo of caffeine […]
Coffee December 19th, 2001 @ 11:58 pm PDT
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has stores sprinkled liberally throughout the Los Angeles area. I love ’em. Yeah, I know I’m dropping about $3.50 every day on something I could get at home for 35¢, but … I really loves me some Swiss Mocha Latte in the ante meridian, y’know? I was in line […]
