Kopplin's

Once again, epic decisions have been made. When I left home to come out here to the cities, I thought I was settling. I thought I was leaving something temporary to create a new home. I was expecting to get here and just find my niche. Let me tell you, the search for that niche is still going, but we've made a new development...

This last week a pretty sweet offer came my way... With some thoughts and advice from friends, I decided to take it. On Thursday I put my 'two weeks' into Black Sheep. The cafe is strong. They've got a great machine, awesome grinders, some sweet food, and a full bakery. 'The Sheep' has some awesome employees and great management. Everything about the Black Sheep Coffee Cafe is cool... but it is not me. The mentality of the customers, the sourounding area, the full-food deal, it's not my dream or desire. It's a cafe that I would love to visit, but not work at.

In less than two weeks, I leave for Portland. Home. No, not for good, but it will be a bridge of sorts. I will be there for 10 days to help out at the Northwest regional barista competition as well as Coffee Fest Seattle. When I come back though, I will begin working at Kopplin's Coffee in St. Paul...

The cafe is small. The space is smaller than Lava Java, but the service is similar. Just coffee... and that is the driving passion of the place. All coffee is brewed by the cup. There are three grinders for Paradise roasters espresso, decaf espresso, and a single origin of some sort. The idea of the place is to be a traditional espresso bar. Latte's are available in 8 or 12 oz., Cappuccino are available only as double 6 oz, and there are only 3-5 syrups available. Mocha's are made with a high quality chocolate made by a local chocolatier... available in sweetened of bitter sweet... Iced drinks happen, but there are no blenders. It's all about the coffee...

Friday and Saturday nights the cafe is open until 10... but it's all sit down service. You walk in and find a table. Then someone will come and serve you water. You can order all drinks, and then on top of that we bring in deserts to serve. There is also a coffee pairing for each desert. It's all about the coffeee...

Other perks are that the cafe is about 10 minutes close to where I live... cutting my commute in half. Just found out the other night that there is a bowling alley in the basement. No lie... It's completely throw back. No digital scoring... just chalk boards. The place is sweet. Next door to the cafe is a little dive bar-esque place called the Nook, "A small place with big burgers." God knows I'll probably spend a fair amount of time there... Oh, and 3 to 5 colleges within 10 minutes of the cafe... So, the atmosphere is pretty chill.

I am very excited to be in a new cafe that is all about the coffee. I really think this is going to be an awesome endevour. I actually know what I am getting into and I am happy about it...