Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.

"Coffee Lovers Appreciate The Difference..."

A little less than a month ago I purchased a Groupon for $8 that gave me $20 worth of locally roasted Fair-Trade coffee (and more!) from Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company. I really wish that Monterey had Groupons, but I'm glad that Santa Cruz started featuring daily deals!

Today I got a chance to drive to San Jose and I figured why not take Highway 1, the coastal route, through Santa Cruz to pick up my coffee? The drive is a lot prettier than Highway 101 and it takes only about 10 minutes longer (because the cars go no faster than 65 mph)



The Groupon could be applied to any of their three locations:

1330 Pacific Ave. (Coffee Learning Center location)
Santa Cruz, California 95060

19 Rancho Del Mar, # A
Aptos, California 95003

920 Pacific Ave. (Brew Bar location)
Santa Cruz, California 95060


The Groupon writers are brilliant at summing up what SCCRC does best so here you go, straight from the source:

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company provides caffeine devotees with bulk portions and single-serving sips of delicious, locally roasted beans. Its signature BrewBar allows the baristas to brew a single cup of made-to-order coffee according to drinkers’ discerning taste buds for $1.85. (You can also get a fast cup for $1.65 if the brew bar is too slow.)

SCCRC sells bluk beans, about $9.95/lb. They have an array of other products too:


Triple chocolate truffles ($2 each) or cinnamon rolls ($2 each) help jittery stomachs absorb caffeine kicks like a delicious bulletproof vest. Customers who are handcuffed to their computers in a wacky romantic-comedy scenario can go online to order beans to their door, including the two-roast-toned BluesBreaker ($9.95 per pound) and the insomnia-enkindling Zooom Brew ($9.95 per pound).

Groupon continues: The staff at Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company has focused on bringing its customers fair-trade, singularly tasty java since the Reagan administration assumed control of Jimmy Carter’s White House and demolished his prized Oval Office ball pit. Offering everything from inventive organic and classic blends, single origins, and flavored coffees to the accessories needed to grind and brew them into a steaming, screaming cup, Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company is the perfect pit stop for persons in need of boldly roasted human fuel.

I ordered 1 pound of Brazilian Hazelnut (I LOVE HAZELNUT EVERYTHING) and a half pound of Sumatra Dark, which I might just roast and incorporate into an adventure-inspired cupcake.... hmm....

I also got a cup of their drip coffee. I chose the Santa Cruz Full City, which is described by SCCRC as a cup with fragrance notes of sweet vanilla-nut and warm spices [that] unfold in this blend of South American and high-grown Central American coffees from rich volcanic soils. Flavors reminiscent of chocolate and oranges emerge in the cup. Roasted to the point where the first delicate oils burst to the surface, this coffee has bright acidity, rich mouthfeel, and a fruity finish.

To round out my $20 Groupon I also grabbed a Peanut Butter Fudge Collision cookie which actually looked better than it tasted. I mean, of course it was good, but I was hoping to bite into a cookie that tasted more like a peanut butter cup.

Do you want to know how to brew the perfect cup of coffee? Here are some of Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company's tips:

- Use fresh, cold natural water (coffee is 98 - 99% water ya know)
- Do NOT use distilled water
- Use 1 tablespoon of coffee to 5 ouces of water
- Do not brew coffee with water that reaches a temperature greater than 205 degrees F! It will damage the flavor.
- Do not brew coffee with water that has a temperature less than 195 degrees F... it won't extract the coffee flavors properly

No Garlic Ice Cream

What's that sign say? Garlic Ice Cream??

Sadly those are not my hands (eek! man hands attack!) ... and no they are not Kyle's hands. Those babies belong to a stranger. A stranger holding the mystical garlic ice cream. To make it better (or more strange?) the ice cream is served in half a cantaloupe. We went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival and I was so excited to try the garlic ice cream but that never happened. Here is why:

We got to the fairgrounds and did a loop around to check everything out.

OMG. LOVE DUNKIN DONUTS! Bring the stores to CALIFORNIA!!

We stopped and spun the prize wheel. No cool winnings.

We stopped to check out these giant chickens. They were really well trained.

We walked into this demo area and someone tossed us some free garlic!

They told us how to make their prize-winning scampi sauce.

He was afraid of the giant chickens from earlier.

We continued to walk ... SO MANY PEOPLE! And lots of food options...

For example, these enchanted escargot.

If you are a real badass you could just eat the garlic like an apple.

Then we found one of the 2 stages and listened to a lady rock out. SERIOUSLY she was a rocker. 

Okay. HUNGRY now! All the food was locally grown. 

MMM... this sounds delicious.

And it was! It was overflowing with green and red peppers, onions, garlic of course...

Ultimately this was the reason why I did not have the garlic ice cream...

Can you blame me? Nicole knows about my love for anything related to frozen yogurt. I'm not going to say I would always choose froyo over ice cream, but today froyo won! Kyle and I also had the garlic fries (in fact it was the first thing we ate!)

General thoughts about the Gilroy Garlic Festival:

- tons of people! 

- repetitive food stalls (all of them had garlic for some reason ...jk)

- art sampling (diverse but nothing that sticks out as WOOOAHHHH)

- pickled garlic: I liked it while Kyle thought it was detestable. If you ever decide to try it, make sure you are a fan of brine preservation.

- Dunkin Donuts spin wheel is rigged so no one can win

- giant chicken Halloween costume might not be a bad idea

- garlic fries are awesome, if only Jan Hagel would have let me try the one with crab (I don't care if it's fake crab!)

- there really isn't a whole lot to do - eat, walk, eat, sit, eat ... eat eat eat!

Mills-Monterey! Day 4

Monday morning Kerry and I woke up and grabbed coffee from the Starbucks in Sand City and bagels from the Bagel Bakery next door. We walked over to Savemart and stocked up on fruit. When we got back to my house we pulled out Murray, my tandem bike, and took her for a riiiiide.

We pedaled through Fort Ord Dunes State Park, parked the bike, and read each of the eight educational panels that "inform the public about the natural and cultural history of the park." Hopefully one day I'll get the footage off my iPod of our bike adventure. We then biked through CSUMB and back to my house! It was a great day for a bike ride, nice and sunny but not too hot.

Sadly, the next stop was the airport :( I had to get back to work since it was Monday and all. Kerry's flight was delayed. A part of me wished that the whole airport would have just disappeared so that Kerry could never leave. I love that girl and I miss her so much when she's down in Anaheim....

If you've read these recaps and think - oh snap - that sounds like fun, please give me a call and come visit. I love love LOVE having visitors and Monterey is such a great area. I won't force you to dance in a cage with me and I won't force you to eat lots of sugar treats - but that might just happen!

Breakfast at Maryjane's Coffeeshop

This morning I woke up in a daze. Vanessa was asking me if I wanted to go to breakfast with them. I had no idea what time it was, I remember declining and falling back to sleep. I woke up, presumably an hour or so later, and decided to shower. Apparently not as much time passed by as I had thought and by the time I got out of the shower they were just about to leave. I hustled and jumped in the car with Vanessa and Chalon.





Boy am I glad I was able to come along! We went to Maryjane's Coffeeshop in downtown's Hard Rock Hotel (207 5th Ave, San Diego).





Their menu was super cute and witty! At the bottom it read: Some advice & a higher code to live by: don't do things on video you will regret one day... NEVER DRINK & DRIVE... Never drink & blog... Always leave big tips… THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU PIERCE





I ordered the Hall 'n' Oatmeal: served with our secret topping. OK, it's brown sugar, golden raisins, silvered almonds, sundried cherries & pistachios ($6). it was delicious but I wish the oatmeal would have been piping hot, that's how I like it!

Their coffee was sooooo yummy! Vanessa and I each had about 3 cups! Also on their caffeine menu: 'Lattes, cappuccinos and all that Seattle stuff' ($4).




Vanessa ordered the buttermilk pancakes. They were tasty, very vanilla-y and thin! Chalon ordered the daily special. I loved this menu option: Cereal boxes to your table. It includes cereal like Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles, Count Chocula, Maryjane's housemade granola, Frosted Mini Wheats, and Kellog's Corn Flakes (all for $6)

Maryjane's is open during the following hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 6:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Fri-Sat 6:30 a.m. - 3 a.m.

Location:5th Ave,San Diego,United States

Cafe Carmel Coffee House

After visiting both Georis and Bernardus' tasting rooms in Carmel Valley, my mom, sister, and I decided to do a little shopping. Before we hit up the Coach Factory store, we ducked into Cafe Carmel Coffee House (top of Ocean Avenue, Carmel) . Check out their reviews on Yelp.

The coffee house had lots of pastries, various desserts, fruit salads, pasta salads, yogurt parfaits, quiches, etc. Their website also mentions that they carry paninis, sandwiches, and wraps. The long glass cases display all their yummy products, and large blackboards highlight their drink offerings, which include: coffee, tea, espresso, frappes, and smoothies!

Window displays drawing in the crowds.

 My mom ordered a slice of Cafe Carmel's chocolate cherry cheesecake. The cheesecake itself seemed almost like a mix between cheesecake and cookies and cream ice cream. It was coated in a gloopy cherry topping and a ribbon of whipped cream. Cafe Carmel used an oreo cookie crust instead of the typical graham cracker crust. Good choice. I snuck a few bites from my mom's plate and was glad I did! I'm not the biggest cheesecake person, but I did thoroughly enjoy this!

Nicole ordered a tall cup of coffee that she shared with us. As shown below, they had four flavors available for customers: Decaf French Roast, Dark French Roast, Medium House Blend, and Light Kona Blend. They have the whole spectrum! I wonder if they have free wifi...

Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co.

Yelp!

Since 1906 or 1911, this bakery has been shelling out cannolis, biscottis, and pretzels galore. As we walked back up to our car from the Cottage of Sweets, we passed by this cute little bakery and decided it was high time for coffee. Sarah mentioned that when visiting her grandma back in the day, she'd duck in to this bakery and gobble up one of their -at least I think- iconic pastry pretzels. The website for Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co. (Ocean Ave & Lincoln, Carmel) is currently under construction, but it did offer the following info:

Since 1911, Carmel Bakery has been a Carmel tradition... equal parts bakery, deli, Starbucks coffee bar, and neighborhood hangout, Carmel Bakery specializes in Scottish shortbread, English scones, Italian biscotti, and giant soft Bavarian pretzels.

WOW. Got the whole Europe thing covered now, don't ya?

As you walk by, there is a wide window that just cannot be avoided. The caramel apples strike first, followed by the gingerbread men whisper hello, and then you see them - a mountainous stack of glazed, salted, crispy, crumbly pretzel pastries. Oh heaven. Yes, I would like to go inside...

Sarah ordered one of those scrumptious, knotted, sweet baked dough beings and thankfully let us all try. It provoked a conversation about the nature of pretzels. This was a sweet pretzel, but most people think only in terms of savory (salty) pretzels. Wikipedia helps clarify (as always) "The pretzel shape is used for a variety of sweet pastries made of different kinds of dough (flaky, brittle, soft, crispy) with a variety of toppings (icing, nuts, seeds, cinnamon)." I also learned that the phrase "tying the knot" originated when a pretzel was used to tie the knot between two prominent families. The loops were symbolic of everlasting love. How funny! The article is actually extremely interesting believe it or not. Read more here (at least open it in a new tab - you might want to read it sometime).

They offer sandwiches for ($6.95) including Turkey & Swiss, Baked Ham & Swiss, Roast Beef & jack, Chicken Salad & Jack, Tuna Salad & Jack, HOT French Dip Tri Tip with Jack Cheese, and a HOT Meatball sub. Other lunch items include, homemade soups, salads (mixed greens, tuna salad, chicken salad, Caesar), and garden wraps (steak Caesar, chicken Caesar, turkey & jack).

Tyler was pleased to see that they offer a Bakery Breakfast Burrito for $5.50 (two other types Arturo's for $0.50 more and Grande for $1.50 more). If you'd like to read about his breakfast burrito experience at Carmel Bakery, click here (when he posts I'll link to it). Last weekend I was able to join him on his trek to Baldemiros to try their breakfast burrito. I'll let you know my thoughts in an upcoming post.

As for drinks, this place has DUN DUN DUN Starbucks! Everyone on Yelp was freaking out about that. OH Heavens! Starbucks is in one of OURRR Carmel shops?? ... But we reject big businesses for the mom & pop variety. Oh wait! The businesses lining Ocean Avenue still manage to sell everything ridiculously over priced so why does it matter?? Sheesh. I like Starbucks.

Anyways. Drinks include all the iced drinks you can think of. Prices are steep with a 16 oz. frappe at $4.65, an iced vanilla latte at $3.95, a grande americano at $2.50 and a grande cappuccino at $3.50. Their coffe of the day will run you $1.60 - $2.10. They offer teas, chai, cider, hot chocolate (MMM sounds good right now, I'm cold in my house). They also have the cutest doggie cookies!

Here's an idea, grab a yummy treat for yourself and trot down to the beach (photo from Yelp):

We just sat around and talked for a few hours, it wasn't that busy on a Wednesday night. Eventually they dimmed the lights and we knew that we had to leave. They were polite though and didn't yell at us about closing hours.

Vegas III: SaturDAY strip walking

Ringing phone. So Loud. Dark of night. 
L: WHYYyyYYYy are you calling meeEEee? It's like 5 in the morning!
K: What? No it's not.....
L: Yesssss it isssssss..... ughhhh
K: It's 10:30...
L: .... ... wha? oh. It's juuuust so dark out! - still - sleeping ... bye.

The second time I woke up on Saturday, closer to noon, Taylor said the funniest thing: she said that she needed to get the Treasure Island drapes in her room. Those things are so potent! You shut them, go out at night, come back to the room, fall asleep, and then before you know it, it's 3:37pm and it's just about time to start gearing up for the next night! Luckily we all woke up around noon, got dressed, and headed down to grab food.

Kelly and I were the first ones out of the room and we went to Treasure Island's Coffee House, a 24 hour casual dining spot in the middle of the casino floor. (Yelp) This comfort food was just what the doctor ordered! Holy moly! I ordered a stack of pancakes of course! Pancakes McGee! For $10.50 I got a fatty stack coated in mixed berries. MMmmMMmm. Has anyone caught on yet that I'm sort of a pancake fanatic? Where has this trend come from? Growing up my sister was the french toast girl, and we never had a waffle maker... I think I only ate belgian waffles when I was in Oregon. I digress.... Kelly ordered an omelet, I can't remember which one though... it looked good!

The other girls met up with Starbucks in hand (there was one in the hotel), and the four of them split two omelets. After they ate, we began traipsing down the strip. We posed for several "day" pictures, all for the adoring fans of 32above. Wait a second... I have no fans? Sad...

We eventually went into the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace and walked around for hours like camels. First we bought Fat Tuesday's before heading inside. Oh wait - no we didn't. I guess I dreamed about that. Fat Tuesday's are glorious - must get one for the next trip April 23/24/25! I think we went into half of the 160 boutiques/shops. My favorite thing: silver sparkly hats! I wish I bought one. The girls bought shoes, scarves, and gelato while I contemplated the possibility of returning to purchase the sparkly hat and wear it out to the club with my galactic one-shoulder dress. Zenon much?

We decided to get some drinks at Rhumbar (3400 Las Vegas Blvd S.), an outdoor lounge near the entrance to the Mirage from Caesar's Palace. They had a very stylish outdoor patio with heat lamps! Thank the lord! We sat down next to two silver foxes, and they proceeded to offer us lemon drop shooters because they just wanted us to "have a good time."

They were actually really sweet and not sketchy at all. Prices were high, so I just had the free gifted lemon drop. The others had either a glass of wine or a mixed drink. I liked how laid back the place was, and yet it was still very classy. I could see all of us here, again, in 2020, with money to spend on delicious mojitos. Note: Rhumbar is the destination of very snazzy people from LMU. If you see one, you should go up to him/her and complement him/her on his/her amazingly creative outfit!

San Luis Obispo Road Trip

This weekend I went to San Luis Obispo to hang out with some friends, see a dance show, go wine tasting, eat at my favorite restaurants, cuddle with Kerry and Fran, etc.

Tyler, Max, and I left Friday around 4 pm. We cruised down highway 68 (apparently it is one of the most beautiful highways - says Max) and then mobbed down 101. After stopping in Paso for a few of Chili's margaritas, we continued on our way. Our first stop in SLO was at BevMo. I grabbed a 6 pack of Hoegarden; people are always raving about it and the one time I could have tried it (Avila Beerfest, June 2009), they ran out!

We went over to Victor and Clay's house next, watched the Nuggets/Lakers game, and then eventually walked downtown to Black Sheep Bar and Grill (1117 Chorro St, SLO). That's where my old roomies were! I was so excited to see them I could have peed in my pants! I miss them so much :( Luckily I did NOT pee in my pants, that would be messy. Instead I just sort of gave them lots of hugs and kisses. When the bar closed we hopped in my car and went to get some late night grub at Chilie Peppers! (791 Foothill Blvd, SLO). So very freshman/sophomore year of us! Kerry and I split a carne asada burrito that was about $6. I had some sort of salsa/hot sauce concoction with my burrito half and it was amazingly delicious. Especially for 2:30 am.

We drove to Pismo and walked into our hotel room (The Cliffs) and managed to find bed space for 6 people! We set the alarms for early-ish, considering it was almost 4 in the morning!! After waking up, grabbing coffee in my work mug, showering, etc, we made a quick trip to Forever 21 so that I could get an outfit to wear wine tasting. Do you know how hard it is to walk into the second largest Forever 21, give yourself a half hour to cover all that ground, and come out with a winning look? Ridiculous! I found this satin-y tank top that I could use for work, so I decided to get it.

Fran Kerry Andrew Tyler Max and I went to Natural Cafe (698 Higuera St, SLO) for lunch and were joined by Jake, Krish, Megan B. and her bf James. Kerry, Fran, and I all ordered the same thing, the Old Town salad ($7.25 full, $4.50 half). THAT SALAD IS SO GOOD! Mixed greens, short grain brown rice, carrots, feta cheese, tomato, and a scoop of guacamole! Add a little bit of heaven (Tapatio) to the salad along with their yummy tahini dressing, and you've got yourself a treat of a lunch! After a sad conversation regarding tandem bicycles, I decided it was about time that I left to meet up with Kali for her Birthday wine tasting celebration!

Kali and other AOII alums were all at this mysterious "MVP" location. When I arrived, I grabbed a mimosa YUM and, despite the fact I had eaten lunch, grabbed a slice of breakfast casserole that Mandy made. About ten minutes later we went outside and up rolls the stretch Excursion limo! It totally reminded me of what prom should have been like. However, I was a shy girl in high school who never got to experience the whole big-group-limo-fun-blah-blah-date-dances. You know what? Who cares! It's never to late to go to a ball... or be serenaded... : )

I digress. Wine tasting was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. We went to Tobin James (8950 Union Rd, Paso Robles) and JanKris (not Jan Hagel, the cookie) at 1266 Bethel Rd in Templeton. Everyone was enjoying themselves, if you catch my drift. I like to think that I draw a good cat. By the end of our time at JanKris, I could not, for the life of me, remember how to draw the cat that I always draw. Does that make any sense? I had a great time. WINK.

After wine tasting I.... well, I don't know what happened. But eventually I made it to Firestone Grill (1001 Higuera St, SLO) with everyone and had my second favorite salad from the San Luis Obispo region - the Steak Cobb Salad.

After dinner we went and "watched" Orchesis' dance concert ((Continuum)).

Apologies if this is overly descriptive, but right now I'm watching the Super Bowl, (16 to 17, Colts, with 7 minutes left!) and I am doing laundry, and I just feel like giving a thorough account of the weekend. After Orchesis, we went back to Clay and Victor's place and played beirut. Fran and Kerry came over and took me with them to the downstairs bar: Creekside Brewing Company (1040 Broad St, SLO). Random, took a break to put in my light clothes, got to see some crazy plays and now Saints are up by so much! COOL. I like it when games are exciting like this!

You might be thinking, is it still Saturday night in this story? Well, yes. Yes it is. After the downstairs bar we went to the cast party for the dance show, and hung out with all of the Orchesis girls (and boy). I loved seeing everyone there - the dance girls are so classy and artsy, inspirational almost in a hipster sort of way. Next stop: Kathleen's house. We stayed there for a bit, ate cute little peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, I reunited with my estranged curling iron, and then we drove to the Cliffs. Another 4 am night! Sheesh!

I woke up at 8 am, grabbed some coffee (love my work mug!), and sat in the hot tub at the Cliffs. It was absolutely gorgeous out... that hotel has spectacular views. Hot tub > Shower > Drive back to SLO > more coffee with my little, Allison at the Starbucks on Foothill. It was really nice having time to catch up with her.

I had a few final errands to run before leaving SLO. Stopped by Vic's to grab my wetsuit and leftover salad. Went to Sidewalk Market & Deli (1401 Osos St, SLO) to pick up lunch. Freshman year the boys introduced me to Nona's Deli, which is contained in the Sidewalk Market, and it's been love ever since. My all-time favorite sandwich from SLO (and at least top 10 overall) is the Godmother sandwich ($6) from Nona's. Salame, peppered turkey, and provolone with the works (minus the olives [EWW] and mayo). HEeeaaavvvVVVVeeeeNnnnnn! I bought 2! Godmother sandwich for lunch tomorrow too :)

With both sandwiches in hand, I went to High Street Deli, where everyone else was eating. We said our goodbyes, stopped by Ed's to get a shirt, and then went back to Vic's because I forgot my computer charger there. Then we got onto 101, and drove all the way back to Seaside.

What a weekend. I wish I could spend more time in SLO, being ridiculous and silly with old friends. There truly is no better place to live when you are between the ages of 18 & 23. While I'm sad that I had to leave, I'm also very hopeful for the upcoming months. There is a lot to look forward to and this weekend was just the start :)

Coffee Pot and Mushroom Hunting

I woke up today before my alarm went off, which means that I can justify going online and posting a quick note. Friday's I have an earlier work schedule 6:30 - 3:30. I'm hoping that it will make it easier to get places on the weekend.

I really need a quiet coffee pot to put in my office. I don't need anything big or fancy, just something quiet! Tyler and I saw this joint coffee maker/espresso maker on craigslist that was being sold for only $20 - it was already sold though by the time she replied to me.

If you have a coffee maker to donate, or can suggest a quiet one, please give me a call :)

Looking for something to do this weekend? You can OBVIOUSLY join the Pub Crawl (see older post) tonight and/or check out Blog Monterey for this weekend's events. Really though, how FUN does this sound:

Fungophiles, rejoice! Wild mushroom expert Phil Carpenter and Marina mayor Bruce Delgado take wannabe mushroom-hunters on an expedition across the Fort Ord Public Lands, finding edible wild mushrooms wherever they lie (hopefully not beneath the tire of a mountain biker). 9am-12:30pm, free, meet at the Fort Ord Thrift Shop parking lot on Lightfighter Drive. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Miss you!