The Levels and A Tale of Three Cities...

There are different levels of coffee shops.  Not every shop will fit into these categories, but more or less the scale works.

Level 1 = The Gift Shop - This is the store that hangs the sign in the window saying "Cappuccinos made here," or "Espresso" either in the form of one of those cheap tin looking sings or neon lighted words.  When you walk in you don't see anything coffee related except the espresso machine and instead you are bombarded by kitschy keychains, scented candles and t-shirts with the name of the city that you are in across the front of them.

Level 2 = Coffee stands - They are set up in strange areas most of the time.  Hospitals, Parks, Sections of the city where there is lots of human traffic.  The majority of them have a limited selection and are very difficult to work at because they lack an ice machine.

Level 3 = Corporate America Coffeeshops - There are exceptions, but the majority of these are at their best just dependable.  We all know what they are.  We know that no matter where we are, sometimes even around the world, the drink that we get at home is going to taste the exact same.  You can go either way with these.  We all know what company I am thinking of when I say that the unfair thing about the corporate shops is that they put the independent shops out of business and misinform the customers of what real coffee should taste like...  

Level 4 = The "Corporatized" Independent = The difference between the 3 and 4 lies in the coffee and community.  There is an owner behind your level 4 shop who makes a living by how much people like coming back.  Instead of a CEO there is a face.  This owner, if they are smart, will choose the best coffee they can find, maybe they will even roast it themselves.  Atmosphere is the same though.  They go for the big chain look, because that's what America likes, because that's what America knows.  Not only can I not blame them, but I respect these shops!!

Level 5 = The "Indie" Shop - These are the ones that matter.  Hard to find, but worth the effort in searching.  These are the like your level 4 in the sense of the face of the owner.  However, these are the guys that decided to lash out and create something so un-corporate that it fills a person with joy to belong to something like this just by walking.  They have their own coffee, atmosphere, strange looking clientele, and a vibe that makes you want to come back tomorrow. 

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Big Sur is the last tourist stop before you hit about 50 miles of nothingness on Highway 1.  There was a coffee cart there.  The only thing that helped out with this was the stream that runs behind the River Inn.  Picture a stream running through the middle of hills covered in green trees that overlap leaving only about 20 feet of open sky above it.  The Inn put giant wooden chairs smack dab in the middle of this stream so that you can sit and really take in the beauty.  I read there for about an hour while I waited for the guys to catch up.  It was an experience to say the least. My battery was dead on my phone so I couldn't take pictures.  I apologize for that, but you need to see it for yourself.

This morning after pushing off from Plaskett Creek, I drove down into Cambria and along Main St. there sits a tiny storefront with a sign that says, "Cambria Cappuccino."  Underneath that read, "coffee, ice cream, candy etc."  That should have tipped me off, but I saw a free wireless sign, so I proceeded.  The coffee was alright, but the atmosphere was lacking...   I had stumbled into a gift shop that served coffee.  The only good thing that it had was a 4 foot long wooden work bench that set up against the window, threefold glass like you see on those old victorian houses.  It looked out onto the old downtown.  That was nice.  I tried not to look behind me at the keychains and candles.

View from the window

I now sit in San Luis Obispo at what used to be Uptown Coffee, now renamed Black Horse due to legal disputes.  My brother used to work here.  Amazing coffee and an alright atmosphere.  The training for the employees is extremely specific and it pays off.  They get fired if they don't know how make the velvety foam, which it proclaims itsef as being the home of, so they know what they're doing.  Great place in a great town.  Tomorrow I will visit my two favorite shops in SLO county.  This is reviving my passion.  

God puts passion into people.  It can be forgotten, but it's never lost.  The things that excite our hearts for life can be strange, but that should not negate the fact that enjoyment of what we have been given is something that the Lord wants from us.  Contentedness, Passion, and an Examined Life are things I am learning to pursue.  God has given me this passion for some reason or another and if there is one thing I am sure of it is that He will use it... if he hasn't already.

Tour Life, 

Hebrew Hammer Out.