Well, I just got back from a trip up the mountain to Asheville, NC. It's a pretty laid back town, with a broad spectrum of people. Every time I get up there, the place is a little different, so it's fun to see what's going on there. I visited several coffeehouses in the area, even one in a red double-decker bus that was cool. The shops I visited were, Double Decker Coffee, Izzy's Coffee Den, World Coffee, Asheville Coffee Roasters, and Caffeind. I had some great coffee, I had some horrible coffee. I won't say where each was, suffice to say it's the same everywhere. I will give the highlights. Talking to Jay at the Double Decker. Really cool guy who seemed passionate about coffee, and wanted to learn alot more. Cool guy, and some good coffee. Meeting up with Chris, Lindsay and Jessie, who are opening up their own shop this August. I actually met them on here, and they were good people for sure, I hope I can help them in some way. I had a great Counter Culture Rwanda and Greenlife, a "Earth-Fare" "Whole Foods" kinda store there. I had a great Counter Culture Bolivia at Izzy's. That place is always good, and I was seeing some sweet heart art on the lattes. Nice. I also got to visit my firs chocolate lounge. The French Broad Chocolate Lounge was a unique place where you could get sipping chocolate, organic hand-made truffles, and coffee only by french press. It was a very cool concept.
Overall, it was cool to get up there and see what was going on with coffee up there. It's clear Counter Culture has done a good job in that area, they were everywhere, and I guess so with a training center there now. It's just great to get up there to Asheville, to breathe the mountain air, to live laid back for a weekend. Saturday night I spent with my wife eating barbecue and listening to live bluegrass at a cool place called "Fiddlin' Pig." It just doesn't get much better than stopping for a second and smelling the barbecue. (Then going out for a cup of coffee that ended up being one of the worst I have ever had.) So, to sum it up, Life Is Good.
(I should add, I have been to Dripolator many times, and it's always been a cool place. I just didn't have time to get in there this trip....)