The Coffee Kettle

"The sun did not shine; It was too wet to play.  So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day... Too wet to go out and too cold to play ball; So we sat in the house, we did nothing at all." (Seuss, The Cat in the Hat)

The gloomy weather may have kept The Cat in the Hat kids from going out, but the rain in PE on Thursday morning did not deter the coffee crawlers at all.  It certainly wasn't cold, being summer and all, but some much needed rain fell in the area all day.

This week's crawl took us to The Coffee Kettle which is located in the Westway Centre, a busy plaza situated at the intersection of Cape Rd. and 6th Ave. in Newton Park (directly across from a KFC).  I chose The Coffee Kettle this week because I see this shop (right on the corner) as I make the turn from Cape Rd. onto 6th Ave. on my way to bagpipe band practice on Wed. nights.  It looks cool from the outside.

I arrived a bit early and had a chance to talk to the manager, Denise van Rensburg, and the two baristas, Tammy and Lisa.  Denise said that the owners are looking into doing some renovations soon.  They want to get some old photos of PE and the area to hang in the shop.  I really liked the paintings (not prints) already on the walls...bright, colorful, cheery...a direct contrast to the dreary weather.  They made the shop even more inviting.  It was very busy so I quickly grabbed a booth.  I was soon joined by Fran deBeer (Keith was home dog sitting), June Nash, and Beth Vieira.  June and I got cappuccinos while Fran and Beth ordered their usual black coffees.  The Coffee Kettle uses Caturra coffees, and I must admit (though I am no coffee critic) that it was the best cappuccino I've had since starting the PEcoffeecrawl.  Awesome job, Tammy and Lisa!!!

So, while enjoying our coffee, Beth shared with us the reason that she drinks her coffee black (she doesn't drink milk at all).  A number of years back, Beth had milk home delivered by a local farmer.  One week her coffee had a funky, sour taste which she attributed to the milk she had added.  When asked why the milk tasted strange the farmer replied that the cows had gotten into an orange orchard and had eaten a number of oranges, hence, the odd tasting milk.  (I guess if you could get the taste right, there's one less step in making a fruit smoothie!)  Anyway, Beth hasn't had a drop of milk since.  Good story, Beth!

As mentioned above, it was quite busy at the shop, which is always a good sign.  What caught my eye, though, was the menu of day-to-day specials along with a big poster advertising a Coffee/Cake Special for 20Rand (divide by 7 for dollars).  This is a coffee crawl so I held off on the cake, but I'll definitely return soon to take advantage of one or another of the specials (and a tremendous cappuccino!).

Thank you to Denise, Tammy, and Lisa for being a bright spot on such a rainy day!!!

A follow up from last week... Wednesday, March 2, I saw a flattie in our house.  That was the blood-curdling scream you heard about 7:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.  Sorry if I woke you.  I emptied about half a can of bug spray on it.  Quite unnecessary, but you do what you gotta do.

Until next week,

Ellen



This Week's Crawlers
Ellen, Beth, June, Fran




Meet the Manager
Denise van Rensburg




Meet the Baristas
Tammy and Lisa