Coffee Culture App

Last Thursday the Coffee Crawlers met as usual at one of the many coffee establishments in PE.  We enjoyed some excellent coffee and I sampled the cheesecake which was incredible.  We dawdled for our typical few hours, then it was time for me to gather, from the owner, info that I would include on my blog post.  When approached, though, the owner asked me not to post his shop on the blog... no names, no info, no pics (I did take one of the Crawlers).

I'm taking this opportunity then to tell everyone all about an exciting new coffee shop app available for smartphone wielding PE coffee lovers.  The Coffee Culture App, along with its local creators, was featured in the Monday, Feb 11 edition of The Herald.  The app is appropriately named as it addresses all things coffee related in PE.

Once downloaded the app provides subscribers with names and locations of coffee shops in PE and the surrounding areas.  It also includes fun coffee facts, local coffee events, free bean and coffee shop specials, links to other coffee related sites, some coffee humor, and a comment board.  Two really cool features on the app are the coffee cam and gallery, where subscribers can send in pics of fun coffee art, and a tip calculator... how awesome is that?

I've downloaded the app to my phone and have had a lot of fun with it.  As it is regularly updated, there's always something new to see.  So, PE Coffee Lovers, get busy and download the Coffee Culture app... be in the know.  PE coffee shop owners... to be included on the app, simply go to the "sign up" icon and provide your shop's info.... a few easy steps and you become part of PE's "coffee culture."

~Thank you to Ryan, Heather, and Shaun (our coffee tasting guy from Urban Blend - July, 2011 post) for
  bringing the Coffee Culture app to PE!

Until next week,

Ellen

This Week's Crawlers
June, Beryl, Stella, Margaret, Gail

Kaffeine Espresso Bar

February 11, 2013 marked the 2nd birthday of the PE Coffee Crawl!  My thanks go out to a wonderful group of Crawl regulars, numerous guests, faithful readers, a seemingly endless list of coffee shop owners, innumerable talented baristas, and very patient waitstaff members.  You have all helped to make the Crawl the success I never envisioned two years ago.  It truly has been a community effort!!!

So what more appropriately named place to celebrate the Coffee Crawl birthday than Kaffiene Espresso Bar, located in the Summerstrand Village on 8th Ave. in Summerstrand.  Since Thursday's Crawl also happened to fall on Valentine's Day I stopped into Kaffeine Espresso Bar a few days in advance to make a booking.  Kaffeine owner Sally Gibson was only too happy to oblige saying that the Crawl's birthday/Valentine celebration (complete with balloon trees) would add to the shop's festive decor planned for the day.

Meet the Owner
Sally Gibson

Kaffeine Espresso Bar was decorated and ready for the Valentine's Day crowd on Thursday with balloons, table decorations, and a sweets table set up for customers to purchase goodies to take home for that special someone.  And crowded it was........ it's a good thing I made a reservation.  Despite the busy-ness of the the shop, though, our orders were taken and served up by our lovely waitress, Andiswa, in record time.  Kaffeine's barista, Simpiwe (Bobby), impressed all at the table with his amazing coffee artwork.  Margaret was so inspired that she tried her hand at some coffee art.... check it out... not too bad for a first try!  Not only was Bobby's artwork incredible but my cappuccino was one of the best I've had in PE!  Quality ingredients and proper tools make all the difference......Kaffeine makes their own special blend of coffee, and the shop uses a Nuova Simonelli machine that was featured in the 2010 London Barista Championships!

Meet our Waitress
Andiswa

Meet the Barista
Simpiwe (Bobby)

Bobby's coffee art



More coffee art



Margaret's try at coffee art... not too bad!

In honor of our dual celebration the Crawlers, Beth Vieira, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Margaret Zoetmulder, Colleen Le Roux, Brother Anstey Kay, Leanne Waller, all ordered one of Kaffeine's specialty cakes which are made fresh daily on the premises.  Sally told us that the carrot and red velvet cakes are the most popular choices among regular patrons.  As it was Valentine's Day I felt compelled to order the red velvet, and was informed by the Crawlers that since it is made with beetroot it counts as a vegetable!  Excellent, excellent, excellent red velvet cake!  Along with their delicious cakes, Kaffeine's menu offers breakfast, lunch and light dinner selections.  The shop is fully licensed as well.... the next time I go to Kaffeine I'll order wine with my red velvet cake.... that counts as a fruit and a vegetable, right?

This week's Crawlers
Colleen, Margaret, Leanne, Br. Anstey, Gail,
June, Stella, Beryl
not pictured- Beth

Red Velvet Cake with celebratory
birthday candles

Cakes galore for all to enjoy!

Kaffeine opened its doors for business on July 1, 2012 and has been open every day since.  The shop's hours are Mon-Sat, 7-7, and Sun, 8-7.  The coffee bar can be accessed directly from the Summerstrand Village parking lot or from inside the shopping centre.  Seating for ninety is available with tables on the patio and inside, and a lounge area at the inside shopping centre entrance.

Talk at the table, at this our 88th Crawl, centered around what monopolized the air waves last week, that being the Pope's announcement of his resignation.  What a shock to us all!  I imagine in a few weeks the Crawlers will revisit the topic as the Conclave gets underway.

Onto a lighter subject.....  A few weeks ago I was telling the Crawlers about a gift our daughter, Liz, gave to my husband just before his first trip to Africa in 2006.  Having just read The Hot Zone, a book about the deadly ebola virus, and concerned about her dad's trip, she got on the giantmicrobes.com website and ordered three cute "stuffed microbe" creatures.... Ebola, Flesh-Eating Disease, and Black Death.  Upon opening his gift Liz said to him, "Dad, if you see any of these, run the other way!"  So, just for fun I brought the three fuzzy fellows along with me to the Crawl on Thursday.  A good time was had by all as we read the Facts Sheet about each of these microbes and passed them around the table.  Fortunately, in the past two and a half years that we've lived here we haven't had to run the other way!

Our Giant Microbe friends

Happy 2nd Birthday and Happy Valentine's Day!

~Thank you to Sally, Andiswa, and Bobby for your hospitality as we celebrated two years of Coffee
   Crawling
~Happy Birthday to Beryl Dawson - Feb 22

Until next week,

Ellen

Kaffeine is also a Wi-Fi Hot spot!

Finnezz

When Lou and I moved here in 2010 people told us that back in the day PE was called the "10 Minute City."  You could drive from anywhere in PE to anywhere in PE in 10 minutes.  Things have changed over the years.  I usually give myself a half hour to drive across town.  Such was the case on Crawl Day.  I left my house in Lorraine at 8:45 with an ETA of 9:15 at Finnezz in the Humerail Shopping Centre, Humewood.  When I arrived at 9:35 (travel time - 50 minutes!) the Crawlers, already seated, thought I'd bagged out on them for the day.  What took so long?.... Slow drivers, a few donkey carts, and not one green light.  It happens.

Meet the Manager
David Hickman

As I entered Finnezz the first thing I thought was that the cafe reminded me of Zest (see Jan, 2012 post).  Funny, then, that when I spoke with Manager David Hickman, he informed me that Finnezz, Zest, and a third shop called Balizza, make up the ZZ Group of cafes in PE.

The expanded and beautifully renovated/newly decorated version of Finnezz re-opened its doors for business three months ago.  Perched on the hill across Marine Drive from PE's busy port, Finnezz provides an impressive view of the ocean.  While enjoying teas, smoothies, and Illy brand and Masterton's coffees, Thursday's Crawlers, Margaret Zoetmulder, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Colleen Le Roux, Nomusa Nkomo, Leanne Waller, Vicki Minnaar, Gail Darne, watched tankers and cargo ships enter and exit the port.  Along with David's bottle and shaker juggling, there was no shortage of entertainment.  Awesome skills, David!

David  juggling



Don't drop it .....



Meet the Barista
Seth Randall



Meet the Chef
Iusan Naidoo



The Finnezz menu includes breakfast, lunch and dinner selections...many of the Crawlers ordered breakfast on Thursday.... we stayed long enough that we could have had Chef Uisan fix us some lunch as well.  As Finnezz is fully licensed I was tempted to have Barista Seth add a little Jameson to my coffee but held off.... a morning whiskey with my coffee is reserved for St. Pat's Day!

A nice, frosty smoothie on a hot day



Finnezz offers outdoor patio seating under shade plus indoor booths, tables, and lounge areas.  The cafe's hours are Mon-Sat, 9 a.m.-2 a.m. and Sun, 10 a.m.-2 a.m.  Long hours that satisfy early birds and night owls.  Check out the new digs at Finnezz... awesome!

This Week's Crawlers
Margaret, June, Stella, Colleen, Nomusa,
Beryl, Leanne, Vicki, Gail

In the past month we have said good-bye to a few wonderful ladies who had become regulars at our Thursday morning Crawls.  My daughter, Liz, has returned to Washington, DC, Kathy Roppel moved back to Canada, and Mandy de Beer moved to Guernsey.  Now, we say farewell to Vicki Minnaar who is moving three hours northeast of PE to East London.  At least she is staying in the same hemisphere!  We will miss you, Vicki, especially on St. Pat's Day!  Be sure to join us for coffee anytime you're in PE.
(Okay, I've mentioned St. Pat's Day twice so far.... sooo looking forward to it... just a little over a month away!)



Good-bye, Vicki



Anyway, enough of the good-byes and on to the talk at the table.  Though most of us were not following the AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) very closely, by Thursday we all knew that South Africa (the host country) was out and the Final Matchup was between Burkina Faso and Nigeria.  The game was played a few days after the Crawl with Nigeria winning the AFCON Title.  Congrats Team Nigeria!

The sports talk was followed by a discussion of planes, trains, and automobiles and how one passes the time on lengthy trips.  A real killer is the 17-hour Joburg to Atlanta flight.  I'm mentally prepping now and stocking up on SoDoKu for that long flight which we will take in June.  Any good put-you-to sleep reading suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

~Thank you to the Finnezz Staff who took great care of us.
~Happy Valentine's Day to all - February 14
~Happy 25th Birthday to my son and occasional Crawler, Jeff - February 17
~Happy Birthday to Marleah and new Mom Nicolette - February 12
~Good luck to Vicki as she moves to East London

Until next week,

Ellen 


Some more juggling fun with David......

Cafe Ruwach

Oftentimes when a coffee shop is suggested to me and I'm not exactly sure where it is, I go scope it out in advance.  Well, that's what happened this week.  With Colleen's recommendation in mind, Beth and I cruised around on Tuesday (Jan 29) until we found Cafe Ruwach, located at 70 Campbell St. in Richmond Hill.  I made a quick stop in, said "Hi" to the co-owner, Charmaine Strauss, thought "What a cool coffee shop," made a reservation for Thursday morning, and then Beth and I were off.  I was in for quite a surprise, then, on Thursday when I arrived at Cafe Ruwach and saw painted on the wall and printed in the menu a "disclaimer" of sorts.  Apparently, Cafe Ruwach is actually not a coffee shop but rather, as it says on their business card, an Art and Craft Gallery.

The Discalimer

 

It is that for sure.  At Thursday's Crawl everyone took the opportunity to check out the five rooms and the patio all filled with nicknacks, carvings, jewelry, beautiful scarves, and amazing art work.  Most of the arts and crafts in the shop are created by local artists including Cafe Ruwach's other co-owner, Henk Strauss.  Within each room there are picnic style tables that accommodate a total of about sixty customers.  A really unique feature in the shop is the front room where we were seated for the Crawl.  This room is inside but has the decor and feel of an outside garden with large plants all around and tables situated on rock beds.... just beautiful!  A special touch that the Strausses have incorporated into the decor is the Cafe Ruwach personalized tablecloth adorning most of the tables.  In speaking with co-owner Charmaine about the unique decor and the wonderland ambience of the shop, she gives all the creative credit to co-owner, chef, and husband, Henk.

Meet the Owners
Henk and Charmaine Strauss

 

Cafe Ruwach (Ruwach being a Hebrew word for "creative breath of God) has been in business for three years.  Over these years the menu, which includes breakfast, lunch, and light meals, has changed from time to time.  One thing that has remained constant, though, is the Sumatran brand filter coffee and the Nesspresso brand specialty beverages.  Awesome coffee, Charmaine!

Cafe Ruwach's hours are Mon-Fri, 8:30-4 and Sat, 8:30-2.  The shop is also open on Friday evenings from 6:30 p.m.till late.  A booking is essential for Friday evenings..... call 041 582 3245.  The venue is available for private functions... what a fun place for a small gathering... call the number above to book.  As for parking, there's plenty of space on Campbell and the perpendicular streets.

This Week's Crawlers
Beryl, Colleen, Beth, Stella, Nomusa, Gail, June,
Margaret, Vicki, Fran, Marie, Cayle

Lots of news from the Crawlers this week....we got started off on Thursday with Margaret's and Vicki's announcements that their 17th and 5th grandchildren, respectively, are on the way.  Congrats to both of you... it's way easier becoming a grandparent isn't' it ladies?  Then my big news of the day was that, after much badgering from family and friends, I finally broke down and got a Facebook.  I don't imagine I'll spend much time on it, though I can see how people could fritter away hours just getting through the news feed.  Marie's news was that this would be her last Crawl as she will be starting back to work again.  She brought baby Cayle along, and the other Crawlers, Beth Vieira, Vicki Minnaar, Margaret Zoetmulder, Gail Darne, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Fran de Beer, Nomusa Nkomo, June Nash, Colleen Le Roux, spent lots of time ooh-ing and aah-ing over him.  Cute, cute, cute baby.

Personalized tablecloth

And for those of you who are wondering about the straw wrapper tied in a knot.... after being served my fruit shake on Thursday I absentmindedly tied the straw wrapper, much to the questioning eyes of the Crawlers.  I told them that I'd been doing that since I was about 8.  It was back then that my protective older sister, Elaine, said that if I ever got lost or kidnapped to tie my straw wrappers so she could follow the trail and find me.....Hansel and Gretel style.  I'm glad we never had to put that plan into action.... pretty sure it wouldn't have worked.  Needless to say, I still tie my straw wrappers out of pure habit.  I think Elaine does too!

~Thank you to Charmaine and Henk.... I love Cafe Ruwach!
~Thank you to Colleen For suggesting Cafe Ruwach.
~Thank you to Nomusa for sharing tomatoes from her garden with the Crawlers.
~Thank you to Beth for bringing the Red Velvet Cake recipe... just in time for Valentine's Day!
~Congrats to the Baltimore Ravens - Super Bowl Champs!!!!

Until next week,

Ellen