The right place at the right time

I met a friend for coffee this morning. I am not a huge coffee drinker, but I love our local coffee shop. And a mocha was sounding really good to me this morning. A crepe was sounding even better, but I am ON A NOT A DIET. Just going to put a little more effort into eating clean for the month of January. And one way for me to do this is to EAT AT HOME MORE TIMES THAN I EAT OUT. Sounds simple, huh? But for me, not so much.

And yes, going out for coffee is counterintuitive to eating clean, but I am not trying to cleanse myself of caffeine. I'm just trying to cleanse myself of junk food. So there.

Anyway, my favorite barista is in a barista competition this weekend in Tacoma, WA and needed to practice her mad skills. When my coffee with a friend became a table of four (this is what happens when you live in Small Town, USA), we became the barista challenge guinea pigs. 

We started with an espresso, which I could not handle. Like I said, I am not a big coffee drinker, and the espresso was called HAIR BENDER. And they weren't joking. But those who like espresso gave it big kudos, so I am sure it was delicious. Then we were treated to a cappuccino which was heavenly. And frothy. And warm your gullet good.

The final shot was I don't know what. An after dinner type coffee infused with orange zest and hazel nut and other unbelievably good things that was DIVINE. This is the barista's specialty for the competition. They have 15 minutes to prepare, describe and serve the judges three drinks: an espresso, a cappuccino and their specialty drink.

Our barista did a divine job. I have a feeling she's going to nail this competition. And for setting out to meet a friend for coffee and chat before running errands, this was a major score! Talk about the right place at the right time!

This day is starting out much better than the weekend from hell. I guess I'll give 2009 another chance.

*I wish I had thought to take a photo of our final coffee drink, served in a little martini glass shaped shot glass with a heart-shaped swirl in the froth on top and a garnish of orange zest. It was so lovely! This coffee porn courtesy of google images.

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I am now off to the grocery store to fulfill Taylor's grocery list. Since he has so much extra time on his hands lately, he is now in charge of evening meal prep for the family two nights per week and kitchen cleaning duty. If that doesn't motivate him to get a job and find an apartment, I really don't know what will.