Hello, Gorgeous!

You lookin' fine today!!!

Courier Coffee Roasters has a new espresso. Currently Joel is roasting a Brazilian coffee which may or not become part of a future blend. I debated whether or not I would go into extreme detail about this coffee, but I decided that its probably better to give myself some time to play around with elements such as temperature, grind, dose size, as well as time out of roast before I will have a clear idea of what this coffee is all about. I will say I like it. I like it a lot.

The coffee is an organically grown peaberry from the Camocim Estate, which is located in the coastal state of Espirito Santo. Though it is difficult to tell from the photos (shot in direct sunlight), Joel is taking this coffee a bit darker than he usually roasts. Thus far I have consumed it more as an espresso than brewed coffee. Citrus notes are evident throughout, as well as a sweet nutty taste. The mouthfeel is medium-heavy without being syrupy, almost comparable to hot chocolate made with powder and milk.

If you are interested in learning more about the estate where the coffee is grown I highly recommend checking out their website. Or, if you have the time, drop by the cafe for a cup. As I mentioned before we are currently serving it as a single origin espresso, and at times we have and will be French pressing it for our house coffee.

Happy slurping!

The gratuitous backside shot

LRBC Little Known Fact #12

7.12.08

With our beloved grandfathers in mind, Evan and I decided to speak our vows beneath the shelter of a chuppah. The chuppah is a marriage canopy that symbolizes the home the couple will build together. Before the wedding, we asked all of our guests to mail us a piece of fabric; once the swatch was received, the fabric was sewn into a quilt courtesy of Evan's mom, creating our canopy. *Sigh*

Without a doubt this is one of my favorite pieces I will forever cherish from our wedding. Much love and thanks must go out to Julie and all of our family and friends for indulging us in the greatest art project we've ever had the privilege of being part of. XO

By Popular Demand...

mmmm...make mine with extra schmear

Many have asked since day one. Now, 11 months into the game, we're finally ready to deliver. Scheduled to debut tomorrow morning, bagels are finally coming to the LRBC.

Yet another "Joel is our hero" entry...

Perhaps most essential to reopening the cafe today was reinstalling the espresso machine. Though it sounds simple in theory, there are in fact many different elements at play, and it takes a technician's patience to do it right. For all of this and more, we have Joel to thank.

Joel came by late Friday afternoon, and continued to work with the machine up until 6:00pm, when Ali and I had to leave to go return her mom's car (which we had been borrowing). We dropped off the car and ate some dinner, and it wasn't until around 9:30pm until we finally got back to the cafe.

Joel was still there...working.

Thank you Joel, for not only roasting the coffee and biking it out to us, but helping to make sure that we can serve it to the best of our abilities.

Just in case he left before we returned, Joel penned the details of all of his labor on one of his coffee bags.

As you can see, he worked really hard.

He even attached a pressure restricting device which among other things will help ensure that turning the water on and off in other parts of the cafe will not disrupt your espresso as it pours.

We're back...

The cafe is open again, with limited food services available through the remainder of weekend (a few examples pictured below).

A more complete menu will resume this Tuesday. We'll save the details on how it all came to be for another blog entry.

Sauvie Island blueberry muffin w/ lemon curd

prosciutto, goat cheese, and fig jam on olive ciabatta

fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato, and balsamic glaze on ciabatta

peach & nectarine clafouti

Excuses, excuses...

We were hoping for a triumphant return to business-as-usual this coming weekend, but to be perfectly honest things are coming along a bit more slowly than we hoped. Quality is what we strive for, and with that in mind we are now planning for a coffee-centric "soft reopening" this coming weekend. Good things come to those who wait, right? So come Tuesday we plan to reward y'all kind folk with plenty of new goodies never before served at the cafe. For the time being, we'll try to hold you over with some eye candy...

Let's call the following mini-photo series, "we got wood":

Wood where you can place your order...

...wood for you to set your coffee mug on...

...even wood you can sit on!

Pardon Our Dust

Things are still a bit dusty at the Bike
photo by Hjem

After a fantastic week spent honeymooning it, Ali and I eased back into work at the cafe today. When I say "eased into it," I really mean it. Allergies took all of ten minutes to get the best of Ali before she was forced to go home and work on various administrative tasks. I stuck around for a few hours, and spent most of my time dusting. I also began to compile a long to do list that I hope will keep us on track and help to get the cafe ready to reopen by the weekend.

Yes...I am putting it out there. We hope to reopen the cafe by this coming weekend.

I say hope only because one never knows what unforeseen circumstances might present themselves and make reopening more difficult than we anticipate. If there is one thing that I have learned throughout this past year it is that the closer you get to actually finishing a task the more likely you are to have something unexpected happen, which more often than not can prolong the task at hand. That said, the cafe has been closed longer than we ever expected, and we are anxious to get back into the swing of things. Only time will tell whether or not determination will win out over the unknown, and if we will in fact reopen when we hope to do so.

So until we are ready to flip that OPEN sign around, we'll do our best to let y'all know how the progress is coming along. We feel as though we are getting close, and after we complete a thorough cleanup we will be putting together the final touches, and beginning to cook.

If you are anxious to view the work that has already been completed, be sure to check the blog again soon for a sneak peak at our new bench and counters.

And thank you very much for your patience.

Blissed Out

Can't get much better than this

We're all smiles today. "Why?" you ask...its because yesterday, July 12, Ali and I finally tied the knot!

Yes, it was hotter than a pepper sprout, but our wedding was everything we hoped it would be and more. Big, big, big thanks to all of our wonderful family and friends for their love and support, and for providing us with countless memories which we will cherish throughout the rest of our lives.

SURPRISE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI!!!

Yes, that's right folks, this Tuesday, the 8th of July, just so happens to be Miss (not for much longer) Ali's birthday. So go ahead and wish her a happy birthday. The lady has been working overtime these past twelve months, making sure your breakfast/lunch/coffee/ice cream turns out just right.

Happy birthday love, from myself and the rest of the blogosphere. May your new year bring you continued joy and enough laughter to make your sides hurt.

XO,
E

Wedding Vendor #4

Lemon Cookie with Honey Lavender and Dark Chocolate Cookie with Fresh Mint

Ruby Jewel Treats

We first caught wind of Lisa, creator of the now famous Ruby Jewel Treats, more than three years ago while traveling through Australia. We usually make it a point to avoid our fellow American brethren while traveling abroad, excusing our exclusivity with the notion: if we wanted to hang out with Americans, we would have stayed at home. That was until we found ourselves at a hostel in Brisbane, and we met Aaron and Jojo. We maintained our distance at first...whispering to one another, "Are they from the states?" "Should we talk to them?" "Do you think they like to drink?" You see, at the time we were nearly ten days into a self imposed "cleanse," during which we practiced yoga at least 2 hours a day, and ate only raw fruits and vegetables. Perhaps it was their down to earth nature, or maybe we were looking for an excuse to break from our healthy ways, but less than an hour after meeting those two we found ourselves sitting with them at a table, playing dominoes, drinking beers, and thoroughly enjoying our transition into a more illicit lifestyle. It wasn't long before we discovered that we shared a mutual connection, that being the city of Portland.
As it turned out, Jojo had a sister who was not only living in Portland, but had recently won a contest sponsored by the Food Innovation Center, from which she received seed money and consultation to start her own food business. When Jojo disclosed that her sister's winning recipe was a gourmet ice cream sandwich, our stomachs began grumbling with anticipation.
"So what's her business going to be called?" we were dying to know.
"Ruby Jewel Treats" Jojo replied.
Months passed and we continued our travels. In fact, though I am ashamed to admit it, by the time we returned home we had nearly forgotten about the ice cream sandwiches we once craved so badly. That was until one sunny summer evening we found ourselves at a co-op in Northwest Portland. We looked towards the sky only to see the words on the co-op's marquee shining down upon us like a beacon of hope:
"Now Selling Ruby Jewel Treats"
We were ecstatic, and eager to see for ourselves if the treats we had once longed for so badly, while so far away, would prove to be all we that had hoped. Our first sandwich was the Lemon Cookie with Honey Lavender. It was love at first bite.
Flash forward three years later, and we still can't get enough of these amazing desserts. As excited as we are to be able to share the deliciousness with our wedding guests, we are perhaps most privileged to be able to consider "the creator" and her family, our friends. Much thanks to Aaron, JoJo, Lisa, Becky, Elyse, and Company for being all natural and all good. XO

The Berry Triumvirate

Something Old vs. Something New

We spent the 4th out on Sauvie Island with friends picking fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. It was our first time utilizing the new bridge and our first berry picking expedition this season. When it was all said and done our fingers, hands, lips, and cheeks were stained in beautiful berry hues, and we were immediately thinking pie.

One for you, and you, and you...

So to answer some of your questions regarding whether or not the Bike-Thru is going to be open this weekend for ice cream and pie: You betcha! Thanks to our haul we're aiming our sights on a Almond-Raspberry-Peach Pie as well as a Sauvie Island Pie featuring the trio of berries we gathered. If you're so inclined we'd love to see you at the Bike-Thru anytime from 6pm-9pm.

What about you? How did you celebrate your holiday?

Sneak Peek

Sorry we've been so quiet lately. Truth be told I've been thinking a lot about this:

Who knew ivory would be my color?