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Meet The Staff |
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Daniel Bell
Daniel is one of the newer members of the Coffee Oasis staff but he is a long time member if the Coffee O family. For a number of years he was a regular customer and one day he was looking for a second job and since he already knew our whole operation .... Well it just made sense. His laid back style and reliable work ethic makes him a natural. The fact that he was already comfortable talking with so many of our customers and staff meant that he fit right in.
Daniel is not a native of the area but he might as well be, having moved here when he was about 10 years old. His family traveled quite a bit and he lived in a number of states before settling in the Clear Lake area.
When he is not at the shop you will most often find him on the tennis court. He has been playing the game seriously for the last 11 years and teaching it for five years. Daniel was recruited to play for West Chester University in Pennsylvania until an injury cut short his career. Now he plays locally and gives lessons. He has plans to open his own tennis academy sometime in the future. In the mean time, if you want to improve your game, give him a call at 832/213-7968 and make an appointment for some lessons. |
| Meet A Regular |
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Larry Tobin
Larry is one of those Coffee O regulars that is so consistent that when he leaves town he tells us so we don't send out a search party. You can find him in the at almost any hour conducting business, working politics, meeting friends, resting after a bike ride or just relaxing.
Larry is a developer and investor. Among his many projects were cogen facilities that generated electricity from wood waste. He is also a licensed commercial real estate broker.
Larry is also a political activist. He is President of the Clear Lake Area Republicans and a member of the executive committee of the Harris County Republican Party. In addition he serves on the Taylor Lake Village city council.
Equally important, he is an environmental activist who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association and the Galveston Bay Foundation. He is also a member of the Houston Galveston Area Council. Closer to home, he is vice president of the board of the Armand Bayou Nature Center.
Larry is a avid sailor and yacht racer and is getting back into soaring when time permits.
Larry is one of the most interesting and friendliest people we know. Next time you are in the shop, stop by and say, "Hi." It just might be the beginning of a delightful conversation. |
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Coffee of the Month May |
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Sumatran Mandheling
Sumatran coffees are some of the heaviest, smoothest, and most complex coffees in the world with the earthy and spicy notes. Distinguished by its long, slender bean shape, this Sumatra Mandheling with a full city roast brews up flavorful and mild in aroma. This is a terrific choice for an all day coffee.
Special Price: $10.80/lb $9.75/lb |
| Cooking with Coffee |
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Cream the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix the raisins, spices and eggs. Stir this into the creamed butter and sugar mixture.
Disolve the baking soda in the cold coffee and add to above mixture and mix well. Gently fold in the flour.
Preheat the oven to 350 and Bake in a well greased 9-inch square pan for about 40 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve warm with a hazelnut latte.
Enjoy with seven of your friends. | |
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Greetings!
Once again we have had fun putting this newsletter together for you. We hope you have fun reading it.
Assuming that you do, we have a favor to ask of you. We are trying to add to our list of people receiving the Coffee Oasis newsletter. You can help.
All you need to do is to forward this to a few friends. That is as simple as clicking on the forward button in the Quick Links section and putting in their email addresses. The system will then send a copy to your friends with a personal note from you. We do not receive the email addresses you send it to so their is no fear that you will be adding unwelcome spam to your friend's account.
That is why the second step is important. For those of you who receive that gift, please add yourself to our mailing list by clicking on the "Join our mailing list" button. Then you will be sure that you won't miss a future edition. And you too can forward it to your interested and interesting friends.
Share the Coffee Oasis experience.
Thanks for being part of the Coffee Oasis family.
Rusty |
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Lights, Camera, Action!
These may be just a few words you may hear Monday nights at Coffee Oasis during THE FILM CLUB. The Film Club is a social skills acting, directing, editing, and producing group for children in elementary, junior high and high school. Director, Joanie Garro started The Film Club because she saw a need in the community for children to develop their social interaction skills. Although some of the children in The Film Club have Autism or Aspergers, the group is open to all children and their siblings. Through research based techniques such as role-playing, scripting, modeling, and video-modeling (children watch themselves on the video); the children rehearse social scenarios before making a movie. The children not only appear in the movie, but also learn to use all the digital equipment such as the digital video camera, digital camera, and the computer.
Each child has individualized goals that are targeted throughout the 8 sessions. At the end of the 8 weeks, the children, their families and friends are invited to the Premiere Night where they are given 'Oscar' type awards before watching the edited movie.
Some of the topics covered during The Film Club were: bullying, making friends, having a conversation, waiting in line, behaving for a substitute teacher, using good words vs. bad words, and much more. They even practiced interviewing skills by talking with Rusty Cates, the owner of Coffee Oasis. Mr. Cates has been very supportive of The Film Club even when he had to start over several times during the interview after hearing the clapper board and "Cut that was not a good take."
Joanie Garro has worked with individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities for over 22 years. She holds a Master's degree in psychology from the Applied Behavior Analysis program at the University of Houston Clear Lake and a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education. Joanie has worked in various roles including a special education teacher in the public school, an early intervention specialist with ECI, a rehabilitation specialist for adults with head injuries, a consultant to schools and corporations, a private therapist, a family coach, and presenter. As a sibling of two brothers, one with Autism and one with Down Syndrome, she enjoys sharing her passion about educating and advocating for individuals with different abilities.
Ongoing groups are forming for: Elementary, Intermediate, High school, and Young Adults. Siblings are welcome too! For more information or to join one of the groups please contact Joanie Garro.
E-mail: joanie.garro@gmail.com
Joanie Garro, MA, BCBA, CT
Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Certified Special Education Teacher
Director-- "The Film Club" -Making Movies to Learn and Live By | |
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Brewing it Up |
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Last month we told you about the open pot method of brewing coffee. This month we will describe its first cousin, the French Press. This is essentially the open pot method with a twist or, more accurately, a push. Instead of relying on gravity and cool water to separate the beverage from the grounds it uses a plunger attached to a filter to push through the brewed coffee concentrating the grounds on the bottom.
The machine we call the French Press was actually invented in Italy and goes by an variety of names in different countries. It generally refers to any form of coffee brewing that uses a filter attached to a plunger to mechanically separate the brewed coffee from the grounds.
Because, as in the open pot method, the grounds stay in contact with the water during the brewing process it extracts more of the natural oils than traditional drip brewing methods. The resulting flavor can be an intense heavy beverage depending on how long the water and coffee are allowed to stay in contact.
The French Press is especially attractive to those who like a little drama with their coffee. Unlike other methods of brewing coffee it does not emerge from the kitchen ready to pour. Instead it is brewed right at the dinning room table. This makes it especially suitable to after dinner brewing.
The process begins, as always, with quality coffee. It should be ground to a relatively course consistency. How much coffee you need depends on the size of your pot and how strong you like it. We continue to recommend a minimum of two tablespoons per 5 ounce cup.
The process is simple. Boil water and let it cool a bit. Place the ground coffee in the pot and pour in the water. Attach the top with the plunger pulled out. Let it sit for about four minutes depending on taste. When you are done, gently press the plunger down forcing the grounds to the bottom.
Serve the coffee immediately. Since the grounds remain in contact with the beverage, the coffee will grow bitter over time. We recommend rebrewing after 15 to 20 minutes.
Even better ... come by your favorite coffeehouse often and let us brew it for you! |
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In the Beginning ... |
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We know that coffee originated in Ethiopia and spread to the Arabian peninsula as a result of trade and conquest. But how did it spread to the rest of the world? The Arab traders and planters were determined to maintain their control over this desirable product. (Despite the protestations of both proponents and opponents of free trade, there is nothing new about trying to maintain control of trade by controlling access to the means of production.) The Arabs sought to maintain their monopoly in coffee by requiring that any seeds sold be sterilized by being parched or boiled. But as any student of history knows, the more restrictive the trade practice the more determined are the smugglers.
Coffee Drying in Sumatra
As legend has it, Muslim pilgrim from India named Baba Budan sought to obtain some coffee seeds while he was in Arabia. He succeeded and smuggled out seven fertile seeds by binding them to his stomach as he left and returned home in about 1650 A.D.
When he reached his hermitage in a cave near Chikmagalgur in southern India he planted the seeds and they flourished. They grew well under the shade of the larger jungle trees in that area. Descendents of these seven seeds are still grown in the region to this day and account for nearly one third of all of India's coffee production.
The French tried to transplant Indian coffee cultivation to the Dijon region of southern France but were unsuccessful. The coffee plant proved completely intolerant to any frost and thus is limited to tropical growing regions.
The Dutch were a bit more clever. They obtained some of the coveted Indian coffee seeds and developed plantations in their colonies in Indonesia.
First in Java and later in Sumatra and New Guinea and throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Those coffees are among the world's best today.
At Coffee Oasis we stock several coffees that owe their origin to that Indian smuggler and those Dutch planters. We keep Sumatra Mandheling and an organic and fair trade certified Papua New Guinea. Also, our Midnight Blue and Mocha Java blends are based on Indonesian coffees.
This month's featured coffee is Sumatra Mandheling.
It is interesting to note that name Mandheling attached to this coffee is not a geographical appellation. You won't find it on a map. It actually is the tribal name of the native people from the northern part of the Island of Sumatra. During World War II a Japanese officer was introduced to this coffee and when he asked what it was called there was a translation error and the answer that was returned was the name of the local people. After the war he returned to establish a trade in the coffee he so enjoyed and referred to it by the name he had learned earlier. That name, Sumatra Mandheling has stuck in the world coffee trade.
Enjoy! |
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Rusty's Corner |
Big Talk
I was listening to KPFT the other day and was struck by a discussion about Big Talk. Now, for those of you who don't know, (I was one of them before stumbling over this radio broadcast.) Big Talk is the opposite of small talk. It is the discussion of deep and difficult questions that are not easy to bring up in casual conversation.
It turns out that a group of students at Rice University have created a website dedicated to Big Talk. This site was built and is supported with help from the Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance and an Envision Grant from Leadership Rice. The idea is to breakdown the boundaries of cordiality that limits our willingness to engage in discussions that have important meaning to us about complex issues and instead leads us to default to small talk.
I have visited the site where they discuss such topics as "What am I?", "How does race impact your life and society?", and "Why is there evil in the world." Over all, I find the discussions interesting, well considered, and enlightening. I can and do recommend it.
However, I was struck by the degree to which it was nothing special. It is the kind of thing that goes on at your favorite coffeehouse every day. And it happens here without the benefit of a foundation grant.
Just in recent days I have been treated to the views an an Israeli immigrant and a Muslim on the barriers to middle east peace. I had a conversation about the nature of the kinds of people who play chess seriously. I have learned about the treatment of social interaction disorders. I have been informed about efforts to promote ethics reform in local politics. I discussed poetry with a published poet. I have even been treated to a conversation about energy development and distribution. And that is in just one week and just me. I venture to guess that there our hundreds of such meaningful conversations among our customers.
While Coffee Oasis is home to its share of small talk it has more than its share of Big Talk as well. Everyday I witness serious discussions about serious issues: Couples exploring their love and facing their challenges, business deals being done, political meetings, and philosophical debates. A cynic might say that these conversations don't change much. That cynic might point out that discussing the state of a political race or the economic situation doesn't change it.
That view is wrong. These conversations mean a great deal to those involved. Whether they are solving a personal problem, closing a deal or just sharing information and perspectives; they matter to the persons involved. We don't have to change the world, we only have to change our world and these types of discussions give us the tools to do that. No education is worthless even if its worth is not immediately apparent.
Maybe I should seek a foundation grant. Or maybe I should just keep inviting you back, enjoying the remarkable resource that is inherent in the intelligence and diversity of experiences in the Coffee Oasis family.
Every day I am grateful for you and what you bring to this place. Thank you.
It's just a thought. | |
We hope you enjoy this newsletter almost as much as you enjoy your favorite treat at Coffee Oasis. Let us know what you think. Feel encouraged to tell us of any topics or features you would like to see in future issues.
For those of you who had difficulty reading the text in the left column, please note that we have made a change. Let us know if it works for your monitors.
See you soon at the Oasis.
Sincerely,
Rusty Cates
Coffee Oasis | |
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