The Alpaca Bean On Line Store Reopens TODAY!!!!

Welcome back to "The Store" and we are happy to be here too!!!  Please take time to visit and then order, enjoy, and return! :o)

Coffee and Me...

Well, I am here to tell you about coffee in Alaska! Well, better stated, I am here to share info on the local coffee in Alaska.   I do want to add my two cents on the Black Bear Coffee Co., however.  First, just to make it clear, I am not standing in front of the Black Bear Coffee Company in Anchorage!  Now for the second cent...the coffee was very good, however, the reason Jude and I would go back (if we are ever in the great north country again), is the fantastic pumpkin bread they served!!!!  Boy did that go with coffee REALLY, REALLY well.  :o)  Here goes the coffee info, brought to  you by a variety of newspaper folks in Alaska:

Anchorage: Black Bear Coffee Co. and Terra Bella

Being asked to pick the best cup of coffee in Anchorage really isn't fair -- the barista-to-civilian ratio in this town is higher than Lindsay Lohan's circa-2006 blood alcohol content, and everybody's got a favorite. As far as I'm concerned, the best cup of coffee in Anchorage is the one served at my parents' house: strong, bottomless, and completely free. If I'm going to pay for coffee, though, I generally opt for one of two drive-through coffee stands: Black Bear Coffee Co. or Terra Bella Organic Coffee.

Black Bear Coffee Co., located across the street from Gwennie's, just off Spenard Road, is our neighborhood coffee stand. If you live in Anchorage, you probably have one a lot like it somewhere near your neighborhood. The drinks are good (they never burn your shot) and the service is fantastic -- typical cute Anchorage coffee stand girls who remember your drink and notice if you haven't come by in a while. If you drop someone off at the airport and then have to head toward midtown, downtown or east Anchorage, cut down Spenard and stop by. They have a kids' menu and lot of non-coffee drinks I've never tried, but I can testify to the Americanos, mochas, hot chocolate and lattes, none of which has ever disappointed me.

Terra Bella stands out from the crowd because, unlike many Anchorage coffee shops, it uses beans roasted at Homer's K Bay Caffe rather than Kaladi Brothers coffee. (Not that there's anything wrong with using Kaladi beans. I have drunk many cups of Kaladi coffee and will drink many more before I die. In fact, I probably should have mentioned them on the acknowledgements page of my MFA thesis.) Terra Bella's hook is coffee with a conscience, and they're committed to fair trade and organic practices, which is great mostly because the coffee tastes really, really good. Best soy latte in town, hands down. (As far as I'm concerned, anyway. Like I said, Anchorage is a swirling vortex of coffee preferences.) Plus they have this aggressively healthy and strangely delicious sprouted-grain bagel you can't get at any other drive-through coffee stand. It tastes especially nice with a side of the sunshine-and-rainbows glow that comes from patronizing a business with a mission you can feel good about. 

Prudhoe Bay: The Prudhoe Bay Hotel

Photo by Robert Wells

Robert Wells braved the weather in Deadhorse -- the high temperature has been above zero only eleven days so far this month, and it was minus-65 degrees with wind chill on the day Robert went -- to pay a visit to the small coffee shop tucked into a wall at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel. Robert, who works on the North Slope,  made the trip because the only other coffee stand he knew of in the area is a small espresso machine that stands in a trailer, and where they make mochas by pouring packets of hot chocolate into the coffee. So a visit to the hotel became almost necessary.

The barista working behind the counter claimed that it was the northernmost coffee shop in Alaska -- any diligent readers in the far northern latitudes are welcome to correct or corroborate the claim -- and that a lot of coffee fanatics make the long drive up the haul road for a feather in their caffeine-fueled caps.  She made Robert a white chocolate mocha, which he described as "pretty awesome."

Shall we add "drive up the haul road to the Prudhoe Bay Hotel coffee shop" to the Last Frontier bucket list?

Mountain Market (and café), Haines, Alaska 

Mountain Market (and café) is open year round, seven days a week, and is the best place in Haines to have a strong cup of good coffee. I like the lattes, but they have all the usual espresso drinks and they roast their own beans. You can get a cup to go or stay and have something hearty to go with it, from fresh baked goods to soups and sandwiches. You can also read the local paper -- on sale at the counter -- or chat with locals. They sell organic groceries here too, and you can buy a bottle of wine or some beer from adjacent Mountain Spirits to take home. Mountain Market is Haines' hippest place to meet, and has been for about twenty years. It's located on the corner of town, between the school and the library, and across the Haines Highway from the fire hall.

On a Personal Note

Yep, we have been busted - we closed down all operations of The Alpaca Bean Coffee Company, just so we could take the first vacation we have taken in over eight years.  So we did it up right, we went to Alaska! 

Jude and I are about to undertake a number of projects and felt that we may never have this opportunity again, or at least, any time soon (once we got started on them).  Any time soon takes on a very new meaning when you reach the ages of the folks seen in the photo above.

Speaking of the photo above...did you know that there are more creatures like the one we are leaning upon in Alaska than there are people?  Can you imagine the excitement that was generated each time a group of tourists saw a moose?  It was something to behold!  Now, on the other hand, can you imagine the reaction of the long time residents of Alaska as they watched folks from "the Outside" get so excited about seeing a moose?  The smile that would be evident upon their faces could not be hid no matter how hard they tried!  The really rare creatures in this vast land are human beings for goodness sake! :o) 

I promise not to go on and on about our adventure to the last frontier, but I must share with you an opinion...if you ever have the opportunity to go to our 49th state, do not pass it up!  Everywhere you look you see beauty, you will find yourselves taking picture after picture of the unbelievable mountain ranges, only to later look at them and wonder which was which.  You know you then realize it does not matter...they are unspoiled expanses that still exist for all to see.  Of course you will run into the constant tourist traps that look like, well, tourist traps, but you quickly get beyond that and back to appreciating the beauty of the land.  AND, if you are fortunate you will also get to briefly know the people of Alaska...warm, welcoming, and proud of their heritage. 

From what I have been saying, you might gather that there aren't many big cities in Alaska. In total, there are only 26 cities and towns with a population of more than 1,000 people.  The largest, Anchorage, was home to 291,826 people in 2010, making it the 64th largest city in the USA. Other than that, though, there are only two other cities with a population of more than 10,000 people - Juneau, the State capital, (pop: 31,275) and Fairbanks (pop: 31,535).

When you also bear in mind that with a massive surface area of 663,268 square miles, Alaska is by far the largest state in the US, it's obvious that Alaska is also, by far, the most sparsely populated state in the Union. 

Whew, with all this to ponder, you had better go on line to the newly reopened The Alpaca Bean Store...can never tell when you will need a brain jolt to take all this in, you know!

 Until later....... 

Peace,

The Coffeeman

PS:  Could not help but give you one more taste of the Last Frontier!  AND check Judy out right after the second contest question that follows.

Contest!!!! Contest!!!!

How Many People Live in Alaska Right Now?

a.  718,202  

b.  843,157

c.  1,312,110

d.  652,331

Send in your best guess, and if it is right, you will also win three pound bags of our special coffee!  Date and time of email will determine winner!

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