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a heart made of coffee beans

Revisiting Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – Refill Cafe in San Diego

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I’m always excited to be able to add a new coffee house to any of the lists I offer you in my Bean Around The World Series. And today, we’re adding one to the San Diego group. It’s called Refill Cafe. I finally got a chance to check them out over the weekend. I had driven by their location many times since they opened a year ago, but never stopped in. For some reason, I assumed rather than using their own roast, they were using a more nationally known roast. You’ll notice in my Bean Around The World Series, I never review coffee houses that don’t roast their own beans because I’m looking for special places that are local for us all to enjoy and support.

Because I really like the way the space looked from the outside, I decided to call Refill and see whose beans they used. Much to my delight, they use Bird Rock beans, which is a roaster in San Diego whose coffee, as well as their spaces, I really like. So that got me interested in heading over to Refill and checking them out. And I’m really glad I did.

The owner, Nathan, had just gone home when I got there late afternoon on a Sunday. However, the staff were super friendly, especially Alexia, who was very patient, friendly, and answered all my questions :) Though Nathan hasn’t had coffee house experience before, he put together a great place. It has both great indoor and outdoor areas with plenty of tables nicely spaced out. And though it’s on a major street, it’s situated in such a way as to avoid the street noise. There’s good street parking that is unmetered. That’s a rarity in San Diego. It’s not in any of the bigger tourist areas, but if you’re near the zoo or Balboa Park, it’s very close.

a heart made of coffee beans

My Cold Brew Favorites from the Coffee Lover’s Kitchen

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My Bean Around The World series is offering up some Coffee Lover’s Kitchen recipes today! Not only has cold brew coffee become popular, but it’s the summer season here in the northern hemisphere and many people turn to cold coffee drinks to cool them down. First off, let’s not confuse cold brew coffee with ice coffee – they are not the same. Ice coffee is simply putting ice in your coffee beverage. Cold brew is different and easy to make, so it’s fun to try at home. By using cold or tepid water (not hot) to brew your coffee, that causes the beans to extract different oils and compounds. So you’ll have different tastes from the same beans if all you change is the temperature of the water!

All you need is a mason jar and a metal strainer or French press pot to make your basic cold brew concentrate. In the old days, this was called Toddy coffee. Anyone out there remember this? Use 1 part coffee to 5 parts water. Coarsely grind the coffee and mix it with cold (preferably filtered) water and put it in a jar or French press. Let it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours and then strain it. Keep it in the fridge and use within 2 weeks time. You can dilute the concentrate 1:2 parts with water or any other liquid such as milk. Of course, adjust this to your personal preference.

a heart made of coffee beans

Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – Coffee Houses in Ljubljana, Slovenia (Part 2)

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I guess it’s time for a true confession. I’m a coffee snob. And when I travel, I have a passion for supporting local roasters and coffee houses. Let’s just say I’ve BEAN Around the World and I’m feeling like now is the time to start sharing the love… and caffeine, one city at a time. Recently, I had a fantastic holiday in Slovenia. Given the shared border with Italy and all the cafes around Ljubljana advertising Illy brand coffee, I wasn’t sure if I’d find coffee shops worth sharing with my fellow Bean Around The World travelers, so I was thrilled to find two fantastic places owned by some very special people. I’ve got lots to share with you, so let’s open the TWG cafe society doors and talk coffee, Slovenian style.

Please read part 1 of my Ljubljana coffee blog post. It will help you understand the general coffee scene and why I chose only two coffee hoses to review. They are by far the best two, though! The next coffee house I spent a lot of time in is called Cafe Cokl. Cokl is the family name of the owner, Tine. From the first moment I stepped into Cafe Cokl, I knew I was in the right place with the right attitude and the right coffee. My flat white was excellent! The interior of the cafe is cozy and there’s plenty of seating outside.

While I had my first flat white, the head barista sat with me and told me all about the cafe and the coffee, then a loyal fan who happened to be at the table next to me joined in the conversation. Then Tine himself came into the cafe, and so the conversation went on and on. I learned a lot, laughed a lot, and sampled some coffee :)

a heart made of coffee beans

Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – Coffee Houses in Ljubljana, Slovenia (Part 1)

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I guess it’s time for a true confession. I’m a coffee snob. And when I travel, I have a passion for supporting local roasters and coffee houses. Let’s just say I’ve BEAN Around the World and I’m feeling like now is the time to start sharing the love… and caffeine, one city at a time. Recently, I had a fantastic holiday in Slovenia. Given the shared border with Italy and all the cafes around Ljubljana advertising Illy brand coffee, I wasn’t sure if I’d find coffee shops worth sharing with my fellow Bean Around The World travelers, so I was thrilled to find two fantastic places owned by some very special people. I’ve got lots to share with you, so let’s open the TWG cafe society doors and talk coffee, Slovenian style.

Before I talk about these individual places, let me first describe a bit about what you’ll find in Ljubljana. What you won’t find is Starbucks. And as in many countries and cities, there aren’t “just coffee” cafes. By this, I mean that many restaurants and smaller eateries consider themselves coffee houses too. Cafes in Slovenia also serve meals and alcohol (it’s not hard to get a liquor license) even though they may advertise as the “best coffee house in Ljubljana.” This made it tricky because what I wanted to find and be able to recommend were great COFFEE places for people who wanted the vibe and coffee quality of the kinds of places I always refer you to.

In my search, I actually eliminated a few places because I didn’t care for their vibe and didn’t think they were paying enough attention to the coffee end of their business. So I was super happy to be able to find two that not only were worth reviewing, but proved to be up there in the “best of” levels of any I’d been to anywhere in the world!

TOZD was created and established 5 years ago by Robert Henigman. I immediately liked the feel of TOZD because when I say Robert created this space, I mean it’s a creative, fun environment with books and artwork all over the space. Even the menu on the wall had anatomical x-ray like images of parts of the human body. As a health & fitness professional, I personally loved it.

a heart made of coffee beans

Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – Buenos Aires & My Conversation with a Barista Champion

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I guess it’s time for a true confession. I’m a coffee snob. And when I travel, I have a passion for supporting local roasters and coffee houses. Let’s just say I’ve BEAN Around the World and I’m feeling like now is the time to start sharing the love… and caffeine, one city at a time. Recently I had the pleasure, and it was a pleasure indeed, to explore the coffee scene in Buenos Aires! I’ve got lots to share with you, so let’s open the TWG cafe society doors and talk coffee, Buenos Aires style.

Usually, I explore the coffee places in different areas of each city, so no matter where you are, you’ll know a place that’s worth checking out. Let me say upfront that I had a WONDERFUL time exploring the coffee scene in Buenos Aires, and that if you drink coffee, you’re in for a real treat. Many, if not most, of the coffee places in Buenos Aires are one-off places. If they do have more than one location, they’ll for sure have a shop in the hip and trendy Palermo area, so let’s start there.

The first place I explored is called Felix Felicis & Co Coffee. Maybe it was the jet lag, but my usual amazing sense of direction failed me the morning I went here. I got very turned around in Palermo, I kept asking people if they knew where this place was, and they only wanted to send me to Starbucks :(

I was exasperated and stopped into a restaurant in one final effort to ask directions. This guy overheard my conversation with the waitress and said to me, “I’m Gustavo and I work at Felix Felicis! I’ll take you there!” He was at the restaurant ordering a breakfast burrito. We all had a good laugh and my new best friend in Buenos Aires emerged! This is the part of NOT using technology when I travel that I love. Even in my exasperation, I knew the adventure, as it always does, would lead to good laughs and new friends. It always does!