Well...it turns out the "hard drive coma" was indeed a hard drive crash. Within three days my laptop died, and I lost my cell phone. So...all my somewhat superior attitude of "I'm so not dependent on technology...e-mailing and texting won't replace real human relationship...." I'm such a liar!! Now I have her back, and I feel very happy about it. So...prepare yourself readers....you're in for a long ride on this post.

ATL Kicks...We raised cash for CoffeeKids and got some kick-ass shoes out of it. Here are some of my faves.

Jason Kelly tattooed these beauties. Scroll down further and you can see some of his latest work on me...


The other side....


Pierre from Radical did these...


Look what Alfredo did with shoes!!!


CoffeeFest was the first weekend in June. People from all over descended on Cobb Galleria...Brian Ludviksen might be my new favorite person at CounterCulture. We're going to have our own radio show. We find ourselves so entertaining, I'm sure others will too. So many fun people....Peter, Brett, Brent, Brian, Tim, Rich, Mark, Phillip Search, Danger Dan, David from Clover and more. We got everyone going on Friday night at Octane with lots of free coffee, free beer and lots of playing on the LaMarzocco. Little did our regular customers know that some of the best baristas from around the country were putting extra love in the lattes. Saturday night, David LaMont and Chris put together a great southern style party at the training center. BBQ, Krispy Kreme, Moon Pies...and, of course, beer. The late night latte art throwdown saw Danger walking away with $157. Go him.
Meanwhile, we're getting lots of yummy coffee in at Octane. We're cupping at CounterCulture's training center at King Plow on Fridays. And M'lissa is putting together Monday night cuppings to be held at the shop. We'll not only cup coffee, but also other things...tasting chocolate, colas, and whatever else we can come up with! She is the best CoffeeBoss ever! Also, we've got two baristas (Danielle and JT) that are 1/3 Octane Barista certifies. This is very exciting....I'm nervous about the test, but I want to do it. I've been practicing dosing consistently. So far, I'm pretty consistent. Consistently under, that is. That half gram in the portafilter is super important!

Lately I've been drinking the Kenya Gitare auction lot....Rwanda Humure....and today, the Sumatra Aceh Gayo. So yummy....sweet, with some very subtle savory undertones. Also, my new best friend Troy from Portland, had his wife bring some Stumptown beans to try. We're trying to make the 6 months he has in Atlanta not too painful.

At Octane, we're re-doing our menu. We'll be improving the food, and I'll make some desserts! I'm super excited about all of it. When we're done with this, the food will be worthy of our coffees. I'll update the blog with the menu when it's finalized. Also, Chris and I have some dessert experimentation to do. I'll let you know how that turns out.

I mentioned some of Jason's work earlier in this post. Check out my culinary tattoos--a cupcake and a chef's knife. It was really fun. But when I realized it had been 14 years since my last tattoo, I got a little nervous. Jason was great, though. If you want work done, you can find him at Timeless Tattoo on Cheshire Bridge.



As you know, this week was America's Birthday. I joined Shannon, Doug, Shelia, the Jimmey and Bao at Cafe Lily in Decatur. Some of my favorite people and one of my favorite restaurants. Anthony consistently puts out fresh, easy to eat fare from his kitchen. I like it there. Happy Birthday, America!

Bao and me....he makes a mean Tiramisu. One day we might take over the world. Desserts and bread. Don't say you weren't warned.


Sheila (a) is not impressed (b) cannot believe that the person at the end of her gaze is for real (c) is over it.


Sexy Shannon...


Ok, kids. That's it for now. Thanks for keeping up! More later.