Java Wars, Turning Back The Clocks, & Other Drivel

It’s late..Since we’ll turn back the clocks at bedtime it’s already past 11pm (well 10pm RIGHT NOW but you understand) and I’m already wore out.  I thought this was a good time for one of those all inclusive, nothing really about church type posts…..

For starters…Why don’t we just keep daylight savings time.  I hate switching back and forth each year.  Why not move ‘em up an hour and leave it alone.  I’m sure we’ll get through winter just fine without pushing the clocks back.  Everybody likes an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day to get a few things done so why not leave it?

A few weeks ago, I blogged on a Consumer Reports piece on coffee quality.  Since that time, the Starbucks CEO has written a memo telling the stores they need to recapture the atmosphere that made them who they were.  He spoke of going back to manual espresso machines and the nostalgia that goes with them.  Here’s one clue to help gang…Free Wi-Fi.  I don’t pay for wi-fi when I’m out.  Atlanta Bread, Panera Bread, Daz-Bog Coffee, and Saxby’s Coffee all offer free wi-fi for those who need it.  With those options out there and more people going mobile, jump on the train before it’s too late.  This whole scenario was bound to happen.  Starbucks maintains its position by sheer volume.  I have not one but at least six Starbucks that are now within 10 minutes drive time from my home.  When my wife and I first moved out here, there was only one in that vicinity.  So in five years time, they added five stores just within 10 minutes or so of my home.  Not to mention the others around me a bit further out if I want some variety in my scenery.  All this, and I will drive about 18 minutes or so out to camp out at the only Peets coffee in the north Denver region.  As I stated in the earlier blog post, I just like their coffee better.  If you ever have a chance to try it, do so and see if you don’t agree.

I had a chance to tour the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory with my daughter Friday for a high school field trip.  I enjoy good tea also and didn’t know that the factory in Boulder is the only one in the world.  All of the tea that’s made by Celestial Seasonings is made in Boulder, Colorado and they pump out about 10-million tea bags a day.  Not bad for a company that started with one guy and a few of his friends collecting wild herbs for tea that they measured by hand and packaged in muslin bags back in the 70’s.  If you are ever in Colorado and want a tour, be sure and stop in and do spend some time in their “mint room”.  You’ll breathe free for days on end!  Yes, I broke from my coffee addiction and purchased some Canadian Vanilla Maple tea that tasted too good to pass up.