October 30 – Paris, France It is an unusually warm fall morning as I walk the quiet streets of Paris on my way to mass at Notre Dame. The streets are damp from rain the night before but this morning the sky is blue and cloudless. Paris mornings are typically slow, but this Sunday is even more tranquil as I navigate metro closures and join the stream of tourists crowding buses towards the cathedral. I worry I have missed the early mass until someone tells me Europe has “fallen back.” Suddenly I have a full hour to grab a coffee and croissant and look at souvenir stands. Soon the bells announce the...

I’ve had a head full of coffee the last few weeks. As I learned in Cartel’s Seed to Cup classes, you don’t need a lot of money to learn how to brew a good cup. I’ve invested in a grinder and French press. From there, it’s practice and learning technique. For pointers, the baristas left us with a list of free and inexpensive resources. Here’s a short list of recommendations from Cartel’s barista extrodinaire, Jen, to get started. Online Guides are Free. Try guides from micro-roasteries like Stumptown Coffee, Ritual Roasters, Barismo, and Counter Culture Coffee. Connect with Experts on...

I got more than lessons on brewing coffee at the three-day seminar Seed to Cup this weekend. I got schooled on some retro barista stereotypes. My friends and I used to joke that the guys flipping our burgers and pouring our lattes in college probably had Ph.Ds. The desire to stay in our small college town usually kept people there regardless of the job opportunities or diplomas. But what if you go to school in a big city? If the baristas at Cartel Coffee Lab are any example, then it turns out you really can use your degree to get paid for your coffee passions. Sure, roasting and brewing coffee isn’t...

Does anyone think it’s strange that the Girl From Arizona doesn’t write about Arizona? Outside of climbing, I don’t write about my adopted state. I figure there are other blogs that do a much better job of that. Still, all the things I seek out when I travel are suddenly popping up in my backyard. Phoenix is becoming both an established beer city AND a coffee town. While beer events are plentiful, coffee shops are also jumping into the mix with a number of activities that are helping everyone understand just what it is that makes the local culture so great. Seed to Cup August 13 – 15 I’m...

A month ago I left Finale and started my journey back to Arizona. I’ve been lost in time and space ever since. My airplane time machine should have just taken me back nine hours, and if I had only been gone a few weeks, I would have adjusted to my present after a few days of strange sleep. But after three months living my dream life, moving backwards wasn’t as simple as sleeping off jet lag. I got off the plane not just 90 days in the past, but 16 years. I was a stranger in a strange land starting my life in desert again. I was confused as Rip Van Winkle. Friends had lost weight, gotten pregnant,...