Cafe Love

The Neighborhood Cup... again

2011-10-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

The Neighborhood cup has changed ownership and I still love it. Whether I go there to just relax and chat with a friend drinking my favorite specialty drink or have a quiet time to study drinking a great selection of their herbal teas, I have enjoyed my time there and still do...

...not to mention that it is located next to the Aliso Viejo Library and Friends of the Aliso Viejo Library (a bookstore that supports the library financially by selling donated books for a mere 50 cents or 1 dollar... if you didn't know about it, you should check it out. I also volunteer there) ....

I have mentioned in a previous post the Neighborhood Cup has an art gallery featuring a different artist every month.

It is very interesting to see the talents of different artists every time I drop by...

The warmth that the Neighborhood Cup's ambiance and employees (not to mention the delicious food) have make me feel at home and welcome every time I go there....

I am planning to write more about different coffee shops that I come across. Please feel free to comment on your experiences at coffee shops and recommend new ones! Thank you!

A Great Cafe Mocha

2011-08-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today I bought a mocha at Scandia Bakery located in Laguna Beach, California. It was amazing. It definitely was novel and different from every other Mocha I've had. Also, I stopped by a very cozy cafe called "Coffee Pub". The location was peaceful and very beautiful. This website described Coffee Pub the best: http://www.laguna-beach-info.com/coffee-pub-laguna-beach-coffee.html
"... is a great alternative to the corporate caffeine experience that many of us have become accustomed to at countless Starbucks throughout the world!"
I've always loved unique cozy coffee shops and the Coffee Pub at Laguna Beach is definitely one.

Oh...The Calories!

2011-08-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I noticed that Starbucks lists on their menu how many calories an item has. I was really hungry and I was about to buy their Zucchini Walnut Muffin when I became aware of the "490 calories" listed beside the price. Although hard to resist, the muffin was no longer an option for me. Starbucks definitely made me make a healthier choice. If lots of people change their mind based on the exorbitant amount of calories an edible item has, I'm not sure whether Starbucks will stay in business!

The Neighborhood Cup

2011-08-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

The Neighborhood Cup is a coffee shop located next to the Aliso Viejo Library, and I would like comment on two things I absolutely love about it:
1-It has a drink that no other coffee shop I've been to has. The drink is called White Chocolate Academia and I've been having it for over 5 years!
2-They allow a different artist each month to put their art work on display inside their shop in exchange for a personalized work by the artist for the coffee shop. It's very neat to look at the dozens of different artworks for the Neighborhood Cup done by various artists over the years.

Keep up the good work!

A Customer Service Tip I've learned

2011-07-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

While working at a Gloria Jeans Coffee Shop, I learned a valuable lesson: If you have made a customer wait longer than they should have, upgrade their ordered drink to a bigger size. To be honest, no where in the training manual does it say to reward a customer whose been waiting for too long for a drink; however, I think by doing this, I helped the company make more money by satisfying their customer and having them come back.

Bu Bye to a Loved Coffee Shop

2011-07-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

As most people know, Borders is no longer open. This is sad for me because over the years I have become used to the great bookstore and have spent majority of my studying time at the location. I have to add that I think the Borders bookstore, located in Laguna Hills, had the best customer service among places I've bought books or drinks from. I was almost always satisfied with the product I've purchased, and their classic mochas have never disappointed me! I will miss it!

Why I Love Coffee Shops

2011-07-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

"A good coffee shop is a blessing." - Me

I had the privilege to work for a coffee shop called Gloria Jeans. I wanted to work there because I 've always felt that coffee shops are positive environments. Whether it is for reading or for a conversation with a friend, coffee shops can offer a relief from the 'seriousness' that life often brings to our lives. Going to a great coffee shop can allow our mind to clear, our hearts to recharge, and our spirits to become free. A coffee shop has to make its customer feel at home.

I also want to share the top three reasons that I have switched coffee shops in my life:

1) bad drinks (the employees just didn't do their jobs right)

2) bad service ( i.e. there are long waits)

3) Unfair Pricing (the prices are too high for the products)

Fortunately, the switching does not happen often and I'm really satisfied with the majority of my coffee shop experiences. After all... what can be better than going to a place to relax, unwind, and enjoy a drink?

Customer Service Care at Coffee Shops

2011-07-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

"You are the worst coffee shop I've ever been to," I heard an angry customer tell a manager of a coffee shop I had visited. As I was listening to the conversation, I picked up that the customer had ordered a mocha which turned out to have poor taste; after complaining and having it remade, the customer realized that the newly made drink tasted even worse than the previous one. Angry, he gave the cafe barista a third chance and asked for the drink to be remade again; this time, the man had to wait longer while the drink was being made because there was a big line of customers who had just ordered. After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, he asked to speak to the manager, and the conversation that followed was not pleasant.

If you are a coffee shop owner who is reading this blog, my biggest advice to you is to put customer service first. I know a few places where managers are so consumed with thoughts of profit, that they have made some very bad mistakes (some are not even aware of it). For example, a few managers are fully aware that they need more workers on weekends but have stopped hiring people so they can save money. Unfortunately, this is a very bad strategy and has caused complaints from customers who have to wait more than 15 minutes for a simple drink (me being one at some point!).

Also, make the customer matter! If you have baristas who you've just hired in your coffee shop and are not completely aware of their mistakes, pay more attention! I know a few baristas who had been hired and left alone to make drinks for customers without any supervisor watching them; the result was a disaster! Your customer can be lost forever.

Care about customer service and customers will care about your cafe.

My Favorite Espresso Drinks

2011-07-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

I love going to coffee shops; I believe having a great drink can sometimes make or break a day! This is why it is so important that cafe employees relax and really concentrate when they are making each drink.Over the years, I have realized that I like certain drinks more at a particular place than another. So far, these are my evaluations:

I love having White Chocolate Mochas (I have these usually at Starbucks), Classic Mochas (I have these usually at Borders Bookstores), Caramel Machiatos (the drinks I have at Barnes and Nobles) and White Chocolate Academias (a special drink at a local coffee shop I get named The Neighborhood Cup). I would like to dedicate the next few lines to these ethereal drinks:

On Starbuck's website, the company describes White Chocolate Mochas as "Espresso with white chocolate flavored sauce and steamed milk. Topped with sweetened whipped cream."The calories are 470 for a Grande (medium size) cup. I sometimes (though this is unhealthy) have it instead of a meal!

Borders bookstore is served by Seattle's Best Coffee Shop. My favorite drink, the Classic Mocha, is described as "Chocolatey goodness added to a Seattle's Best latte" on the Seattle's Best Coffee Shop website and the drink has 360 calories for a medium-sized cup.

I'm not sure what it is about the Barnes & Noble's environment that makes me crave Caramel Macchiatos even though they serve Starbucks coffee.... I just don't feel for a white chocolate mocha there. On Starbuck's website the drink is described as "Freshly steamed milk with vanilla-flavored syrup, marked with espresso and finished with caramel sauce"; the medium size cup has 240 calories which is not that much compared to the pleasure you get from it.

And finally at one of my favorite local coffee shops called The Neighborhood Cup, White Chocolate Academia is described as "White Mocha flavored with Macadamia Nut syrup, topped with homemade whipped cream and chopped macadamia nuts" on its website. The exact number of calories is not mentioned but I am going to guess that it is 400+ for a medium-sized cup.

Try these drinks next time you stop by at these different coffee shops. You will not be disappointed!