Cat & Cloud Blog

Today marks the 6th birthday of our beloved One & One!  We started serving up the One & One at a competition tasting event, which led to the video/blog, which ultimately led to a ton of interest in the cafe for people who wanted the best of both worlds (a...

Man, it's been a busy time. We are in full bootstrap mode. I have been thinking about writing a blog for weeks and finally have a minute to do so, partially thanks to a stomach bug that took down our entire family. Take it from me, if the barf train...

As long as I have worked in the coffee industry, I have been surrounded by various forms of tasting notes, from vague to conceptual to extremely specific. In my early years, it was common for me to see words like "bole" and "smooth" used to describe the coffees I was...

In the current online age there’s a ton of focus and pressure around creating a brand that looks good online. This makes sense - far more people are likely to walk into your online storefront than your brick and mortar one, and you want to make sure your brand is...

I once heard that there are generally two types of people. Builders & Climbers. Deep down if you were to assess your values you would be one or the other. Climbers are the type to look out for número uno. The "how can I get to the top and who...

Once upon a time I made coffee with my bare wits, a grinder, and an espresso machine. Some of you might call this the dark ages, but some of you might remember this time with nostalgia. During this time long ago (2006 wasn’t that long ago right?!) I was competing...

Over the years we have had a lot of great conversations with Pete. He is one of those people we see eye to eye with on a lot of different topics. He has helped me with competition routines, challenged philosophy and critiqued service. He truly is one of the great...

The following is a transcription from a text message thread that was inspired by an earlier draft of Jared's latest post on service. Particularly in reference to a comparison between bartenders, chefs, and baristas that the draft contained. The particular comparison in question didn't make it into the final edit,...

A couple recently came into get coffee who were visiting town. They were tired, slightly hung over, and on foot. I said hello as they walked in, they smiled and then stepped just off to the side of the line having a conversation but never committing to the experience. I...

Many years ago in a past life, my band was all prepped and set to record the all important second album. (Disclaimer: This was the period of time before the advent of itunes, where live shows and CD sales attributed to a band's measure of success) It was almost 2...