Lee deer

This is Lee called Country
A proud American
A John Deere bicycle
Drinks no French water
And in the cup-holder on his bicycle's handlebars
Naturally that's a Budweiser

Humm.....err

We have a neighbor who lives across the street from us here at the Coffee Plantation, and who - aside from being an ex-Parrothead - is also the fiercely prideful owner of a blood red H1 Hummer.

This auto, this mini-me, "leggo of me ego," star-strangled, oedipus complexual, "look at me, world, I am worried about having a small..." vehicle is parked/squatting right in front of the Coffee Plantation. "Squatting" becauses it has been in the same location for as long as we have been here. In seven months, it has moved less than ten times (and then quickly replaced with a lesser-type car, a "place holder" for a few hours until the H1 returns). Besides being grossly over-sized, unused and out-of-place, it as a generic eyesore and a nuisance to any number of our neighbors and customers.

But that's the way it goes. Naturally, as Coffee Plantation is a coffee shop, this waaay-oversized for the Island Hummer-truck is becoming a topic of conversation at the Coffee shop. For some, it's their dream car they would love to drive...if they were, say, part of a fighting force, or even a wildlife ranger fighting woodsy fires and out-of-reach blazes. But for most people who visit the Coffee Plantation, the response is generally less enthusiastic. Something along the lines of "Who needs a car that size?," or "How rude to park a truck that size in front of someone else's front porch," or even more frequently, "Isn't that a shame considering there's a war going on over oil?"

But because it rarely ever moves, the truck is relatively harmlees as an affront to our fighting sons and daughters. So rather than get in a stew about the dumb thing, we took it in stride. The blood red truck was being used in our CP advertisements, as in "Come visit The Coffee Plantation, located just behind the red Hummer truck." We have even been considering creating a few coffee drinks named after the truck, such as . . .
Red Hummer = coffee, 2 shots of espresso, milk, and a shot of Cranberry flavor....
The Hummy = same thing as above but frozen (hmmm!)

Except that the free Hummer parking days are numbered! Over! No More!

After tomorrow, no more free parking in front of the Coffee Plantation. The city of Key West is putting in parking meters! As in 25-cents for every ten minutes! Not that that's good news, but it does mean that Mister "Make Mine Macho" Hummerman finally has to remove his (overly) prized possession. In any case, tomorrow it's going to have to move! Hooray! Hopefully, he'll sell it and get something more practical for Key West. Like a bicycle. (Diane bikes to work everyday herself.)

So, everyone, "Come visit The Coffee Plantation, located just behind where the red Hummer truck used to be."

It's A Small World After All

When Theo left for Holland, there was talk about filling his "big shoes" while he was away for the week. . .

. . . little did we know!

Needless to say all us of did a double take.

I mean, wooden shoe?

Clogie Blogie

Holland is the bomb, what a great trip. Check out the pictures I took.
My Family is the greatest, my Brother Ton showed me all the tulips I could only imagine in the North Holland Polder and accompanied me to a day of "Keukenhof" gardens. Just what the Doctor ordered, Thanks again Ton.

When you find yourself in Holland one day make sure you check out the miniature town of MADURODAM , you can see holland in one day...
For all you food people I suggest the following menu while in Holland
Broodje Kroket, Patat met Mayonaise, Fricandel Special, and a Chocomel to wash it all away just delicious...


After seeing all the Amsterdam Coffee shops and Internet Cafe's I have one thing to say WE ARE THE GREATEST Besides the great pot menu they have in the Amsterdam Coffee Houses we at the Coffee Plantation think that we are the best...

Flower Power

From Theo's recent trip to Holland. . . A Lot To See.

THEO'S BACK!

Jaime Chachacha

Brand new to Key "W" - one month! - Jaime Chachacha (not her real last name) began working at Coffee Plantation just nearly as soon as she arrived. That's right, nearly a month ago! Which explains the smiling face in the picture above.

See, in the picture above Jaime's gleefully happy to be 1) in Key West, closer to her twin sister, Jackie (who also lives here in Key West), 2) back from Japan after having spent the past three years (!) as an English teacher, 3) finishing up a cup of delicious Coffee Plantation brew.

So drop in, say hi to Jaime, the newest addition to the happy and well-coffee'd familly here at Key West's Coffee Plantation.

One of the Regular Irregulars

Well, I suppose that's how I'd describe myself, "one of the regular irregulars." How often am I here really? Let's put it this way, when I am back on Key West Island, it is an unusual day that I miss droppin' in on my friends at the Coffee Plantation.

So back to here did I get, two days ago, after taking off and doing one of the most fool-hardy acts a man of forty-one and a half years can do...I joined a full-blown circus! And I'm telling the truth.

But the funny thing is I really liked it, and I aim to head on out on the road again come September. I got the 'circus bug,' and I got it bad!

In the meantime, on Key West I am. And fortunately I caught up with Theo and Diane just in time to see Theo off before he left for Holland yesterday. Which was a nice little blessing as I am mighty fond of the both of em. Because besides the coffee and the coconut curry chicken soup, I think the world of the the owners of CP.

Now, how is it I wound up here, wearing my heart on my sleeve, and spelling all this out on a website? Well, Diane asked me to say hello and talk about myself a little, and let folks know I am back around.

You know, being King of Key West means that I get to wear a snazzy crown the one I picked up at Neat Stuff (on Flagler, just north of Kennedy), and that I get to work to help out my friends whenever possible. Including writing this here 'blog entry.' All in a days work.

But what I got to say about myself ain't much other than I am happy to be here and hope if you're reading this you make a point to come around and stop into Coffee Plantation. I mean, even if you are off-island. Heck, especially if you are off-island. Ain't a whole lot of anything goin' on around Key West, which is one of the best things about the place. But when I need something to be going on here on Key West Island, one of the locations I can find it when I'm looking for it is right here at Coffee Plantation. Can't beat it!

Alright, so yeah, I'm back again for awhile. And I'm a changed person again. And I love having great coffee available to me all the time for the first time in long time. What else is there to say? I just really have an appreciation for this place, and I appreciate the appreciation Coffee Plantation has for me!

(BTW, that picture of of me atop of this piece of writing? The one that makes me look more of a handsome fella than I honestly actually am? That picture was taken by none other than Theo hisself the day before I left for the circus. Which just goes to show, everyone one of us has at least one good picture in 'em!)

Amsterdam

Diane is running the show this week as Theo will be in Europe.

Where in Europe is Theo going? Holland!

Which begs the question...

Q. Why did Coffee Plantation Theo go to Holland?
A. Because he heard about Amsterdam's world-famous coffee pot!

Har Har Har!

Alright, alright, he's actually away visiting family. (He's originally from there, and it's where he got that German accent of his.) Diane, together with Jamie, will be running the show this week.

So, while Diane is pulling double-duty - and what an amazing job she is doing! - make a point to come in and visit with us today. Because though Theo is busy hitting Amsterdam this week, all of us here at Coffee Plantation take great pleasure in being Key West's favorite coffee... joint.

The results are in...

The results are in, our Paradise Scooter team has completed the Southernmost Bocce season.
Our athletes from left to right Bobbi, Theo, Jodi and Tony have finished a season that will definitely go in to recordbook.

If it was not for our determination we would have never done this good. We reached the highest GB of the league with a unhurt 25 GB total score, we did very bad with a low 3 on the W's but a great 33 in the L's column.



I would like to thank everybody that supported us, Mayor Morgan Mc Pherson commissioners Clayton Lopez, Bill Verge, President Clinton, United Nations and off course Bear assets for the cold Heinekens, Corona's and the Rum.

The scores look so much better this way.....

Cup of Love...

When you place your order for your cup of jo the procces of creating the perfect brew begins.
The finest espresso combined with the desire to make the perfect late.
Making a delicious cup of coffee is not a magical experience or a hit-and-miss stroke of luck. With the proper information, anyone can brew a consistently great cup of coffee every time. We will be going through the procedures of coffee making to take the mystery and haphazardness out of this old world cup of joy .
If you are not the kind of person who thoroughly washes out their coffee urn and maker after use this step is for you. Without the proper cleaning, coffee sediment and oils will settle in your coffee making device that will grow stale as they are left exposed to the air. These build up producing an off, bitter taste in the cup-quite an unpleasant experience.
Select the freshest, best quality beans available.
I recommend your specialty coffee purveyor, not to discredit your friendly grocer, but because specialty coffee retailers are solely in the business to sell coffee beans and therefore you can be more confident their beans are fresher because they move much more rapidly than supermarket beans.
If you drink only one cup a day, don't go stockpiling your coffee beans because you just happen to be near your specialty coffee store and they happen to be running a sale on Ethiopian Harrar this week. Coffee beans are a perishable item which begin to loose flavors if not stored properly or used quickly after roasting.
When you consider that coffee is made of approximately 98-99% water, you must use good tasting water. If you use plain tap water as I do, then be sure it doesn't have any strange flavors, odors or textures in your mouth. If it does, and you are a serious coffee-holic, then consider either a water filtration device or use a water delivery service. If you choose to use your water from the faucet, be sure it is cold and runs for a few seconds to aerate the water for your machine or water kettle.

Now this my friends, is the way you make your cup of love

To much Sun Fun

As the Conch Republic Independence day celebrations came to an end this weekend, we had the pleasure to sail in the final wreckers race this Sunday. Check out our pictures.
A great event for everybody that likes to be out on the water in absolutely fabulous weather on the gorgeous seas of Key West.
Greg, my friend Mariske with her family from Holland, Kurt and his friends and I boarded the Schooner Apeldore witch was the day's favorite Ship to win the race.
To much Sun Fun was the couse of this Sun burned face

Don't make him laugh... it hurts...

We didn't win the overal race, but we sure had a boatload of fun.