Coffee Plantation, Key West

Season is here

2009-10-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

After a summer season that gave us plenty of time to do what ever we wanted to do, the season is changing and the busy season is here.
Seems like our regular international summer customers have left the Island and our familiar winter snowbird faces are back at the Coffee Plantation for there caffeine fix.
We at Key West finest Coffee House, the Coffee Plantation tresure this time of the year.
All the customers tell us their summer adventures and they all want to know about what has happened this summer at the Coffee Plantation and on our island of Key West.
Hug's are given and story's are being told,
The coffee is brewing, Loretta's pastries are baking...yes... season is here. And yes, we love this time of the year.
This week the Bahamian street fair Goombay in the Bahama village, kick's of the season's festivities, and traditionally that party is the beginning of Fantasy Fest. Fantasy Fest is the biggest party that Key West has to offer.
Make sure you visit us here at the Coffee Plantation if you are visiting us for these festivities, the Coffee and the Pastries will be ready.

We are going to Holland

2009-07-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Diane, Loretta and Theo are all turning 50 years old this year and we have been tossing the idea around to go to Holland for this half a century landmark birthday.
We are planning to visit Theo's family and of course we would love to visit Amsterdam.
Amsterdam... the city that really never sleeps, the Rembrandt museum, Van Gogh museum, Vondel park, boat rides, Red light district and of course the coffee shops....
Liberal Amsterdam was a topic of discussion on one of O'Reilly's show on the Fox news television network.
Bill and his blond bimbo newscasters think that the liberal marijuana laws in Holland and in particular Amsterdam are failing and the drug lords are taking over the streets in the capital city of the Netherlands.
Wouldn't it be nice if these so called "shock newscasters" get there facts strait and do some real research and come with some real fair and balanced news shows...
As a response to this unfair broadcast a short facts video clip was made and of course we at the Coffee Plantation would love to share this with you.

Bill O'Reilly is a douche bag....and we are going to Amsterdam

A happy customer....

2009-07-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

We at the Coffee Plantation love feedback from our customers....
Read what Jay and his family had to say after visiting our Key West coffee shop

Hi,

We just wanted to thank you again for the fantastic coffee, breakfast & ambiance on our last day in Key West. We definitely picked the right place to bid adieu to the Southernmost city in the Continental US.

I loved hearing all about culinary school in Virgina along with the family stories from up the coast in NY. Congrats again on your success & we hope to see you again in the future.

Thank god for local coffee shops, stores & restaurants. We're proud to say that's all we patronized on our trip last month in the Keys from Homestead to Mallory Square.

Take care & continued success.

Yours truly,

Jay Mastrud & the family (Heidi, Bea, Gus & sister Sue Kowolkowski from Chicago)

Thank you Jay...
You made our day!

Turtle Released

2009-07-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

A recovered loggerhead sea turtle named after President Barack Obama was released in the Atlantic Ocean off Key West on Saturday.The turtle was rescued on Key West's Higgs Beach on Jan. 19, the day before Obama's inauguration. It was then transported to the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.Obama the turtle suffered from a severe intestinal impaction, which caused a body cavity infection, Turtle Hospital administrator Ryan Butts said. Because of the timing of turtle's rescue, officials thought it made sense to set it free on the Fourth of July."The turtle came in at a historic moment and was named after the new president, so we thought it was appropriate to release 'Obama' to freedom on America's Independence Day," Butts said.About 100 people watched the turtle's release Saturday."We got the turtle down on the sand and it took off," Butts said. "It was so excited and swam away with all the energy it had."

Summer time

2009-06-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Wow.... what a season we had here at Key West finest Coffee House, the Coffee Plantation.
With all the worlds economic crisis and global terror fears, we here in Key West lived our season to the fullest. Business was good, some days even better than last year and time for anything other than having fun living here in Key West was hard to find.
Every Wednesday the Bocce athletes of the Coffee Plantation did their best this spring season for a playoff spot, and we failed, we where the big losers this time but we didn't care, we had a great time loosing....
Plenty of exciting things happened this winter, we took out of the water the Schooner Western Union for his big restoration project, and we brought the "Van Den Berg", another ship, to the bottom of the ocean.
This spring Theo became a United States Citizen, after all this time living in the US and the desire to become part of the election process, he raised his hand and pledged his heart to the flag of the United States. Wow... that was a big one....

Between all this excitement of this busy season the barista crew found time to go to Rick Worths art classes. Theo, Diane and Loretta love their Tuesday class at the Armorie and that shows in the painting we have painted. Check out the paintings of Theo, Diane or Loretta by clicking on our name.

Sweet...

2009-03-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Two and a half years ago I started a quest to get myself my favorite motorcycle by trading up from a red paperclip.
The bike I really wanted was a late seventy's BMW preferably a R90S.
I have reached my goal and I have been driving around our Island on my brand new 1982 BMW R100.
Follow this link to read the whole story....

Definitely "Worth" it

2009-02-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

The Coffee Plantation barista team of Diane, Loretta, and Theo have been attending art classes from the famed local Key West artist Rick Worth, Rick is known for it's paintings of our tropical island of Key West and he uses everything he can find to use for his painting pallet.
You can find Rick's work on tin roof panels, cars (yes, cars as in vehicle) and of course canvas.
His classes are attended by art eager locals who would love to pick up some of Rick's incredible talent.
Last night our friend and Key West visitor Cherie joined us for a "art boot camp" class.
The results are phenomenal, who knew, yes, we can be a artist too....

Hot from the press

2009-02-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

As the sports page reported....

Key West's Southernmost Bocce League rolled into their spring season opener with excitement this past week. A-Plus Strokers and Bobalu's were the big winners Monday night sweeping all three games against Pallina Posse and Angelina's Pizzeria respectively. The league's reigning champs Cowboy Bill's had a bye giving the Monday night rollers a breather from this dynamic team.

On Tuesday,
Grumpy's Sunset Cigar went 3-0 against Sons of Italy and Margaritaville won all three games against ReMarCables to go 3-0 as well. Meantime Bocce Babes showed some talent and finesse going 2-1 in their match with West Marine.

On Wednesday,
The match of the night was Java Junkies and championship veterans RGC Insurance. Java Junkies jumped out with a 16-5 win but went down in flames 16-12 in both the second and third game of the match. The consistent Green Parrot team and Beer 30 started their season 3-0 making Keys Breeze Realty and Sans Balls rethink their strategy.

On Thursday,
Bocce Bubbas were perfect and took all three against Kathy's Krusaders while the match up of DonKeys and Schoonfield was intense. DonKeys edged out Schoonfield 16-15 in their first game but Schoonfield came back in the second and third game winning their match 16-11, and 16-13 to start 2-1.

Bocce Fever

2009-02-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year...
The Southernmost Bocce League teams are getting ready for the spring season opening games.
Fee's are being paid...,balls are being polished..., and the beer coolers are being filled.
Let the games begin...
The Athletes of the Coffee Plantation's official Bocce team the Java Junkies have been preparing for this spring seasons games.
We have been preparing for this upcoming season with talking strategy, and a desire to win.
"Juggling Jason" has been working on his close to the Polina game,
"Dee the Iceman" was, and still is working on his blast techniques,
"On top of the Polina Tom" ordered our weekly suply of Captains Rum and Seven,
"Caffeine Larry" looks more Bocce concentrated than ever,
and, "Dynamite Theo" is going to be their to keep the team caffeinated...
What a team.
We feel, and we hope that we can do better this spring season than our fall seasons 6th place cliffhanger.
After a season of incredible hard work and good sportsman ship we ended just one place away from the desired Southernmost Bocce Championship playoff spot.
Our fans of the Coffee Plantation Bocce Team the "Java Junkies" deserve better.
We as a team are convinced that we can bring home at least one of these widely desired Southernmost Bocce league champion price placks this time around.
Room is being made on the Coffee Plantations wall to hang this treasures Bocce recognition.
We will keep you posted.

Our President

2009-01-21T16:01:00.001-08:00

Even though The Acura Sailboat racers are filling up the Coffee Plantation Coffee House for their pre-race caffeine fix this week, we did find the time to call our friend Barack Obama and welcome our new President into his new office.

Besides all the well wishes we had prepared for our commander in chief, we assured him that whenever he decides to travel to our Southernmost City or have a summit with Cuban leader Raul Castro at the Little White House here in Key West, we at the Coffee Plantation would be honored with his visit.

All of us here at the Coffee Plantation would love to provide him with his presidential cup of Cafe Con Leche, we assured him its the best in town. We will even deliver to the little White House....

Appriciated...

2009-01-19T05:46:00.001-08:00

You have heard us more than once talk about the locals, tourists, and all other unusual characters entering the Coffee Plantation.
Some with special coffee needs like 25% regular coffee with 75% decaf...., skinny sugar free decaf vanilla latte...., or just, our world famous Costa Rica Reserve.
Some come here to do their office work, write a book, surf the web, enjoy the Coffee Plantation comfort and stay just way to long........, and, some hop in and out, and are out of our hair in seconds.
But one thing that all of our loyal Coffee Plantation customers have in common, and that is they are humorous, honest, and just so nice...
On this Saturday, "Anne Strout", enjoyed her fresh cup of coffee she just had purchased from the Coffee Plantation and was stretching her legs on our comfortable Coffee Plantation front porch.
Time came around for here to continue her walk through our Historic old town Key West district, and, not until the next day did she realized that she had left her camera on our front porch....
A fine Coffee Plantation Customer however, had found her camera and returned it to the Coffee Plantation coffee counter.
Surprised and overjoyed was the reaction of Anne when she heard we found her camera that she had lost the day before.
She made us this incredible creative card with on the back she wrote the story of her tale.

January 2009

THE STORY
I was fadin fast,
I went in for coffee.
They made me a new pot,
Delicious. I sat on the
porch. I left my camera sitting there.
I went away

NEXT DAY
Where is my Camera???
Omygod. looked everywhere. My last
thought, the Coffee Plantation
( No, Hopeless. It's gone.I am sad)
I go there anyway.YES!!
A customer had turned it in.
Wonderful Coffee House with
beautifull Customers. THANK YOU.
----THE END--- by Anne Strout

Homesick.....Not

2009-01-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons why I swapped my wonderful liberal life in Holland to the tropical life on our tropical island of Key West is the dutch cold winters.
The cold Holland winters that turn the landscape into a living winter wonderland.
Do I miss it.... hell yeah, I would love to tie on my wooden shoe ice skates just for that one day. Skate through that picturesque landscape with the windmills and dikes....
Just for one day though, check out this picture.

People skate on frozen canals in Kinderdijk's Mill Area, a UNESCO World Heritage site, near Rotterdam, Netherlands, Saturday Jan. 3, 2009. Kinderdijk is a good example of an area where water management is carefully organized in the low countries with a system of mills and waterways.

Beautiful Isn't it, it's about 74 degrees on our Coffee Plantation front porch today.

A Brand New Year

2009-01-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

This week has been something else. If this is a sign on how 2009 is going to be.
We got a year coming....
This week is known to be "Hell Week" here in Key West.
People flying, driving, sailing and hitchhiking onto our Island for the holidays and our world famous New Years Eve celebration.
To much fun.... a great time for everyone. The town is packed with people.
All kinds of people... looks like our homeless population has doubled over the last few weeks.
Today at one point our "Iced Costa Rica Reserve House Brew Coffee fan" Larry noticed one of the misfortunate Key West resident setting up camp under the Coffee Plantation front porch...
The name has been changed to protect the innocence (except for Larry), so we will call him Charlie, Charlie decided to use our world famous comfortable front porch, as the roof of his key West apartment. Charlie had moved in a few day's ago and this afternoon Charlie decided to move in a window unit air conditioner to make the hot steamy Key West nights a bit more comfortable in his new found Key West pad.....

That's when we draw the line. This is even to much for the world famous hospitality rules of the Coffee Plantation hospitality handbook.

That's when Theo grabbed the damn Air conditioner unit from underneath our damn comfie front porch and lifted the damn thing on top of his head so he could get the damn thing passed the damn fire hydrant so he could cross the damn street to throw the damn thing in front of this damn bum and tell him to never show his damn face around our damn world famous coffee house ever again....

I need a espresso...a double

Happy Holidays...

2008-12-12T18:23:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays from the

Coffee Plantation Barista's

Another Key West Project

2008-12-04T09:47:00.001-08:00

Community garden proposed for stalled development site

By MANDY BOLEN Citizen Staff

Article Tools

Construction of the Harbor House luxury condominium development has been stalled for some time. One model town house stands alone on the site of the former Jabour's Trailer Court, now a city block of cleared waterfront property. A sales trailer for the 32 planned town houses recently was removed from the area and all 32 units still are listed for sale, according to the Web site for KeysCaribbean, which is developing the property for a business partnership called Caroline Street Partners.

"We're just working through the times, like everyone else," said Realtor Ralph Sanchez, who heads the sales team for Harbor House.

The company, founded by native Key Westers, bought the old RV park in 2004 for about $20 million, and then spent another $3 million on the adjacent Veterans of Foreign War clubhouse on Elizabeth Street.

The neighbors' view has been an 8-foot-tall construction wall for more than a year, and one Caroline Street business owner has an innovative, if not idealistic, vision for the barren area.

Theo Glorie, who owns the Coffee Plantation, wants to create a temporary neighborhood beautification project there in the form of a community garden. He envisions raised wooden planters that could be removed within 30 or 60 days when construction resumes or when the property is sold.

Glorie does not want to imitate the existing community garden behind May Sands School, where members pay an annual fee to rent garden plots.

"It includes themed garden beds, as well as a large common area," he said, likening part of the space to one of the Keys Energy Services pocket parks around town. A green oasis in the middle of an urban area could feature benches, a fountain and a variety of plants, he said.

Glorie, who spearheaded efforts to preserve the Schooner Western Union and organized a volunteer cleanup of Wisteria Island, plans to approach the developers with the idea, and already has mentioned it to City Commissioner Bill Verge, whose district includes the property.

"The goal of the garden is to make creative use of blighted land" in the area bounded by Caroline, William and Elizabeth streets, Glorie said. "Otherwise, with this economy, we're going to be looking at construction walls for another five years or so."

Sanchez had not heard of the idea until Wednesday, when The Citizen called him for comment, but said he happily would put Glorie in touch with KeysCaribbean executives to ensure he speaks with the right people.

"Of course, I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm sure we'd be open to talking to them about anything that would help the community," Sanchez said.

Verge has concerns about liability and insurance, and said he wants to see the city of Key West acquire the property as a site for work-force housing.

As of now, the property is not listed for sale, and still is owned by Caroline Street Partners, according to Monroe County property records.

Craig Hunt, CEO of KeysCaribbean, could not be reached for comment about the future of Harbor House and the possibility of what Glorie calls "an urban oasis."

For more information, or to become involved in the garden project proposal, call Glorie at 305-304-9438 or e-mail him at theoglorie@yahoo.com.

mbolen@keysnews.com

Watching Turtles...

2008-11-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

For a few months now Ritchie, our Coffee Plantation neighbor and biggest fan of our decaf soy latte, has been telling us his incredible stories of Turtle rescues and Turtle rehabilitation's at his Marathon Turtle Hospital.
Ritchie also invited us to visit his Turtle Hospital and we found an fantastic organization.
The Turtle Hospital Ritchie started, is a non for profit organization that operates and stays afloat from donations and "Turtle Hospitals Tours" given by the well informed staff of the Hospital.
This week the Turtles risk of being hit by boat traffic increased due to the World Championship Power Boat races, a annual event that brings a lot of power boat enthusiastics to our island of Key West. A phenomenal event with a wide variety of incredible powerboats.
For the safety of our local sea life the powerboat officials call in the sea life expertise of Ritchie to ensure that no harm is done to our Turtles, Manatee's, Dolphin's and other creatures that call our ocean waters home.
For this job a helicopter is needed to spot the active sea life, and findings are reported to the race officials who either delay the start of the race, or even stop the race until the track is clear.
Diane and I were invited to be the "Spotters" on board the helicopter...
This is one of the coolest things we have ever done...
We even rescued a injured turtle before the race started...
Thank you, Gee, our helicopter pilot, Bette, from the Dolphin research center and our Ritchie...
Just imagine... hoovering for three hours above at least twenty power boats during their race while looking out for turtles and other sea life.
Wow... what a ride... thanks Ritchie, from now on November 5th is Ritchie day at the Coffee Plantation.

Coffee talk

2008-10-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

You might not think there would be much of a connection between the best coffee house in Key West and the newest kayak company on the island, but you’d be wrong. Back in February of this year (08), Theo and Diane hosted a good friend of theirs from Charleston, S.C. His name was Country Lee and he loved Key West. He loved Key West so much that he wanted to live here for ever and start his own business. After looking all around the island and all the different kind of things you could do here, business-wise, Lee decided kayaking was to be his life calling. He loved it and could think of nothing better to do than spend his days on the water here in the Keys.

Fortunately for Lee, Theo knew Joe and Scott, who ownes Almost There charters at the Cow Key Marina on Stock Island and were looking for someone to operate a kayak tour concession. Thus was born the Key West Kayak Company. Research was done, kayaks were ordered and scheduled to be delivered June 1^st. Unfortunately, Country Lee changed his mind about his life calling and went back to Carolina on May 28^th.

So what did Theo do? He talked to his friends and regulars at The Coffee Plantation and enlisted their help. Jim, a former kayaking guide has come out of retirement to once again do an awesome nature tour. Gretchen jumped on board to also be guides. Ray, a former tour guide at the Hemingway Home and currently a tour guide for the Original Ghost Tours of Key West (and your humble author of this blog piece) thought it would be great fun to take people into the mangroves and tell stories. In addition, Theo, Joe and Scott have their own experiences to draw from when they give tours.

Powered by Coffee Plantation con leches and lattes, this group has been exploring the near shore waters and mangroves ever since. Our kayaks are very shallow draft, allowing us to get into places no other boats can go. Paddling quietly along, we are less likely to scare off wildlife. We see many different fish and birds and things up close and personal. You never know what you will see on any given trip, but we have seen several types of sharks, spotted rays, stingrays, starfish, grunt, grouper, yellowtail, lobsters and horseshoe crabs.

At only $35 per person, we are also very affordable. You can visit our Key West Kayaks website by clicking on this LINK

See you soon, on the water!

I told you I wanted decaf...

2008-10-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Family affair

2008-10-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

For five years Diane's sister Loretta has been working very hard to make her dream to become a pastry chef a reality. After working a full time job as a secretary she went to Stratford University Culinary school in Virginia to become a pastry chef.
She graduated as the best student of her class and promptly got picked up by Wegman's stores where she baked all their pastries and fun foods.
Her heart however was more interested in becoming the baker at a small coffee shop.
She was dreaming of making brownies and cup cakes under the watch full eye of eager customers drooling on the fantastic smell that would come out of her oven.
Well...
Today is the day, as my friend Mel would say. The Coffee Plantation team stuck their heads together and we are proud and very happy to announce that we could make Loretta's dream come true.
Loretta quit here job and moved to Key West...and boy is she good.
Our regulars are already falling in love with her, Hummingbird cake, Brownies, yummy...
Come by the Coffee Plantation and check it out... you won't be disappointed.

A call for change

2008-10-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

One of the most fantastic advantages of being the owner of a coffee shop here on our tropical island Key west, is that we get to talk to local people of all walks of life.
Everyone of our customers has their own idea how to make our town a better place.
I would like to start a conversation on our blog with fresh ideas without politics, because there is one thing that all of our loyal coffee drinkers have in common and that is that they all feel that our local government is out of touch with the needs of our community.
No, we don't need a water park, no, we don't need a 16 story hotel at the airport, and no, we sure don't need a 400 room resort on stock island under the assumption that it would be a hurricane shelter in times of need and this is just too name a few...

What if we had a clean slate, what if the people of Key West can design their own town?
What would it be like?
A old town Key West with electric cars only... no exceptions...
All power lines underground...
All old town streets paved in cobble stone...

I, for one, would love to kick off this project and make Key West a sample town for the rest of the country...

Is it...

2008-10-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

While the whole world media is focusing on the great state of Arizona in search for any Sarah Palin sightings we here at the Coffee Plantation in sunny Key West are wondering who this lady is...
She is studying the whole day...
Besides sipping her iced Cafe Late and munching on a smoked fish salad with pita she is searching the internet for information.
Is it... could this be Sarah...

Maybe because you can see Cuba from here....
You be the judge

Tough down...

2008-10-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

No fear... just a waterspout.
In some parts of the world, waterspouts are a common sight. These twisting funnels of water are technically known as "convective vortices" and are similar to dust devils, which form over land. Most of the time, waterspouts occur on bodies of water with high surface temperatures, usually in tropical regions, larger forms include both tornadoes and hurricanes. The big spouts may generate vortexes of 100 mph or higher (160+ km/h). In the ocean around the Florida Keys, as many as 500 waterspouts form every summer, some of them of the larger variety.
This waterspout got very close to the Coffee Plantation, so close that all of our Coffee shop customers ran outside to see this incredible sight of nature.
How cool is that....

The town is roaring

2008-09-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Thirty-six years ago, Phil Peterson came up with the idea of a poker run to boost the motorcycle business, and the Key West tourist trade during the slow September season. What started with 46 riders has grown to become South Florida's biggest motorcycle party weekend of the year. Today, more than 10,000 riders from all over the U.S. enjoy this event. They rumble from Miami to Key West, enjoying the sunshine, ocean breezes, and riding on the many bridges that cross over the beautiful turquoise water.

Along the way, they make five stops and draw a card at each stop. The winner is the lucky rider who draws the best hand. This year, if you draw one of the top ten hands, you get a chance to play one round of Texas Hold’em at The Guy Harvey Bar & Grill, located on Greene Street, across from Sloppy Joes. The Round will begin Saturday Night at 11:00 p.m., featuring a winner take all, a large cafe latte from the Coffee Plantation and a brand new Sportster 1200 Custom! The City of Key West blocks off an eight-block area of Duval Street. A bike show is held in front of Rick’s/ Durty Harry’s and Sloppy Joe’s Bar on Saturday. Locals, tourists, and bikers all enjoy the sights and sounds of this mini-Mardi Gras with its carnival atmosphere.

Just another beautiful day on our island.

Green Parrot's bocce dreams crushed

2008-09-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

The Bocce team of the Green Parrot bar of Key West is the team to beat in this fall season of the southern most Bocce league. The team was undefeated so far in the competition and are doing very well in there quest to become the southern most Bocce champs. Last night looked like they where continuing there winning streak on the Wednesday night pre playoff qualification games. The first match of the evening the "Green Parrot" team mastered the game, the second match was no different. There combined 100 year+ experience in the game gave them the comfortable edge on their opponents. But it ain't over until the fat lady sings....
It must have been the negativity from the "Green Parrot" players that pissed us of....
We got mad.......
The Coffee Plantations Bocce team the "Java Junkies" strikes back. Lets get them, our team captain "On Top of the Polina Tom" said.
A new strategy got implemented, we placed this years rookie and bocce surprise of the year "Caffeine Larry" in the game. We had "On top of the Polina Tom" take charge as the coach and in charge of the last game of the night. Teaming up with "Caffeine Larry" was our own "Dee the Iceman". On the opposite site "Juggling Jason" and "Dynamite Theo".
It was fantastic... our team played concentrated, fought and won.
The crowed was roaring....
The team of the "Green Parrot" cried and left the Bocce courts like a bunch of green chickens.
The Java Junkies... a team to watch this Bocce season....

Outrageous

2008-09-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

The latest attempt from County Mayor Mario Di Gennaro to memorialize his legacy as the Monroe County Mayor is this 76 story "Di Gennaro Tower"
This piece of architectural ingeniousness is a design by Mayor Mario's cousin, and will be build by his nieces husband. The location for this project is going to be the Key West graveyard, Mayor Mario Di Gennaro believes that we can move the grave yard sites to new town because most of the family members of the deceased have left the Island anyway.
Mayor Morgan Mc Pherson of Key West is ecstatic about this idea and promptly handed a $150.00 check for a nights deposit on the honeymoon suite to Mayor Mario. The honeymoon suite named after famed Key West publicist Tom Oosterhoudt wil be named the "Oosterhoudt Honeymoon Suite" and will be designed after famed Las Vegas piano player Liberace. The 2700 square feet penthouse condo features a red heart shaped king size bed and pink Sicilian marble throughout.
The project will be funded by taxpayers money but the Mayor explains that the room tax revenue will pay back the tax payers as soon as possible.
The building will feature five swimming pools, sixteen restaurants, 12 tennis courts, and a rotating view deck where you can see Havana Cuba on a clear day.
Our customers here at the Coffee Plantation have mixed feelings in regards to the Mayors plan....

Fay blew it away

2008-08-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Due to tropical storm Fay and the fear for hurricane Fay our party of all party's got postponed, we will try again in November or so...

Back in business...

2008-07-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

The Nation's birthday, July 4th, was the first day the Schooner Western Union sailed the Key West Sunsets ones again. After a absence of two years the ship is back.
Steve from digital Island Media captured this historic moment while enjoying the Key West waters himself.
Many thanks go out to the community of Key West who helped us achieve our goal to save the ship for years to come.

Sunset Party

2008-07-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is going to be "the sunset party" of the summer...
In my quest for a bike trade up project I'm in the possession of a 3 hour sailing tour on the Jolly 2 Rover.
The Jolly 2 Rover is a large square rigged schooner with the Key West bight as her home port.
For three hours we sail the Key West waters, watch the Sunset, listen to music, drink Champagne or Wine and enjoy some fabulous Diane cooking.
Besides all this fun we have a few birthday's to celebrate as well.
August 29th at 6:00 pm we leave the dock.
The plan is to sell the tickets at $100.00 each.
Proceeds go to food, drinks, music and ultimately my bike...

Poor Boy Bagel

2008-07-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hard times are everywhere, even here in our millionaire town Key West.
But creativity is found here at the Coffee Plantation.
Our very regular customer Svea created the Poor Boy Bagel,
Look at this beauty....
For the reasonable price of $3.50 you can buy yourself the most affordable breakfast in Key West.
A nicely toasted "Goldman's" bagel, soft butter, peanut butter and a fresh banana. Yummy!!!
Wow...
Bonapetit...

Job well done...

2008-07-04T04:47:00.000-07:00

The power of Coffee

Almost one year ago Jeff Salzman and Theo started the quest to save our Key West flagship the Schooner Western Union from leaving our city.
The non for profit organization "Schooner Western Union Preservation Society" was born.
Now one year later, after lots of Coffee Plantation Coffee, Negotiating, repair and restore work, and the help from the whole town of Key West we can say; "we saved our Flagship".
Thursday July 3th we received our Coast Guard Certification.
You can see our ship sailing the famous Key West sunsets ones again.
The power of Coffee....

the old Man and the Sea

2008-05-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

George Crosby, a Key West classic painter and a hugh fan of our Costa Rica reserve house brew, offered to paint Theo as a ships captain.

With all the ship stuff we have been doing here at the Coffee Plantation we thought it would be the right thing to do...

Look at this talent...
This guy George is phenomenal....

The price of a John Deer

2008-05-28T11:36:00.001-07:00

After four years of living the Key West life our dear friend, and basically part of our Coffee Plantation furniture, Country Lee is moving back to South Carolina for a serious career.

He is moving today and after loading up his car with all his toys and other collectibles he gathered here at our Tropical Island, he found that there was no room on his Eco Suv for his John Deer bicycle.

His bicycle was his favorite way of cruising the Island and he found the Coffee Plantation to be a good new home for his Key West transportation device.

Both Lee and Theo decided that a trade would be wise and appropriate, and our negotiations had the following result...

The price of a John Deer...
Eighteen Large Costa Rica Reserve House Brew Coffee, Seven Double shots of our fine Espresso,
Ten Bagels with Cream Cheese( mostly chive),
Three Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice, Three Soups du jour, One home made Ham and Cheese Croissants, Two 1 liter Evians, One Banana Smoothie, and a Key West Bagel...toasted...

Having had Lee as our friend and loyal Coffee Plantation customer....
priceless...

Boccie Fever...

2008-02-08T10:44:00.001-08:00

Boccie season is here...
Last week we had our Boccie season opener game against the team of Doc Danny, and after a very disturbing defeat against "Free Beer" we knew that our team had to change our offensive play strategy.
Our Coffee Plantation team regrouped and discussed Boccie strategy with some of the finest Boccie players in the southern most league.
Our Java Junkies Boccie Team this year exist of some of the most talented Key West Boccie greats, we have "On Top of the Polina Tom", "Dee the Iceman", our team Captain "Country Lee", this years Ace "juggling Jason", and me... Dynamite Theo.
This Wednesday our strategy paid of... the team we where playing "Keys Breeze Realty" felt the pressure of the lean mean Java Junkies Boccie Machine.
We defeated these nice people with a 3-0 win... wow...

The best part how ever came after the game.
For our victory celebration we picked "Finnegan's Wake", Finnegan's wake is a great bar here in Key West famous for it's finger food and cold beer, exactly what we need after a night of playing hard on the boccie court.
From a phone call placed to us from the "Defeated Team" we found out that "Juggling Jason " had left his bag of goodies at the bocce court.
This goodie bag held a few days of Jason's restaurant sales. (all cash)
The team we had so badly defeated Wednesday night went out of there way to track down our team to return Jason's goodie bag back to him.
Wow, how great are our Key West citizens.
Needles to say, thumbs up to the team of Key's Breeze Realty.
This night they where the real winners...

Coffee talk

2008-02-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

I received a concerned phone call from my oldest brother Cor from Holland yesterday.
He was concerned because there was no news lately on our blog.
It's been way to long he said....
No blog entry for almost two months...
Like, there is no news to report....
Well there is, we have a eventful, very entertaining and wonderful season at the Coffee Plantation this new year.
We had the coldest day on record in January which turned in to be the busiest coffee day in Coffee Plantation history... hmmm...strange...
All our familiar snowbird faces returned to Key West this winter and the first stop of course was the Coffee Plantation for a cup of fresh brewed Costa Rica Reserve and local town gossip updates. And the boat, everybody wants to know about the boat.
Our morning starts out with our daily dose of regulars, to name a few, George Crosby,Trumpet Bob and his lovely wife Lori, Walter and Sam, these five Key West characters make the start of each day a pleasant one and reminds us that life is good here on our sunny island of Key West.
Our days are filled with vacationers from all over the world who picked Key West for their vacation destination. It makes us proud here at the Coffee Plantation to see that these travelers choose our Coffee House for their Coffee and Internet needs and to see all these customers enjoy our product and the comfortable atmosphere of our Coffee House.
Joe Forte returned for another year of creating some fine Key West drawings, if you notice Joe at our shop and if you are lucky he will show you a few of his grandchildren pictures...
For now my friends, this is the update.
I'm going to get myself a fine double shot of espresso and talk to my customers.
Theo

Coffee Power

2007-12-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

There is Coffee and than there is Coffee Plantation Coffee. Some coffee's make you sleepy and, some give you energy.
For a real energy boost I suggest our house brew... our Costa Rica Reserve gives you so much energy that you can take on big projects.
Projects so big you amaze yourself.
For 4 Months we have been breathing and living the Schooner Western Union.
We negotiated, organized, planned, restored, and celebrated.
The ship is ours, we the people of Key West got our Flag Ship.
We just have to sail from Key West to Miami, have her inspected by the Coast Guard, make the necessary repairs and bring her back to her home port in Key West.
And now it's the day, Friday December 14th 8:00am
Today we will take our ship to the ship hospital. Ten sailors, no fear real man and women will take on the task of bringing our ship to the Merrill Stevens Boat Yard.
The only ship yard in southern Florida that can take on a job like this.
130 tons of heavy timber can't be lifted out, It has to be placed on a trolley and than pulled out on a rail, can't wait to see that...
It's been quit a ride, I never thought in my life that I would be a part of the restoration of a 130 foot historic Schooner... wow...

Save the Union Festival

2007-11-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

We are on TV

2007-10-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Margit Bisztray has been reviewing restaurants and writing about food for over ten years. She publishes The Complete Key West Dining Guide annually, and her work has appeared in such publications as Vogue, Gourmet, Islands and Metropolitan Home. Margit was also included in the anthology Best Food Writing 2005 published by Avalon.

Margit loves to travel… she has seen most of the world and has gained an outstanding reputation as a travel writer, as well as food critic. Her unique style of expression and high sensibilities and style have won her many fans. Currently, she hosts the television program, Emerald Coast Chefs, which airs on the Tourist Network in Northwest Florida, and she produces Top 5 Countdowns for the Tourist Network in Key West, New Orleans, Panama City Beach, Destin/Pensacola and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

And... She loves the Coffee Plantation

The Word is out...

2007-10-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

This morning in the Key West Citizen

HTA donates historic schooner to nonprofit.
CITIZEN STAFF

The Western Union, the historic wooden schooner
that has graced Key West’s skyline on and off since
1939, will now become the property of a nonprofit
group that intends to restore it.
The Western Union’s present owner, Historic Tours
of America, which also operates the ubiquitous Conch
Tour Train, will announce its decision to donate the
ship to The Schooner Western Union Preservation
Society at a 5 p.m. press conference Monday.
Theo Glorie, owner of the Coffee Plantation on
Caroline Street and the foundation’s organizer, says
it’s the answer to the puzzle of how to keep the 139-
foot sailing ship in Key West.
“The plan is to restore it and make it new again,”
Glorie said. “We’ll have a couple of fundraising parties,
sell sponsorships and hold membership drives to ensure
that it remains a boat for the people of Key West.”
The Western Union has been for sale for more than
a year; Glorie and others feared that a private buyer
might one day remove the wooden sailing ship.
There are other costs associated with maintaining
the ship. Not only do the ship’s wood decks, cable
rigging and interior require constant upkeep, but the
Western Union inhabits a slip next to the Schooner
Wharf, the Waterfront Market and other high-priced
real estate in an increasingly expensive part of the
city. The slip fees alone could be a challenge for anyone
who takes the vessel on.
The ship with the tall wooden masts and wide,
sweeping deck was originally owned by Thompson
Enterprises of Key West and leased to the Western
Union Telegraph Co. from 1939 to 1974 for the purposes
of laying undersea cable between the United
States, Cuba and other Caribbean islands.

Scott Robert Gruppe

2007-10-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

Scott Gruppe is decorating the walls of the Coffee Plantation this Month.

Join us for a Artist Reception Friday October 5th
5pm till 8pm

You won't be disappointed.....

A great show after all

2007-09-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

In our excitement and eagerness to restore our Schooner Western Union we had planned a fund raiser to help us in our efforts.
We had planned a silent auction, a history of the Schooner Western Union booth, local restaurants where donating food for a "Sample of Key West Restaurants" competition, Fashion Show, Pirates, Old American carnival attractions and much much more.
We organized a music festival with local musicians like "mile marker 24", Chris Flowers, Carl Peachy and Band, Caffeine Carl and as the main attraction Al Stewart...
Wow...
What a event.

But Then...

We where not prepared for
" paper-work-slow-inski-accountant-attorney-back-to-accountant" kind of stuff.
We had to cancel our event, because the necessary paperwork was not finished yet.
We are planning a new event for November...

But what about Al Stewart?
Together with Guy Harvey we organized a fabulous concert, we packed the house...
If this party was any indication what our fund raiser is going to be....wow...
We keep you posted.

Winners

2007-09-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

We won...
We made it in the top 5...
Margit works for Key TV as a food critic and checks out all the restaurants and food establishments on the Island of Key West.
Margit found our Coffee Plantation to be one of the best places for a leisure breakfast.
She found our Coffee Plantation so comfortable with delicious coffee and our fresh baked goodies where just divine...

She got great taste, watch us on Key TV...Coming soon.

Mystery solved

2007-08-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Last Monday morning we opened up our shop to find a palm tree sail boat waiting for us. As we pondered over the sender of this gift, we couldn't help but to wonder if somehow this was a sign. We spent our day glancing at the gift as the clocked ticked to raise funds to save the Western union.
So this is how the palm tree boat mystery was solved.......

Yesterday morning, I went to Coffee Plantation to write, because I’d bought a palm-tree-material sail boat off Capt. Jack at Mallory Pier a couple of nights before, and had wanted it delivered to Sippin’ Internet Caffe, but it got delivered instead to Coffee Plantation on Caroline Street. The owners, Theo and Diane, have been my friends since shortly after they came to Key West from California, and opened Coffee Plantation near the corner of White Street and Petronia. It was there that we three and nearly twenty black Bahama Village school kids were caught up in what nearly turned out to be a catastrophic riot, perhaps a month after Wilma came through. It was there that I got to know Theo and Diane, and saw that they were the kind of folks Key West wanted to have living here. They were forced to change their business location, because they couldn’t renew the lease. I like the new place even better, although I miss the neighborhood atmosphere of the old location.

Meanwhile, there is something else I need to report. That palm tree sailboat, I ended up giving it to Theo and Diane after learning yesterday that Theo is behind the restoration of the Schooner Western Union now owned by Historic Tours of America, the same company that Duck Tours sued. Ed Swift doesn’t want to keep the boat any longer, it isn’t profitable, but he wants it to remain in this area. HTA has received an offer of $400,000 from an out-of-state-purchaser, who would take the boat out of the state. Ed has offered to donate the boat to The Schooner Western Union Project, contingent on the Project raising commitments for the $300,000 needed to get the boat restored. Ed pledged $25,000 out of his own pocket to seed the fund-raising for the costs of restoration.
The schooner then would be used for educational outreach with the local schools, for thirty days a year made available to Florida Keys not for profit outfits for their fund raising, and the rest of the time it will be used for its old uses: day and sunsets sails for pay, to generate the funds needed to keep running the boat, which are substantial, according Jeff Salzman, who is sitting with me here right now at Coffee Plantation. Jeff wrote the prospectus gratis, even though he only has a six-grade education, or so he says. Oh, now he says he’s a high school drop-out, he exaggerated a little. Jeff's a bit under the weather today, after spending a bit of time yesterday afternoon at a local recording studio. Yeah, right. So Key West.

I read the prospectus yesterday, found it well-written. Toward the back is an appraisal of the Schooner Western Union, for $950,000. I learned practicing law and as a real estate broker, several lifetimes ago, that appraisals can be gotten for a variety of reasons, and sometimes we lawyers and real estate brokers joked among ourselves that the appraiser professional designation, M.A.I., stood for “made as instructed.” I wager that the IRS would argue that $400,000, not $950,000, is the real value of the Schooner Western Union, because that is what has been offered for it. Certainly, the appraiser did not offer to buy the ship for $950,000, and I rather suspect that the appraiser would not pay more than $400,000 for it, if he had plenty of money lying around and wanted the boat. Perhaps I’m mistaken, but I can envision that the $950,000 appraisal is all the IRS might see, if a charitable contribution in that amount is claimed on a tax return.

If the Schooner Western Union were my boat, and I had the money I’ve heard Ed Swift has, and if I loved Key West as much as Ed Swift is said to love it, hell, I’d give the entire $300,000 needed to bring it up to speed. But other Key West folks can step up to this worthy plate, too. Theo’s not looking to make any money out of the deal. He, and others, are giving their time and effort to this project because they feel it is worth while. Just as he, and others, gave their time and effort to organizing and participating in the recent Wisteria (Christmas Tree) Island clean-up. Capt. Jack’s sail boat is right where it belongs. Like I said, Theo and Diane are the kind of people Key West needs to keep here.

Anyone wishing to learn more about this very worthwhile project can drop by Coffee Plantation on Caroline Street, or go to www.schoonerwesternunion.org.

Sloan Bashinsky
623 Josephine Parker St #102
Key West 33040
Paid political advertisement, I suppose

Honey... I'm buying a boat...

2007-07-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

For almost a year the Schooner Western Union is offered for sale at her dock in the Key West Harbor.
Every time I walked by the harbor I wondered what it would take to get this boat back sailing the famous sunsets of Key West...
And we got a plan...
We call it the Schooner Western Union Project

The Schooner Western Union Project (S.W.U.P.) is a not for profit corporation founded for the purpose of restoring maintaining and operating the historic Schooner Western Union in Key West.
In addition to the restoration of the schooner S.W.U.P. will use the boat for local charitable events, educational outreach and children’s activities. Key West is rich in maritime history and the Schooner Western Union is one of the last great examples of that. S.W.U.P. will strive to preserve and share this important aspect of our heritage for the many visitors to and residents of our island.
Initial funding will be obtained through corporate sponsorships, grants, and individual donations. Once the initial restoration is completed and Coast Guard certification is restored, funds will be generated from the daily operation of the vessel by offering sailing experiences in the waters surrounding Key West.

Soul Food...

2007-07-24T04:54:00.000-07:00

The Key West Citizen reported on our mission to clean Christmas Tree Island.
I could have not done it better my self.
Check out this LINK to the story

Residents tire of Wisteria Island trash talk

'Army' of volunteers spend Sunday on cleanup detail

BY MANDY BOLEN

Citizen Staff

A group of Key West residents, weary of complaints about trash-strewn Wisteria Island, spent Sunday cleaning the offshore island and shuttling boatloads of garbage back to a Simonton Street staging area.

Theo Glorie, owner of the Coffee Plantation on Caroline Street, said conversation in his shop recently has focused on the island, its future and the newspaper articles it has generated.

"Everybody got disgusted," said Glorie, who then began organizing the weekend cleanup.

The project included a huge Dumpster donated by Waste Management, gloves from West Marine, volunteers willing to load their boats with people and trash, and Arnaud Girard's Key West Water Taxi shuttling both back and forth from Simonton Street to Wisteria Island.

The crew overfilled the huge Dumpster, and hauled off car batteries, dinghies and more than 20 old mattresses.

"There was an army of people," Girard said. "We took all the old matresses off and so many old chairs. We left only a small doghouse as everyone agreed that that was the acceptable maximum density for the island," he joked.

"It was nasty, but it felt really good."

The privately owned island, now inhabited by only the homeless, became the subject of debate in recent weeks after a development company asked the city to annex it to allow for luxury residential development. The request since has been withdrawn, and the City Commission last week refused to add a referendum to the Oct. 2 city ballot that would have asked voters whether they support annexation of Wisteria Island.

"We are not fighting the developers in this situation," Glorie emphasized. "This was strictly environmental and we were afraid that all this crap would eventually end up in our harbor."

The cleanup may continue next weekend, but Girard is continuing work on the island this week to determine what work remains, Glorie said.

"It all started in a coffee shop," he said. "Nobody ever asked for anything."

mbolen@keysnews.com

2007-07-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

HELP!
Help clean our
Christmas Tree Island
This Sunday July 22Th
9:00 AM
at the Simonton street pier
for more info
call Theo at 305-304-9438

For three weeks now a local magazine has been posting pictures of Christmas tree island in there weekly paper.
In the pictures it shows this Island loaded with garbage.
We here at the Coffee Plantation decided that it was time to get active and do something about that.
We have organized a cleanup day...
We found a lot of Key Westers felt as we did.
If you are in the neighborhood... if you are reading this and think by yourself...
I would love to be part of this, come join us.
It's a feel good thing.

Coffee Plantation to go...

2007-07-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Our friend Mick can't wait to start his day with a fine Coffee Plantation cup of coffee.
Mick travels all over the world and loves to take his own Coffee Plantation beans with him.
Look at this man's smile when we told him that he can buy his favorite beans on the Coffee Plantation online Coffee Shop.
We ship our fine product within 24 hours of placing your order.
Who wouldn't produce a smile like that.

We are going live...

2007-06-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

We are going live... We are going worldwide... web that is...
On Sunday July 1st at 9:00 am our own barista Theo will go live with Richard Grusin on his live Sunday morning show "Cruisin' With Grusin" on the popular Key's Radio station 104.1 US 1 Radio.
You can hear the broadcast live on the web at US 1 Radio.com
We are planning to talk about my quest for a bike venture and maybe even do a trade on the air.
Don't miss it...

Coffee Shop Appreciation Day...

2007-06-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

We had Coffee Shop appreciation day today.
I opened our mail box this morning and found this letter from a very happy customer from Scranton Pennsylvania.

Dear Theo and Diane
I spend two weeks (at least) in your very comfortable shop, programing all day and making liberal use of your electricity.
Thank you very much for providing such a nice place to work and hang out, not to mention the fine coffee - the Americano was the hottest cup of coffee I've ever had!
Enclosed is a contribution to keep the enterprise going strong.
Thanks again,
PM

We love you too...

The Fat Lady sang...

2007-06-03T04:20:00.000-07:00

Our un-experience in playoff combat crushed our championship dream.
The Coffee Plantations "Java Junkies" Bocce team got together Saturday morning here at the Coffee Plantation for a pre playoff get together and team bonding.
You could feel the excitement and electricity in the air.
We where all nervous, "on top of the polina Tom" ordered a large Coffee in stead of his usual half a cup, "Country Lee" only wanted half a bagel instead of his usual largest bagel of the bunch, Dee the Iceman was very nervous and afraid he left himself some poppy seeds in between his teeth, "Gorgeous Jodi" was just very nervous and me "Dynamite Theo"was making room here in the Coffee Shop for our soon to be ours, the "Southernmost Bocce Championship Trophy".

We got crushed... our first game of the playoffs was our last... it was horrible.
We are going to do much better next year.

Come and Gone...

2007-06-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

A short visit from my Dutch brothers Cor and Ton made me realize how much fun it is to life here in Key West.
Don't get me wrong, I love Holland with it's Windmills, Tulips and Coffee Houses but Key West is just great.
For a little over a week I was the tour guide for my brothers, what basically means I had a little over a week vacation my self...
We visited the Hemingway House, Lighthouse, Butterfly house, USS Mohawk, Mel Fisher museum, and lots of sight seeing walks all over our Island. We took a boat ride with the Yankee Freedom to the dry Tortuga's for Ton's first snorkeling experience, and to top this all off we rented each a Harley Davidson for a trip to Key Largos card sound road to get some bad fried food from Alabama Jack...
Wow...

My brothers Cor and Ton left Saturday morning early to go back to Holland with great memories and tons off pictures.
That means my little vacation is over.
The good thing is, I got to stay...
Like I said to my brothers, Key West is like a Dutch village... with Palm Trees.
I hope they come visit me again soon.

Boccee PLAYOFF'S!!!!!......

2007-05-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

For the first time in Key West, and the Southernmost Bocce League history, the young team of the Coffee Plantation the "Java Junkies" qualified them selves for a playoff position in the Southernmost Bocce Championship.

The team had a wild card game against the very strong "Free Beer" Captained by the famous blood thirsty "Doc Danny".

There was a powerful first game where our team played the ball like champs, crushing the "Free Beer" team with a 7 point spread. The game turned ugly, the "Free Beers" team took a quick revenge with a second game win.

The night ended with a close game three and a victorious "Java Junkies" popping the champagne for there deserved 2-1 win.
Playoffs are set for the first weekend in June.
Save the date...
A large crowed is expected, plan ahead.

Our finest coffee available on line.

2007-05-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is Chad.

Chad works as a digital designer above the Coffee Plantation here in Key West and can't live without his few cups of coffee a day. Chad is one of our biggest House Brew fans.

Our Costa Rican Reserve House Brew coffee bean comes from the Tres Rios region, which has a long tradition of producing high quality coffee. It is SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) which indicates coffee grown above an altitude of 3900 feet.

You'll find this to be a "bright" coffee, high in acidity, medium in body, wonderfully aromatic, and rich in its own unique flavor with a sharp distinctive finish. A heat-sealed valve bag will ensure the freshest coffee. We ship within 24 hours of placing your order.

And now, where ever you may be, you too can enjoy Coffee Plantation's Costa Rican Reserve House Brew in the comfort of your own home. Enjoy!

Cuba Libre?

2007-05-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be nice if we could travel to Cuba, It's only 90 miles from Key West...
I would definitely go...
I would go there with somebody that knows half of all Havana people, like my friend Dennie Dinero.
Because he would put me up in a affordable "Casa Particular" with a wonderful Cuban Family.
He would probably also introduce me to a few of the locals and drive me to a few farmers that he probably knows.

Yeah that would be great...
I also would make a lot of pictures of those antique American Cars that are all over the City...

Or those Russian motorcycles...

I can't wait to point my camera to those beautiful and prestigious homes that are decorating the streets of Havana...

Yeah... That would be a great few days...
Maybe in the future...

Conch Cruiser show

2007-04-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful Sunday in Key West. We had a cool breeze, music by our own Michael MC Cloud, and some fine shining automobiles.
The Schooner wharf bar organized its annual conch cruiser festival this Sunday, all part of our Conch Republic independence week celebrations.

Amsterjaming...

2007-04-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

Key West is known for taking care of each other when things are getting tough.
A few weeks ago there was a fundraiser at the Blue Heaven for a local musician named Lou 'Blue Lou' Feinberg that needed help with his medical bills.
A lot of local treasures donated by local artist and businesses where available through a silent auction and a live auction was to be held for 4 acoustic guitars and one Heineken promotional electric guitar all signed by the local musicians playing their tunes on the fundraising event.
Our friend Joe Forte was the generous happy winning bidder on the Heineken guitar, which he bought for his grandson.
I convinced Joe to trade me his guitar for a similar Heineken guitar I had bought on eBay, and the deal is done.
This piece of Key West history electric Heineken "Amsterjam" guitar is now on display at the Coffee Plantation.
Come by to check it out... It's beautiful

Renegade Clay Presents

2007-04-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Simone and Senor Lobo, both big fans of the Coffee Plantation invited us to host this fabulous fund raising event the "Empty Bowl Luncheon".
There where beautiful bowls, handmade by local artists, which we filled with one of our fine gourmet soup.

Dream team

2007-04-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Look at this team...
The Coffee Plantation Boccie team had another great night at boccie Wednesday night.
By waking up the Esquire Lounge team in the first round by defeating the team with a 16 to 0 score, we got beat up very badly in the second and 3Th game.
We still think we are the best team though...
Look at this bunch.
From left to right, last years ace "Bobbie direct", our own former team captain "Tony the Pirate", our new captain "Country Lee", "gorgeous Jody", "on top of the polina Tom", "dynamite Theo" and "Dee the Iceman"...
Aren't we cute...

Great Party

2007-04-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

For our three year anniversary party we had a great turn out, look at all those people having a great time.
We must have had half the island coming by to celebrate this milestone.
We are even thinking about a monthly party.
A party every first Sunday of the month we are going to celebrate a local artist with a exhibit.

Love is all we need...

2007-03-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up to a great picture of our President in our local newspaper the Key West Citizen.
It's a picture that freed the world from all negativity.
It's OK now to be who you are, Gay, Liberal, have a beard and look odd.
It's all good, lets kiss and make up.
It's a great day for coffee.

Fant...ART...stic

2007-03-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary party on April 1st we invited Joe Forte a local artist to show of his best on our Coffee Plantation walls.
The result are fantastic, the colors that Joe used in his abstracts are phenomenal.

Time to party

2007-03-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

For our Coffee plantation it's been three years already, three years of poring lattes, cappuchino's, and the best house brew on the island.
And we are going to celebrate.
We have food, drinks, music and a Art exhibit from our friend Joe Forte.
If your in the neighborhood on April 1st between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm please drop in and say hi.

A victorious evening...

2007-03-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

The Coffee Plantation Bocce Team the "Java Junkies" played a incredible game last Wednesday night at the southernmost bocce competition.
Our players Jodi, Tom, Dee, Lee and Theo won three games against the last years playoff contenders and always strong "Green Parrot".
Of course we believe here at the Coffee Plantation that our House brew got a lot to do with it, but the determination and the practice off our athletes payed off.
A huge congratulations to our team

A Parting Shot

2007-02-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Mike Mongo here. I am interupting your previously scheduled blogger to bring you this photo, one of the most recent (and therefore one of the last) of Captain Outrageous.

The reason that I am filling in is, well, because everyone is considerably weepy about the whole death thing, which I suppose is understandable, but we are talking about Captain O here, so I get a little miffed-slash-exasperated by all the outpouring of well-meaning (but misplaced) emotion.

See, Captain is my favorite artist on Key West Island. It's his sense of humor, a sure sign of intelligence in my book. That sense of humor is found in his art, all over it, as a matter of fact, and it was found throughout his life.

I hear all kinds of good story's about Captain now, even more than I heard before. He picked me as his heir apparent, but even if he hadn't, he taught me as me a peer, a collegue, and now, seeing as he's gone and all, that means a lot.

But this picture Theo took, after he and Diane went to visit Cat first I thought it was just so-so. But now that I have had the opportunity to give it the once over, I think it is falt-out great.

Just look at the eyes. The glasses' lenses are reflecting light, but go in close, and you can see for yourself Outrageous's eyes. Clear. Lucid. Electric. Like his art.

And his art, he's surrounded by it. In this photo, there is no separation of art and artist. The reflections of light from the guitar, from his glasses. The pictures on the wall. The man. Suspenders. It's all just Vonnegut enough to laugh. You know, Bluebeard.

Outrageous spent a lot of time here at CP. He just did. In the afternoons mostly, around 4:30 or 5 PM. And he was everybit of a character as everyone is now reading about all over the world. Only it was here and it was live. For me, it was better than extra innings, it was the further unfolding of a kindred spirit. It was like the 3rd upgrade I had seen of the man in just five years time. It was like 21st Century Outrageous 3.0!

And that's it. Outrageous was here, and is as much a solid chunk of this coffee shop as anywhere he had ever been in Key West. And the coolest thing about that?

He consciously selected The Coffee Plantation for the addition of a late-inning sub-plot to the ongoing epic which was The Artist Known As Captain Outrageous.

...we now return you to your previously scheduled blogger, already in progress. "Ciào!"

Captain Outrageous

2007-02-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

The Solares hill, (a local weekly newspaper) printed the words this morning that I have been looking for the whole week

It was so strange. It was outrageous.
Not only the life and sudden dead of Captain Outrageous (both powerful strange) but the New Orleans style funeral march that grew so gloriously into a street fest drawing at least 200 of his friends.
The Captain himself, who had an ego no less monstrous than yours or mine, would have been stunned to see such joyous lamentation.
What other local artist has dared to dream of such a send-off, let alone get one.
In [Captain Outrageous'] own words:

Life's journey is not
to arrive at the grave safely
in a well preserved form but
rather to skid sideways
totally worn out,shouting:
Holy shit what a ride!

Procession for Captain Outrageous

2007-02-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

Whats behind the red Hummer?

2007-02-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

Once in a while or when your lucky, you find the Coffee Plantation visible from the street...
When your lucky.
There's that moment when my neighbors red hummer is being taken out for It's annual drive around around the block.
Look at this Coffee Shop, look at these beautiful flowers, as you can see we have a comfortable veranda with beautiful flowering window boxes.
A great place to check your emails, drink a coffee, or enjoy one of our lite bites.

Musical trade

2007-01-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

In my quest for my motorcycle I traded my Wine for this Captain Outrageous original, a beautifully painted Indiana acoustic guitar. Look at this beauty!

A artistic moment

2007-01-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

Some days here at the Coffee Plantation there are those unique moments.
You see a few people together that make history in Key West.
Yesterday was one of those moments...
I noticed three classic Key West artist on our veranda enjoying there cup of coffee and sharing there artist horror stories.
I hope you have the pleasure someday to meet these three Key West living legends.
From left to right Captain Outrageous, Billy Selesnick and Joe Forte.

Poemer strikes again

2007-01-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

We found a note in our tip jar this morning

A Coffee Plantation
Would be a place to behold.
The soil and the beans
The Sun warmth untold.

Imagine the aromas
spicing the air
The hillside the harvest
Coffee everywhere

Wouldn't you visit
A place of such love
Were Coffee is everything
Below and above.

The soil and the climate
the taste in the air
Well on Caroline St.
In Key West it is their

For a place exists
On that street you know
The Coffee Plantation
were happiness grows

Like the beans in the fields
the harvest untold
The Coffee Plantation
Your place to behold

Isn't that great...

Come Sail Away...

2007-01-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year, Race Week is in town. We are selling more skinny late's this week than any other time of the year.

Weather is great, looks like this is going to be a great event.

They sure drink enough Espresso to keep them on edge...

Once Upon A Bean

2007-01-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

This morning when I got to work here at the Coffee Plantation things started out a kind of hectic.
I had this "must" make phone call to Bellsouth that totally ruined the start of my day.

A bunch of our regulars however changed my mood for the better, but a note somebody pinned on the front door of the Coffee Plantation made me aware that I'm in the right place.

One of our Coffee Plantation customers hand-wrote (and illustrated) this and clandestinely posted it on our frontdoor:

Once Upon A Bean

Their once was a coffee shop
On a street in Key West
Where Theo and Diane
Served those beans at their best.

We love this place
Where we jumpstart our day
The atmosphere beautiful
Coffee our way.

Reading the papers
Computing with ease
these are the things
that make live a breeze.

The story a fairytale?
Happily, it's not.
Because at 713 Caroline St
is the Coffee Plantation Shop.

Thank you, whoever created this and put it up today.

Now, how many Coffee shop owners get that kind of mail?

Motorcycle Madness

2007-01-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

Captain Bill, a very regular at the Coffee Plantation and a great fan of our Costa Rica reserve house brew got himself the beemer bug. After showing him my love for the mid 70's BMW motorcycles he got him self one... On Ebay.... in California... which is on the other side of the country. She is just a beauty. He just gotta pick it up... Oh... forgot to mension that this is Capt. Bills first trip cross country on a motorcycle.

Read his story in his own words.

Well, I picked the bike up today in Santa Barbara and made it as far as Santa Monica, about 100 miles down the road. The bike was running great and strong and I really enjoyed the ride down PCH (Pacific Coast Highway for those of you who might be California challenged). It's a gorgeous winding road right on the beach most of the way. I was waiting at a light and when it turned green, I pulled the clutch to go and the clutch cable broke, right on the PCH--I was in the left-most of 3 lanes heading south, so I had to push it off the road across 2 lanes in heavy traffic. I thought I was going to be squashed like a bug, but everybody waited till I was clear!
I pushed it into the parking lot of a very swank hotel and the valet parking guys eyed me critically for a few seconds and then gladly gave me a spot to leave it overnight--they were very nice and helpful and we ended up in a discussion about BMWs--they loved the bike--and called a cab for me. Same thing happened at the gas station. Guys kept walking over to look and chat so my gas stop took about 25 minutes to pump 4.8 gallons. I'm in a very nice Best Western for the night, hoping all those seldom-used (and very sore) bike-riding muscles will recover enough to allow me to do it all again. Tomorrow I take a cab to Honda of Hollywood to get a replacement clutch cable--the show must go on!

OK---day 2--bike goes on trailer, towed to Mitch's Motorcycles--ride over--end of story.

Well, not quite.

After a little thought, I realized that trying to fix it myself under the circumstances was not a real good idea, so I called Tony the motorcycle towing guy. He was very helpful and friendly (and talkative!) so I learned a lot about old bikes on the half-hour ride to Mitche's. Mitch is a great guy with tons of experience with the classic airhead boxer (see--I'm even learning a new language) and he is going to replace the steering head bearings, steering damper, clutch, all cables, tires, handlebars, ect... (its that "etc..." part that really rings the register!) which will make the old gal ride like new once more (and definitely a lot safer). We spent an hour and a half deciding what needed to be done, and setting priorities, while Mitch thoroughly enjoyed himself finding more things wrong that needed repair or replacement. The result was a work order (yikes!!) that caused enough pain to distract me from the other pain in my left hand, legs, etc. from that ride down PCH yesterday. Anyway, I'm glad it's in such good hands.

To be continued!

A quest for a bike

2006-12-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

This "one of a kind" shiny red paperclip is the begining of a quest. Inspired by Kyle MacDonald I started a quest to the "World's best bike" the 1975 BMW R90S. Follow the story as its progressing on our Quest blogspot

Guess Who's Back?!

2006-12-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hey, Joe Forte is back! Mike Mongo ran into him at Blue Heaven, but Joe was at the Coffee Plantation this morning.

Joe is one of our favorite artists of Key West. Welcome back, Joe! We missed you!

BTW, we have plenty of his popular work available here at Coffee Planation. Be sure and take a look the next time you come in for coffee, snacks, or lunch. (You have tried our new fresh sandwiches and salads, right?)

Who is coming to town...

2006-12-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

We just got the news that Tom Rush will be playing Key West again this year. Rick Dostal’s Payback Promotions is bringing in the David Bromberg Quartet with the Angel Band, and Tom Rush. The one night only show will be held at the all new Key West High School Auditorium.
Richard Crooks, Bromberg’s drummer in his big band, (Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, Nina Simone etc.) winters here in Key West so, lucky us, we will be getting a “5 piece quartet”.
We were honored to brew coffee for Tom Rush last year and we are proud to have been selected to supply coffee for all the players during the Friday, January 26th, 2007 show.
Billed as, “an Evening of American Acoustic Music”, it promises to be an outstanding show with longtime singer, songwriter, player legends who have shared the stage many times during their extensive careers.
Oh, get your Tickets
See you there!

The Tale of the CamagÃ¼ey Cheese

2006-12-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

My story takes place in Cuba, in the year 2002. Now if one knows a little about history or world politics, they will know that Cuba is a Communist country. But to be more exact, Cuba is a police state.

Even in the old Communist Eastern Europe, you had certain rights. In Cuba, you have none. The secret police can do whatever they want with you, and you can not say anything or do anything about it. In other words, everything in Cuba is illegal, and therefore nothing is illegal.

And so begins, my Tale of the Camagüey Cheese.

My best friend in Havana, and the godfather of my six-year old in Havana, is named Julio. Julio and I have been like brothers for about ten years. Julio is also my driver when I am in there in Havana. We were sitting at the bar in the Toliena Hotel one day, drinking 7-year old rum, when I said to Julio, "Why don't we rent a car and go to Camagüey for a few days. Naturally, Julio agreed.

Now, Camagüey is in the middle of the country, about 7-to-8 hours east of Havana by a tourist car. So the next day we rented a car, got onto the Grand Highway, and off we went. Julio is driving.

Being that everything is illegal in Cuba, the people must find a way to work around the system so they can survive. Camagüey is cattle country, and the farmers will make white cheese at home to sell to tourists driving through Camagüey on the Grand Highway. Of course, this completely illegal. But as you drive along, soon you will see a little guy pop out of the bushes or trees holding two or three blocks of cheese, each weighing a pound or two each. You may not understand, but needless to say as I continued along the Grand Highway, and cheese kept on presenting itself, by the time I had arrived in Camagüey I honestly had no less than twenty blocks of cheese in the boot (trunk) of the car!

Once in Camagüey City, we did the normal tourist things...all except for one thing. I was talking with an old man, who in the course of conversation, said to me he had an old flintlock pistol from the 1750's. Had this been anywhere but Cuba, this would have been unlikely. As it was Cuba, however, it was true. He let me know he was looking to sell it, and we negotiated for a while, and then I ended up with a foot-and-a-half long French flintlock pistol. Of course, this was completely illegal. Old or not, a person will go to jail for buying or owning a gun in Cuba. In any case, seeing as I owned one now, I was going to make sure I got it back to Havana! So into the trunk of the car, with the cheese, went the gun.

A couple of days went by, and it was time to make he long ride back to Havana. But the morning we were to leave, Julio ran into Davey, a friend of ours. Davey lives also in Key West, and was introduced to Julio through me many years earlier. Davey prefers to stay in Camagüey in Cuba rather than Havana. Somehow Davey had lost his Cuban driver, and so had asked Julio to drive him back to Havana. Since we were all leaving the same day, I said no problem, and that I could drive the tourist rental car all alone, and we can follow one another back to Havana...

So about 10 AM that morning, we set out on our journey back to Havana. Julio with Davey, and me with a gun and twenty blocks of Camagüey cheese.

About an hour out of Camagüey, I saw a young girl hitchhiking on the side of the road, so being alone and wanting some company, I stopped and picked her up. Her name was Anna and she was going back to college in the city of Via Clara (about 3 and 1/2 hours from outside of Camagüey). And since I had a good friend Vasyo nearby who I knew needed a ride to Havana, I would drop her off in Via Clara, and pick up Varyo, and have company for the last leg of the trip - about another 3 and a 1/2 hours, in a new tourist car - to Havana, as well.

All was going well when we got into Via Clara, and we were about to get off the Grand Highway and drive into the city, when a motorcycle cop popped up and pulled over my car for some unknown reason. But remember, we are in Cuba, and the police don't need a reason. In any case, I knew they would never search a tourist car, so I was not worried. When we stop, the policeman walks over to the car, salutes, and asks for my drivers license, passport, and tourist car rental contract. No problem, officer, I say, hand him my license and passport, and open the glovebox for the rental contract. But to my surprise, it is not there! So now I have a problem, and there is no way to prove to him I rented the car. (What I did not know was that my friend Julio had the rental contract on him in his shirt pocket. Of course, by this time, Julio is long up the road...)

Well, not having any proof who rented the car this motorcycle cop now had the right to search the car. Of course, he opens the trunk, and the first thing he sees is the twenty blocks of Camagüey cheese. The gun, in a bag, was under the cheese! He never saw that. But there is also the matter of Anna, the college girl, who he presumes is a prostitute seeing as how she is in a tourist car with a tourist. (Which, I forgot to mention, is also illegal. If caught, she could spend two years in jail!) So he comes back to my driver's window, and begins to give me the third-degree about not having the rental contract, and accusing me of planning to sell the cheese in Havana. We argued for a short time, when Anna from the side says to me in English, "Offer him some cheese."

So I got out of the car, and took the policeman aside, and in my broken Spanish said, "Look, you have a family to feed, and you make so little money. Why don't you take two blocks of cheese, and we will be on our way?" I went to the trunk of the car, took out two blocks of cheese, and gave them to him. He agreed, smiled, shook my hand, said, "Thank you very much," put the cheese in the side saddle of his motorcycle, and was off in a minute. I was amazed.

So off we went on a very steep, winding road over a small mountain...and come upon a huge roadblock. The police are checking through all the papers of all the tourist cars. Of course, I knowwhat is going to happen when they ask me for my rental car agreement and discover that I am without it. The close I get to the roadblock, the more ways I am thinking about how I am going to kill Julio when I get back. That is, if I don't go to jail first!

Again the cops ask for my papers, and when I cannot produce the rental contract again the first thing they want to see is, "What's in the trunk?" I'm sweating bullets because if they find the gun in the can - and especially as I am an American going to Havana - they are going to think I one thing, "He's after Fidel Castro!" They open the trunk...

...and my luck does not hold. They find the gun. He comes to my window, shows me the gun, and asks what I am doing with it and where I got it in the first place. I told him the truth about getting it from some old man in Camagüey. Worryingly, he does not believe me. He tells me to follow him, and gets into his patrol car. So off we go, Anna, the cheese (minus the gun), and, of course, me, to the main police station in Camagüey.

Once there, five hours go by until he police chief calls us into his office. We sit down and he proceeds to say that they had to contact the museum in Camagüey to verify that no gun matching the description of the gun I had was missing or had been stolen. Well, there were none...so he proceeded to give me my gun back! I was flabbergasted! I could not believe that I got the gun back, and that we were being allowed to go. However...

Just before we left his office, he said, "By the way, what was I going to do with all that cheese?" Anna turns to me, and says in English, "You better offer him some cheese." So I turned to the police chief, and said that explained, with a completely straight face, "We have so much. Won't you take some for you and your family?" He said he would. I immediately went to the car, and, him being a chief and all, got him three blocks of Camagüey cheese. From the twenty I started the journey back to Havana with, I was now only down five, to a total of fifteen.

We left the station, and from there continued on to my friend Vasyo's house, then the three of us headed to the university. On our way to the university, I told Varyo the entire story, and how Anna had helped so much with the translation and everything. When we finally dropped her off, Varyo turns to me and says, "Don't you think you should give her some cheese?" I was struck for only a second - the cheese again!, I thought - and quickly I jumped out to give her two blocks of cheese, and thanked her so much for her help, and wished her luck with her studies.

Anyhow, Vasyo and I are soon on our way out of town to get back on the Grand Highway, and to make the last three-hour leg of the journey. I was happy. I still had the gun, now under the front seat of the car, and I still had thirteen blocks of cheese!

...That is until about an hour outside of Via Clara, we got stopped again. Now of course by this time I knew what was going to happen so I was unworried. And I was right. The cop comes up, I had him my license and passport, explain I do not have my rental car agreement, he wants to see inside the trunk, which I pop open to reveal the remaining thirteen blocks of cheese. He comes back to my window, and starts the same questioning about where I rented the car, why do I not have a contract, etc. Vasyo, seeing the whole thing transpire again, right on cue says to me, "Dennis, why don't you offer him some cheese." It was like deja vu. I get out of the car, walk back to the trunk (laughing to myself, but all the while thinking to myself, "Wait until I get my hands on that Julio..."), didn't say anything to the cop, just handed him over two blocks of cheese, got back into the car never saying another word to the cop, and drove off back towards Havana.

So now we're just one and a half hours from Havana. I'm still satisfied to know I haven't been arrested, I have the gun I bought, and I still have eleven blocks of Camagüey cheese, a cheese which must be the most amazing cheese in the entire world.

Which would end our story. Except by the time I got back, and had dropped off my friend Vasyo (to whom, naturally, I gave a block of cheese), I was down to just two single blocks of the very famous, very much in-demand, and very popular Camagüey cheese. You see, on the way into Havana, we were stopped several more times. I am sure that the police radioed ahead to one another, "Look for the American tourist in the rental car without contract. He's got cheese."

Dennis Riley
(as transcribed by Mike Mongo)

Happy Holidays

2006-12-01T05:57:00.000-08:00

SPARKLING lights are everywhere and Christmas music fills the air. It's the season for love, giving, and wishing.

We at the Coffee Plantation wish you the happiest season of all.
Diane, Theo, Jamie, Milli and Mawari

Deputies Rescue Naked Man on Crack From Jaws of 12-foot Gator

2006-11-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

Nov 30, 9:21 AM EST

Fla. Man Loses Arm to Alligator Attack
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- A 45-year old man was hospitalized after four Sheriff's deputies rescued him from the jaws of a nearly 12-foot long alligator Wednesday,while he was naked and high on crack cocaine

The Polk County deputies were responding to multiple calls about a man yelling for help at about 4 a.m.deputies waded through thick mud about 20 feet into Lake Parker to find Adrian Apgar, 45, around 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, the sheriff's office said. They were responding to multiple reports about a man screaming for help.

Deputy Billy Osborne said he pulled Apgar's arms while the gator gripped the man's lower half and eventually helped pull Apgar free. The deputies said they couldn't shoot the animal because it was too dark and they might have hit the victim.

It was not clear why Apgar was in the water at such an early hour. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Apgar told deputies he had been smoking crack.

Apgar was taken to the hospital in critical condition with an apparent broken right arm, leg injuries and his left arm hanging by a tendon. Hospital officials did not immediately release information about his condition.

None of the deputies were injured.

Fish and Wildlife trappers said they believe they caught the alligator near the site of the attack later Wednesday, although they said they couldn't be sure it was the same animal.

At various points, the deputies were standing by, weapons pulled, on the lookout for other gators. The man on crack told them "he felt at least one more in the water."

Our Daily Quest for the Freshest Milk

2006-11-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

Watch our Barista doing the daily task of searching for our fresh milk.

As you probably know, cows are hard to find hear on our tropical island of Key West.
For our Latte's, Cappuccino, and all of our other fabulous drinks we use only the freshest ingredients available to us, so the job of collecting our daily supply of tresured fresh milk and taking it from the free roaming cows here in Key West is a responsibility. A job that takes hunters instinct, a job that can't be taken to lightly.

See how in this capture of our barista shopping for the goods how the cow protects her white gold, her mama juice and our secret ingredient for our coffee drinks...

Next time you visit the Coffee Plantation please show your appreciation to our Barista. As you all know, they are udderly wonderful!

We saw the sign

2006-11-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

Reported by the Key West Citizen

KEY WEST Â For the past few months, Key West Police officers have been taking notes about a winged heart emblem that's been appearing on street signs around town.

According to reports, the graffiti was noticed by officers on a pole and a stop sign at the 200 block of Petronia Street and on a control box in Bayview Park. The emblem is described as a heart with wings and a five point star in the background. Reports state that the symbol has appeared throughout Key West accompanied by the word "love" or "King".

Photos were taken by officers at the corner of Florida Street and Truman Avenue, where the emblem contained the phrase, "lov is king."

Anyone with information regarding the unwelcome art, should contact the Key West Police Department.

We here at the Coffee Plantation have seen that art...

This One's For All Our Friends and Customers...Thank You!

2006-11-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

'Plight of the Plutonians' Wins Grand Prize at Fantasy Fest '06

2006-10-31T14:51:00.000-08:00

MY NAME IS G'RRAK I AM THE SPIRITUAL LEADER OF PLUTONIANS ESPOUSING THE TENANANTS OF ASTRONAUTICISM AND AM HAPPY TO REPORT OUR ASSIMILATION INTO ERTHLING CULTURE IS SATISFYING REPORT IN PROGRESS SEE VISUAL DATA BELOW

ARRIVAL

LANDING

FEDERAL PLUTONIAN PROTECTION AGENT THEO GLORIE

MALES

FEMALES

PLUTONIAN ELF WITH PLUTONIAN T'HOR

PLUTONIAN REFUGEES INVADE KEY WEST AND FANTASY FEST '06

2006-10-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Key West, The Conch Republic - Refugees from the deposed planet Pluto have descended in droves upon the island of Key West. Great extraterrestrial vehicles (ETVs) have landed carrying somewhat lost but festive Plutonian refugees. Additionally, the refugees have made it clear the reason they chose Key West is because of the island's much-ballyhooed Fantasy Fest celebration.

"We heard about the party," says one Plutonian (who identified himself as "G'rakk"), "Some of us were upset about being declared a non-planet, but most of us were just tired of living on a cold, fringe-y, and dark rock with a diameter even less than the earth's moon.

[The diameter of Pluto is 1400 miles, while earth's moon is 2000 miles.]

Local residents and business's alike have taken to the other-worldly visitors. "Not only are they very fond of us, they're good tippers," says Diane Glorie, co-owner of Key West's Coffee Plantation, "Plus, it's really nice to see glow-in-the-dark silver humanoids around the street at night. [The Plutonian's] natural luminescence is a real energy-saver."

Federal agents, as well as a number of acclaimed scientists and researcher, as well as the merely curious, have followed on the Plutonians footsteps, and the entire island is abuzz with talk and excitement. "The difference between Key West and Roswell, New Mexico," stated Theo Glorie, of Key West's Coffee Plantation, "is that they have second-hand reports of aliens, while Key West has drunken extraterrestrials with three breasts, and inter-galactic charge accounts."

Sailors log

2006-10-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

People who often read the Coffee Plantation Blog would know that "Mike" Mongo, our island's own KING of Key West, is a very regular customer of the Coffee Plantation.
Mongo lives on his Sailboat in the Key West historic seaport harbor, just past Wysteria Island.
To travel from and to his floating home he has a 9' little boat with a little outboard engine. Very cute...
Last Monday, the first coldfront hit the Florida Keys, and boy it got cold! The wind was blowing worse than hurricane Ernesto, and the temperature dropped to a chilly 70's degrees.
A sailor's nightmare was about to happen, a sailor's nightmare was about to come true.
Read how Key Westers take care of Key Westers,
A True story
In his own words......

Here's what happened yesterday.

I was taking my skiff across the harbor at 4 am and had a passenger I was taking to ashore to another island. The wind was blowing 35 (!) knots from the North.

Somewhat further than mid-way between my boat and the harbor from which I had left, the boat stalled, and I was blown hard to the shore of another island. I managed to get it re-started with out getting my leg chopped by the prop by getting out of the boat and pushing it hard against the wind, jumping in, and pulling the starter cord like hell.

We proceeded on. Then the big wave hit.

It swamped the boat, and sunk us in less than 10 seconds time. In the pitch black darkness, everything began moving away, including the guy, Terry, who I was giving a lift. I commanded Terry to grab a life preserver. (I had wisely kept at least three in the skiff at all times.) He did. Then he began to quickly be swept away. That's when I made that, " UNIVERSE THIS IS MONGO I AM IN THE WATER AND NEED HELP HERE NOW," sound I can make. Like a really freaking loud fog horn sounding with intense demanding authority . Intense. Scary. Iffy?

But it worked, and another live-aboard nearby heard me, jumped out of bed, and immediately reacted. (Incidentally, it was a friend, an older rugged weathered guy named Tony.) He realized it was me, and I shouted to him that "I'm okay," and that "there's another man in the water." Tony gets into his dinghy, cuts it loose, and goes after the other man.

Now here's the part I don't remember. Somehow, I swam my submerged dinghy/skiff (with attached engine) from where I was in the current to Tony's boat. Then I do remember tying it off, and climbing aboard. Later this same day, I barely move it with another man and a powered boat. Like I said, somehow, right?

Aboard Tony's boat I quickly stripped down and watched a bobbing safety light for twenty minutes that was Tony's headlamp as he fought the wind and waves and current to retrieve Terry. It turns out that Terry cannot swim at all. Not only that, here's wearing boots, which he actually kept on. (When Tony got to him, he was in control but terrified. When I saw him he was indeed visibly shaken. Tony said he "looked real paniced." I'll bet.

Nonetheless, after that period of time, I see Tony's lamp headed back in my direction. And in a few tense moments, I see that he has Terry. Tony makes it back, and gets everyone out of wet clothes and into dry towels. Than he makes a bed for Terry and for me, and everyone crashes.

Wow.

Yesterday, I spent retrieving my skiff, and my engine (which at last fell off and sank 20 feet into the ocean). And wow its good to be the luckiest, loudest guy in the room.

M

A Message from KING of Key West

2006-10-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

"Outlook is not bright for amoral trap poacher"

"What with the stone crab season coming on, I was compelled to write about a person I know.

He is a person without conscience. He functions in ordinary society, has a light and friendly manner, but genuinely is without conscience. You see, he plunders the island.

He steals from others' lobster and crab traps. He takes out of season, above limit and beneath size. He imagines these to be victimless crimes, blissfully unaware of the damage it inflicts upon the ethics and morale, as well as the morals (by providing customers with ill-gained hauls), of those around him. Like I said, he is completely without conscience.

He is not so young a man as to behave this way, with complete disregard for the rules, standards and agreements of our island society. He is truly pleased with himself. He is lost.

I guess he is safe from harm — from having a lobster or crab farmer (or two or three) beat him terribly and leave him for dead — because he is clueless. And if the authorities caught him pilfering traps — that is, stealing — or found him with far too many, too-young tails or claws, maybe the company of cellmates would alleviate his misery and complaints from his lacking a girlfriend.

And since it is certainly headed in those directions, I suppose I no longer have to worry about this situation. So, good diving, friend!"

Mike Mongo
KING of Key West

Fantasy Fest 2006

2006-09-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Look at this...
It's up for grabs...
Make an offer...

This beautifully creative piece of furniture is going up for bids with no minimum. All proceeds will go to this year's King and Queen contenders Scott and Sue.

Call in your offer at 305-295-9808 or better yet, come by the Coffee Plantation and take it for a test seat...

Fantasy Fest King and Queen
Every year, from as early as late August, the competition for King and Queen of Fantasy Fest begins. The competition is open to anyone who wishes to be a part of it. The Winners, ultimately the King and Queen of Fantasy Fest, are the ones that raise the most money for AIDS Help, Inc. by 'Buying' the most Votes, or in other words - Finding Sponsors and Venues for their Fund Raising Efforts. Fantasy Fest commences on a Friday night with the Royal Coronation Ball, where the King and Queen of Fantasy Fest are Crowned. Contributions are accepted right up to the last minute when the final tally takes place at the Coronation Ball. The man and woman, or man and man-in-drag, are dubbed 'Royalty' after emerging from a field of entrants whose votes have been bought and sold and bought and sold over again. The King and Queen of Fantasy Fest receive Regal Robes, Crowns, and Scepters, and preside over all official Fantasy Fest Events. In the name of the people served by AIDS Help, we would like to thank all the Kings and Queens of Fantasy Fest for all their efforts and good will.

A KING among us

2006-09-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Graffiti King

From today's Key West Citizen:
KEY WEST — Officers are investigating a design that has gradually begun to adorn many stop signs and other locales throughout Key West, reports state.

The insignia of a heart with wings over a five-point star is usually accompanied by the words "King" or "Love" beneath the design.

According to reports, photos were taken of the back of a stop sign a the intersection of Thomas and Southard streets, and officers will continue to investigate the source.

"WWWND?" - What Would Willie Nelson Do? (Hint: Bob Marley!)

2006-09-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last week in Louisiana, one of our favorites, Willie Nelson was found with - get ready for this - marijuana on his tour bus!

Can you believe it? Discovering pot on Willie Nelson's tour bus? It's like discovering that George Bush has a vested interest in oil prices, or Dick Cheney eats babies. (He does, right?)

Anyhow, now that the 73-year old country-western singer and songwriter has had his pot taken away the country can rest easy. Afterall, it isn't as if there are larger problems for us to worry about or anything.

(Incidentally, Nelson was charged with misdemeanor drug possession and released because the Louisiana jail "was not accepting [inmates] on misdemeanor charges.")

Link.

Art display at Coffee Plantation

2006-09-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

We are having a art showing at the Coffee Plantation.
Janet Mueller of Key West showing some of her great work in our Coffee House.
A must see when visiting our Island.

Janet Mueller

Janet M Mueller moved to Key West, Florida from her hometown, Champaign, Illinois in December, 1993.

She has a B.S. in Marketing, College of Commerce, from the University of Illinois and spent the years from 1977 to 1989 as a graphic designer and writer-producer of TV commercials and print advertisements.

In 1991, Janet decided to become a painter of fine art. Since that time, Janet has had numerous solo exhibits in Champaign, IL, Key West, FL, Lexington, KY, Rome, Italy (2001), and in 2005 at the Key West Museum of Art and History at the Custom House. Her collection "Political Views" was featured at The Tropic Cinema, Key West from November 2005 through January 2006. Janet Mueller has participated in group shows in Miami, FL and New York, NY.
Her paintings, gouache on paper or oil on canvas, are bold and vibrant. Works created in a crude, primitive style with non-toxic acrylic paints and mixed media are thought provoking. The artist's style and technique are self-taught and have developed and changed over the years.

Coffee art competition

2006-09-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

We had some great contenders this year... you be the judge.

Prairie Dog Pup Is In Good Hands!

2006-09-05T13:49:00.001-07:00

A letter to the Editor from a recent issue of the Key West Citizen:

[On a recent] Sunday morning at the corner of Greene and Elizabeth, a lot of people were angry with me. I know they were well intentioned, with their rather heated suggestions to "live and let live."

To all those who were concerned about my capturing the prairie dog pup, who had been living on lettuce, pretzels and potato chips under the store, this is why I did it: We all know about the pitfalls of introducing non-indigenous species to an area, and of our responsibility to protect our habitat. But equally important, that adorable animal is quite tame, not wild. He deserves to be cared for as all other pets should be, not abandoned to live like a side-show under a building on a busy street corner, contending with cars, cats, dogs, and fleas, and eating whatever anyone in the streets wants to feed him. No pet should be treated that way.

I learned from Wildlife Rescue that prairie dogs are highly sociable, and need to be with others of their kind. Because they do not breed in captivity, pups are actually vacuumed out of their burrows in the wild to be sold to pet shops. That's where the problem begins. Taken from their mothers and communities at such a young age, these pups do not learn how to survive in the wild. And in many ways, it doesn't get much wilder than Key West.

Prairie dogs do not thrive on cinnamon buns, car exhaust and salt air. The pup is now in very good hands at Wildlife Rescue. They will not euthanize him, but will give him what he needs to live happily, safely and healthily.

If you are still concerned, I'm sure Wildlife Rescue would be glad to let you know how he's doing. They could probably also use a little of your volunteerism or donations, too!

Teri Gauthier
Key West

We couldn't have said it better. Thanks Teri! Your friends, at the Coffee Plantation.

Ernesto come and gone...

2006-09-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

We knew we where alright when Geraldo showed up, as soon as his 27 man crew where finished applying his make up, the sky's cleared, and the storm turned...

Another Beautiful Day at the Coffee Planation

2006-08-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

Coca Cola's "Grand Theft Auto" video game redux commercial

2006-08-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Some things when done right make the world a better place.

Kudos and thanks to whoever (or whatever team) at Coca-Cola who had the creativity, inspiration, and the right "go-aheads" to produce this engaging and uplifting vision of good-feeling, thirst-quenching genius! ...Availeble Ice cold at the Coffee Plantation...

Treasure Island II

2006-08-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Remember last week when we listed some of the items our regular customers leave in our trusting care (ie forget)?

Well, there's more!

For instance, pictured above is a business sign. Not just any business sign, but a retired business sign, a sign from another time, a sign of our times, a sign that the time has come and gone and come again.

Most of all, it's a sign that one of our most favorite regulars, Captain Rick, needs more storage space. This can be found in our kitchen.

Check out what else you can find on any given day around Coffee P.

Link to Treasure Island.

Citizen of the Day!

2006-08-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Fame at last! It's official, Diane is a citizen! (Next thing you know, she'll be getting her Conch Republic passport!)

Doggy Terrorism?

2006-08-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

Are dogs becoming warlike?

In this video, exclusive proof that dogs are using modern weaponry!

Dog owners, beware! Your pet's next target may be YOU!

Caption Contest

2006-08-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, several young, hung, and full of...beer...bachelors, who were renting the house across from Coffee Plantation for a weekend of fun and frivolity, made their debut here in Key West public, complete with their new "accomplice."

She looks kinda bored, but who knows? The fellows seem really, ah, into her. (BTW, a passing motorcycle police officer stopped soon after this photo was taken - naturally, from the moment we captured above things began to go downhill - to offer some "friendly advice.")

So in honor of these young goats, let us proceed with a captioning contest!

That's right, best caption suggested to go along with the above frolics gets a one of a kind Coffee Plantation t-shirt complete with the above picture and the winning caption. Honorable mentions will receive a free large house coffee.

So how about it faithful coffee disciples, what does this picture say to you?

The winning caption will be picked in a week or two. Stay tuned for updates.

Treasure Island

2006-07-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

In order to better serve our customers, we here at Coffee Plantation have created a subsidiary blog to this our main blog, called Treasure Island. Simply put, it is a blog listing all of belongings our customers bring to and leave with us.

You know how a cat will kill a bird or mouse and then deliver to their owner's doorstep? Imaginably it is like this.

So take a look at all of our new-found booty. And make a list, the garage sale is coming up!

(BTW, above is a "magic sea bean," painted on and left behind by Mike Mongo, King of Key West. And believe us, compared to the rest of the stuff, that ain't nothin!)

Treasure Island blog.

Monkey Time

2006-07-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

"We now interrupt our previously scheduled sponsoring for a message from our program."