Don Sennevile and Jim White
Sitting in the Village Coffee Shop and Creperie felt good this sunny Monday morning. Thanks for opening up Coffee Row shops on Mondays now. We recognized our CUP reader friends enjoying their mocha coffees. This highly coffee-intelligent couple engaged us in a discussion on the difference between a latte and a cappuccino. They even asked about Don’s elevated bacon levels, as referenced in our Bacon Breakfast Burrito articles. Wow, these are our kind of people.
They have even written a letter to The CUP at the Sonoran News regarding coffee. More to follow. Has anyone tried the chocolate milk and espresso – the poor man’s mochaccino? Regarding the difference between a cappuccino and a latte, the Nescafe company says, “A latte is creamier, with espresso and steamed milk mixed together to create a more subtle taste. A cappuccino on the other hand is much stronger with equal parts steamed and foamed milk.”
We have had hundreds of these, and they are always different and most have too much foam. A “latticino” would be a compromise. Don, however, is now extolling the virtues of an iced latte with two sugars. Hopefully, it’s a passing phase.
Meanwhile, we’ve observed a strange thing at the Carefree Post Office. The newsstand where Bob H. stacks his excellent City Sun Times papers was filled with a short stack of Sonoran News papers. It’s not clear what might follow from that observation. We do observe that most Snowbirds are not reading our local papers, as evidenced by the recycling receptacle at the post office. Snowbirds don’t know what they’re missing.
So, as a solution, we feel it’s our civic duty to inform our winter visitors about our local Coffee Row. They will have options as to where to go for coffee – not just the one place they found when they got here. They’ll also need to know some highlights of our towns. First, though, we asked Ella, our favorite barista, about the most ordered coffee drinks by our winter visitors. Sugar-free Vanilla Nonfat Latte or Straight Black Americano. We’re not sure what to say about these orders. For an authentic Cave Creek Experience, we recommend a Straight Black Americano on the back patio behind Cave Creek’s Indian Village. Get a side of Fry Bread with cactus jelly. Tell Bart hello, and he may give you a free refill.
For a more Carefree experience, the Carefree Coffee Roastery at the 4-way stop will keep you “Carefree and Caffeinated”. Or, just grab a to-go cup and sit outside under the Sundial, or go by the Conquistador at the Black Mountain Cafe and Lounge, sit on their patio, and read the Sonoran News while thinking of your friends back home freezing. Tell them you’re drinking iced coffee!
So how do we recognize Snowbirds in order to invite them to Coffee Shop Awareness talks? Look for shorts and legs, even though it’s a freezing 62 degree day. (By the way, If you want to understand the economic impact of Snowbirds on our towns, ask a UPS driver. Their stress level rises as Snowbirds’ needs for packages are added on to the driver’s mellow summertime gig. He has two coffee cups in his truck!) The next Snowbird identifying criterion can be observed by watching how out-of-town cars navigate Carefree’s cartoon-like yellow contraptions at our street crossings.
Many locals have already left their tire marks. Don thinks he’s going to wind up accidentally hitting one. And then there’s the confusion about the roundabouts that aren’t really roundabouts. But Snowbirds tend to be smarter than some of us – meaning us who have been here in 110 degrees since June 1, duh – so we think they’ll figure these things out. We saw a car from Saskatchewan go through the gauntlet this morning with no problem.
Probably headed to the English Rose Tea Room! However, we do want to provide a Coffee Row Study Guide with specific directions to help our Snowbirds ease into their winter visit. Just look in the free book box at the Gila Monster Playground in Carefree. Thank you, Snowbirds for giving us all a fresh perspective on things. Snowbirds are good, and so are a good macchiato and a lemon bar.
Write to us at The CUP at [email protected].
