Goodbye Blue Monday review ****

Today I have the privilege to come home to Goodbye Blue Monday coffee and tea. I grew up in Northfield, but Blue Monday didn’t become my home until I went away to college and needed the place of refuge and good coffee. There is a difference today though. In keeping with my recent tradition of reviewing coffee shops as I travel, I come into Blue Monday looking not to simply feed my need for the comfortable and familiar. Today I wish to experience Blue Monday for what it has to offer.

For the first time I sampled Monday’s bright and yet full bodied espresso in all its naked splendor, before following it up with my favorite Americano. The espresso is very palatable, not as deep and rumbly as I long for, but it finishes well, very clean. The staff at the Blue Monday is tight lipped about the intimate fifteen-year relationship they have with their unnamed roaster.

It is the décor that to me represents the quintessential bohemian coffee culture. It has developed an eclectic mix of industrial, with galvanized steel on the walls and ceilings contrasted against smooth darkly stained wood. The walls sport collegiate pop art, while the lamps bring an oriental flair with hand made shades. The furniture channels fifties mod and is very comfortable.

The menu is straightforward: coffee done right, smooth espresso, a huge selection of exceptional loose-leaf teas. There is no need for latte art or signature drinks to attract people, just the excellence of the bean.

Formating love

Another year older

I have felt lately like I am reverting. When I was in high school and first couple years in college, I didn't do much about homework nor cared much about grades. I thought if I was learning that was all that was important (of course even that didn't happen in Functions Statistics and Trig).

About half way through my Junior year in college I dropped out for a while to pursue ministry full time, thinking I could get the much coveted degree more quickly through correspondence. I went back to school with a new perspective after getting married, and did some excellent work and loved it! The new wife had to make me some cookies to motivate me to get a paper done once in a while.

The last couple classes I have been getting poorer grades, I figure because I have a propensity to challenge rules like, "If I don't post on Wed, will it really be so bad?" At any rate I have begun to accept that identity again of an underachiever. I feel half alive. This week I have found one life line in praying the hours with a new podcast. (On top of praying they are giving away a four volume set of the liturgy of the hours for promoting it, so I have been excitedly doing that... that's perhaps all I have been excitedly doing.) So, I figure one of two things will get me out of my funk. 1.) calculating my grades and becoming convinced that the damage wont be so bad, or 2.) Elaine promising me some cookie loving.

I pray in the words of Switchfoot

I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to know that my heart's still beating
It's beating,
I'm bleeding
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to live like I know what I'm leaving
I want to know that my heart's still beating
It's beating... it's beating...
I'm bleeding

Nothing but laziness

I had a dream last night that we were moving (that in itself is a recurring nightmare), and there was so much left to load and pack and the bus and trailer was already full. I wasn't really participating in the action of my dream anymore, I was overwhelmed, unmotivated and lethargic. That is just how I feel today. I noted last night my lack of drive to do my homework. I seem to be acting more like I did my first years in college or in high school when I didn't care if I did any homework. Alas could I really revert to that?

I feel like I am falling behind and hope is lost for a good performance. Perhaps I need a break.

Praying together by ipod

I am quite taken with the latest tool I’ve found in my quest for spiritual discipline. The podcast from divineoffice.org offers wonderful readings of the hours. I adore their use of music throughout the podcast both incidentally under some of the prayers as well as at the time of the hymn. A bell chimes at the beginning and end calling the soul to prayer. I was reminded sweetly of praying with monks when on retreat. They pray with feeling and expression as I pray when alone. The form of prayer in community usually lacks such expression for sake of unity. Indeed the different voices praying together sounded hokey when I first listened, but when I joined them in prayer with my own voice, I joined the community of faith everywhere. It was as if that handful of praying voices was suddenly intimate to me. Then there was the silence. I was not rushed through, there were times of savoring the presence of God in our prayers together – times I do not often enough afford myself when praying alone. Having this podcast readily available on my computer and ipod will remove one more hindrance to praying the hours I find so dulcet.

Click here to subscribe to the divine office podcast

Bjava Coffee and Tea

In an unassuming corner of an Indianapolis strip mall, across the parking lot from a Starbucks, Bjava Coffee and Tea makes its home. Its greatness does not rest in chic environs or bohemian atmosphere, but in the passionate quality of its drinks.

I came away from my time spent with owner B. J. Davis and Indy.com’s top barista, Andy Gillman with a new respect for the signature drink. Their traditional cappuccinos start with a double shot of espresso (roasted by PT’s coffee company). The shot has a smooth body with ample deep rust colored crema and the brightness of sunshine on my tongue. Add to that a balanced velvety microfoam of milk to fill a 6oz cup. The real magic lies in the flavors of these culinary masterpieces. I was so taken by the selection of signature traditional cappuccinos, that I had to try two.

The Honey Lavender Cappuccino:
This is Andy Gillman’s signature drink. “I made a syrup from lavender buds,” he said, “and added a dash of honey that comes from [local farm], JTs bees. The honey is terrific, packed with floral flavors that build on the lavender and draw it across the tongue.” This drink blew me away. Now, I am not much for flavored coffee drinks, but this drink opened my eyes to new horizons. It lacked the overt sweetness of a drink made with flavor syrups. It was more of an epicurean creation, the antithesis of a froofy dessert coffee streamlined for mass consumption.

The Shagadellic Shooter:
This cappuccino takes its root from the heart of Indiana lore. There is a 200-year-old local recipe for Shagbark Hickory Syrup that is made at a local cottage business. This uniquely local flavor is paired exquisitely with cardamom, which is freshly cracked onto the foam.

The true genius of Bjava is in the creative efforts of B. J. Davis and her staff. It is the kind of shop that deserves its loyal customers and the buzz of the Indianapolis cognoscenti.