tamp that

Fukuoka's cafes are abundant yet lacking. The only ones using specialty coffee are those who buy from Honey Coffee, so going out for "new" tastes creates some challenges. Yesterday's holiday gave me an opportunity to try two cafes: Manu II and Dalahast. Manu creates their own blends while Dalahast buys commercial coffee, yet sometimes the owner will come to Honey to buy coffee for himself.

The second Manu cafe is much like the first with old wooden furniture and bar. Smoking is allowed in the tiny space, which, despite my loathing for smokey clothes, actually made it seem like the "genuine coffee house feel" that exists deep within my imagination. I met the younger sister of one of the competing Manu baristas from Tokyo. Sister baristas! Score! (Did I mention my little sister got a job at Starbucks?) Manu II is a Honey customer, but they make their own blends for espresso. The baristas seem pretty smart and often come by Honey for coffee talk and cuppings. I had an espresso and a french press of the same coffee blend. The blend is a work in progress, but I was impressed with what they'd accomplished so far.

We went to Dalahast next. Izaki said the coffee isnt' very good, but they have very nice furniture. He was right! I must say it was pretty weird being in a Scandanavian themed cafe in Japan. They have a little boutique in the front of the cafe with an assortment of antique and modern goods from that part of the world.. including the beloved cafesolo! We had an espresso and an iced ginger peach tea. Unfortunately it's freakin cold here, so the iced tea may have been better in the summertime..

Yasuhide and I are watching a soccer game on tv right now... Thailand and Japan. Japan is about to win it. Its at a stadium near Tokyo and the snow is HEAVY. I'm a little wary of my travels out there next week. Its going to be cold, and unlike my entire trip thus far, I will not be constantly in artificial environments. Hello, sweaters I forgot to bring. Even the cats out here wear sweaters. I'm not kidding. I feel left out of the sweater club.



In other news, I was interviewed today on a radio station called LOVE FM for their segment called "Around the world." The interviewer was an american from San Fran that had come by the shop earlier in my stay here. He asked me about my past in college radio, how my homestay was going, and what I was doing at Honey. The interview will air sometime in March. Jake, the DJ, said he could send me a copy of it as Japanese radio-streaming is illegal. Pretty cool being on that side of the microphone. When I mentioned I missed being on the air, he said they needed an american female host. wow. how awesome would that be? Except that id be dropping everything ive worked for the past two years. Maybe in another life.

signing off.