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1- Having an aesthetically pleasing profile page; & making it easy to navigate!  2- Advertising products with a fun, & enticing picture!  3- Pictures of staff & customers enjoying the product!  Blessings,
TMPC
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 In case you're unfamiliar, our blue door project is our way of supporting the local artists in our community.
Click on the blue door project tab above to learn more. How it started? Cusco, Peru's cafe called: "the meeting place cafe", which we were originally going to be affiliated with also has a blue door. Our blue door project is how we show transparency with the donation we receive. Who can sell products? Creative individuals on staff with YWAM Brisbane. What kind of things can be created & sold? We want people to simply use their own unique creativity to create something that represents their style / personality for others to know who they are without even meeting them face to face. We do this in hopes to build community between the artists and our customers. Why we want to support our community in this way? We want to be able to support local artists, while also creating a creative space for artists to showcase and sell their art, and for community members to discover new art / artists they would like to support. What all this means for our customers? When purchasing a coffee from our cafe, your donation simply goes into our cafe's operating expenses. But, when purchasing something from our blue door project, your donation goes directly to the artist. Why you should support our blue door project? At the meeting place cafe, we pride ourselves in building meaningful relationships with our customers. And, our blue door has proven to be an effective way of making an impact, while building good connections with local artists. So, next time you're at the meeting place, check out our current blue door project creations, and maybe you can even meet one of the artists (they love meeting people that love & support their art). Hope to see you soon! Blessings! TMPC  I hope that before reading this you've received beautiful latte art at least once from a cafe...
But, have you ever actually asked the question: what does art even have to do with coffee? or why does it seem to change the flavour of my coffee, or the atmosphere of a cafe? Well, let us tell you a little bit about what we, at The Meeting Place Cafe, think about the impact of latte art, and how it really does help build community in a cafe. You see, you can usually find a cafe on almost any street corner. And, wherever you go in the world, you will find some type of coffee shop. It might not be your normal "Starbucks", but it will represent that culture very well, and you will learn so much about the people that live there. This can be discovered through the decorations inside, the genre of music playing, the price of the items, the friendliness of the staff, the variety of items on the menu, and the latte art (if any) in your cup. At The Meeting Place Cafe, we know that all of these aspects can affect the atmosphere of a cafe in many different ways. We also understand that building relationships with our customers is not only about seeing them every morning, but it's actually about knowing their regular order. It's not just about wishing them a good day, it's about giving them a favorite coffee shop where they can start their day in a good mood. It's about making people feel at home as soon as they walk inside! And, at the meeting place cafe, we love being able to use our coffee making talents (including latte art) because we know that a good cup of coffee in a nice environment can change the community around us. We love being able to use our latte art, and communication skills to build meaningful relationships with everyone that comes into our cafe. So, why do we believe that latte art makes a difference in a cafe? Well, if you ask us, we'd say that cafes are an amazing ministry opportunity because building relationships with people really is an art. And, latte art is a great conversation starter to showing people we care about the taste and aesthetic of their coffee experience, just as much as the mood we can bring to their day through a simple cup of coffee. At the meeting place cafe, we pride ourselves in building meaningful relationships with our customers. And, latte art has proven to be an effective way of making an impact in someone's day! So, next time you're at the meeting place, or any other cafe, and you look in your cup at the beautiful art; don't forget to compliment your barista. Also, because they will most likely compliment you back (who doesn't love beautiful, delicious coffee, and lovely compliments in the morning). That's what the meeting place cafe is all about! Hope to see you soon! Blessing, & happy new year! TMPC  Last, but definitely not least! Our current manager of the cafe for 4 years now; Michelle. We asked her the following questions:
1. Have you always liked coffee? Why? I was around 18 - 20 years old when I started to really enjoy coffee; I have never not enjoyed it. However, my preference used to be tea because all I had to drink was instant coffee; I think my transition into a love of coffee started around 12 years ago when I stopped drinking instant coffee altogether. I love the flavours, and the warmth it brings. Someone once said that coffee in the morning is like a warm hug in a drink, and I agree. 2. What's your favorite thing about coffee / cafe culture? Community & friendships. It's where life and relationships happen. I have always loved coffee / cafe culture; building friendships, asking questions, and getting to know people feels so much more natural over a cup of coffee. 3. What's a fun fact about you? I coached high school field & indoor hockey for 4 years. 4. What's your favorite season? I love winter; I love the cold (even though I come from a warm climate, I love the winter feels). It also means more hot drinks and more coffee. 5. What's a crazy story that not many people know? A number of years ago, I was in Mozambique, and ended up with tick bite fever. One evening, while I was sleeping, with the window open, I woke up to the feeling of something moving (gently jumping) down my arm and leg. I was too afraid to turn my torch on to see what creature it could be, but I was also unsure if it was actually happening, or if I was hallucinating the feeling, as I had a high fever. Eventually, after a while of feeling no more movement,I got up to use the bathroom, and found a small bat hanging off the end of my bed. I was not impressed! Michelle is such a significant person for the meeting place cafe. She has such a heart to see our community grow and become stronger than ever. We hope you have a beautiful & productive week! We look forward to seeing you when you come in to The Meeting Place Cafe to try our new summer specials, and chat with one of our wonderful staff! Be sure to follow our blog for more staff and coffee updates! Blessings & Merry Christmas, TMPC  Happy Thursday! We hope you've been enjoying the staff spotlights so far. We love creating community and relationships with our customers, so don't hesitate to ask for your barista or servers' name when you enter our cafe. Our next staff spotlight is Emma! We asked her the following questions: Q. Why do you make coffee? A. I love the environment of Cafes and how people connect over a cup of coffee, either strangers or friends. Q. What is your go to order right now? A. Cowboy on Lactose Free Milk Q. What do you want to do with coffee in the future? A. I would love to work with coffee farming and adding to the sustainability of it. Q. A fun fact about yourself. A. I once participated in a 5 km walk across one of the Great Lakes in North America on a night where the temperature was -50C. Q. Tell us a crazy story (perhaps from an overseas trip?). A. Earlier this year, I was on an overseas outreach in Malaysia. It should also be noted that I'm a bit of a clumsy person, so my team and I were preparing to go out for dinner, which required using my phone to book 2 cabs to take us to the food court. We had also realized that a water bottle had been left in a cab taken earlier that day, so we called him and asked if he could bring it back. All three of these cabs arrived at our house at the same time. And, I was trying to do something with the house key, so I ended up dropping it in the storm drain that's about a meter deep, and mostly covered in cement. But, we decided to leave it and come back and get it later (because all of the cabs were already at our house). As we were eating, it started to rain, so we ate as fast as we could, thinking a normal Malaysian rain could wash our key away. We saved our gum and straws, and headed home, with the mindset of making a long stick. While trying to retrieved the key, we realized that there was little hope for "reaching" it. I then noticed an opening in the drain on the other side of the neighbors' driveway. So, I army crawled the 3, or so, metres to retrieve it, only to realize that the other half of our team who were at the grocery store had the spare key to the gate. Emma plays such a wonderful role in our cafe. She is so kind, and loves getting to know new people that enter our cafe. We hope you have a beautiful & restful weekend, and we look forward to seeing you when you come into The Meeting Place Cafe! Be sure to follow our blog for more staff and coffee updates, and come check out our new summer specials & chat with one of our wonderful staff! Blessings,
TMPC  Hello dear readers! If you regularly read this blog you would know that we have been doing a little spotlight on each of our staff members for the past few weeks. The purpose of this is for you, our customers, to feel more familiar with the people who are making and serving you your coffee! This week we asked Miriam to answer a few questions, so let's get right into it!
Q. Why do you make coffee? A. I make coffee because I love the community that it creates. There’s just something about standing behind the counter taking or making a coffee order that makes asking questions and getting to know new people so fun! Q. What is your go-to order right now? A. A flat white with hazelnut on oat milk! Q. What do you want to do with coffee in the future? A. I want to continue to use coffee to build an atmosphere of community and belonging. I think everyone deserves a place to call home and a group to call family, so I want to create a space where people can find that! Q. What country do you really want to visit and why? A. I really want to visit Greece and Malta because they are so beautiful and have a lot of history attached to them! Q. How many siblings do you have and what was your favorite part about growing up with them? A. I have 6 siblings- one brother (he is the oldest) and 5 older sisters. My favorite part of growing up with them was the holidays. We had some fun traditions and lots of food! Fun fact: the only vehicle large enough to fit us was a 12 passenger GMC white van that we would pile into in birth order! We love having Miriam as a part of our team, she is incredibly skilled in making coffee and is such a joy to be around! We hope you have a beautiful and restful weekend and we look forward to seeing you when you come into The Meeting Place Cafe! Be sure to tell us that you follow our blog! Blessings, TMPC  Good Afternoon! For this weeks blog post, we would like to continue our staff spotlight! Joanna has been with us for about three months and is also one of our baristas! Here are some questions we asked her!
Q. Why do you make coffee? A. I love the atmosphere it creates. Coffee has a great way of bringing people together and creating a chill environment where people feel comfortable. Q. How many languages do you speak? A. Three and a half. English, French, Spanish, and learning Portuguese. Q. What is your go-to order right now? A. Cappuccino with hazelnut syrup Q. What do you want to do with coffee in the future? A. I want to open a cafe- hostel that will help broken and abused people get back on their feet, while also giving travelers and community members a safe place to relax and build friendships. Q. What is your favorite food? A. Sushi! Our hope in continuing to share more about our staff team is that you, our customer, will feel more connected to the people who are making and serving you your coffee! Our cafe exists not only to serve you drinks, but also to build relationships with you! Enjoy your weekend and stay safe! Blessings, TMPC  Hello and happy Friday to all of you who are reading this! As you may or may not know, last week we posted a little spotlight on one of our baristas, asking some questions to help you, our customers, get to know the people who are making and serving your coffee! This week we would like to continue with this little series! Ana has been on staff with us for almost nine months and here are some questions we asked her!
Q. Why do you make coffee? A. Because coffee brings people together. There is nothing quite like the feeling of sitting around a table or sitting around the house with people you love and enjoying a good cup of coffee. Coffee is also soothing and comforting when the day seems hard and when there seems to be nothing exciting happening, a coffee break makes everything so much better. Q. How many countries have you been to? A. 17 Q. What is your go to order right now? A. Cappuccino with one pump of vanilla Q. What do you want to do with coffee in the future? A. I want to open a coffee shop along with a bed and breakfast and be able to use it as a ministry to bless the local community but also to provide jobs and a better life for people who are in difficult situations. Q. What is your favorite thing about cafe culture? A. When groups of friends gather and laugh and have a good time over coffee and pastries We look forward to meeting you, don't forget to mention that you have seen our blog when you come in! Blessings, TMPC  Do you want to know a little bit more about the people who are making your coffee here at The Meeting Place Cafe? Well, you're in luck because we are doing a staff spotlight this week on one of our baristas!! Maddie Mae is one of our newest baristas, she joined our team in September of this year! Here are some of the questions we asked her:
Q. Why do you make coffee? A. "It's very exciting to me! The more I learn, the more it intrigues me, and there's so much more to coffee than you would expect there to be." Q. Have you always liked coffee? A. "No. I started to really like coffee at the beginning of this year." Q. What is your favorite drink? A. "Iced caramel latte." Q. What do you want to do with coffee in the future? A. "I want to open my own cafe and have it be a beautiful community where people come to hang out and meet people, but also just enjoy each other and good coffee!" Q. What is your favourite thing about cafe culture? A. "Meeting new people." We look forward to sharing more about our other staff members and we hope that you enjoyed learning a little bit about Maddie! Our staff team is very friendly and loves meeting new people, so please feel welcome to come and hang out with us over a good cup of coffee! Blessings, TMPC Dear readers, this week we would like talk a little bit about coffee roasting! As some of you know, the coffee cherry is picked and then roasted before it actually makes it to the bags of coffee that you purchase from the shops. Coffee beans can be roasted in different ways such as light, medium, and dark, and the flavour of your coffee largely depends on the roasting process. “it is for the home brewer, perhaps the most important stage of the entire chain of events that takes us from farm to cup” “roasting the coffee beans.. this keenly observed and succinct process that gracefully traverses the line between science and art..” As you may be thinking, this is a very complex process that requires skill and diligence. After the coffee is picked from the farm, the roasters will buy it. Many roasters, but not all, will take into consideration the sustainability and ethics of the farm. Roasting coffee requires much skill and can very easily be messed up, this is why the roaster needs to be someone who possesses a great deal of skill. “..a bad roaster or an average roaster… can very easily corrupt even the finest specialty beans” The method of roasting a bean can change and manipulate the flavor dramatically which is why roasters will go through years of roasting and experimenting and trying different methods and styles until they come up with something that they like! “…the growing realization that coffee is enormously complex has only really cemented a feeling of acceptance as to how powerless we are to truly affect and select its attributes on a molecular scale.” Coffee roasting can take anywhere from 7-20 minutes generally speaking, and the main idea is to generate a flavor through applying heat to the beans. The water contained in the beans will slowly start to evaporate, this is the drying process. Then the beans will become so dry that they go through a stage called first crack. Think of a snail that has become too large for its shell that it pops off! The coffee can actually be consumed at this point but depending on the roast style, the process can be continued and roasted more. The longer you leave the coffee in the roaster, the more nutty, charred, and smokey the flavor becomes. The darker roasts are often used for espresso. There is so much more to this process, but hopefully this was a helpful intro into the coffee roasting process. We hope that you feel inspired to do more research and to learn a little bit more about all that goes in to the process of having a delicious cup of coffee! Have a blessed weekend! TMPC information sourced from The Curious Barista's Guide to Coffee by Tristan Stephenson. Published in 2019 by Cindy Richards.  |
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