Nov 12, 2013

Denver

It has been a while! I've been struggling a bit trying to update my blog more regularly. I can't tell you how many times I've started to put together the post and arrange the photos in Photoshop, only to scrap it and decide it wasn't "blogworthy" enough. But where's the fun in that? I have all these iPhone photos from Denver that I've decided should see the light of day. Back in September, I found myself with a hot second to spare in Denver. I had no idea what to expect, and was completely wowed by the coffee scene and how cool of a city it felt in the short bit of time I had.

My only real plans were to meet the lovely team behind Artifact Uprising for a casual lunch. Their office is an a collaborative space near downtown Denver. We chatted about their future plans and I got to see many of the beautifully printed products in person. They introduced J and me to Ninety Plus Coffee, one of their neighbors in the space. We had an impromptu coffee tasting and got schooled in the art of coffee farming by Steve Holt (yes that is his real name), the VP and Brand Strategist. It was a fascinating discussion, and one of the coolest facts I learned was that Taiwan and South Korea are actually the big buyers of some extremely precious and expensive beans (we're talking like $100/lb beans pre-roasted).




After we successfully caffeinated, we headed downtown to check out some shops. We hit up Ironwood (a neat home goods shop) and Sweet Action Ice Cream, where I had the best ice cream I can remember having. It was a creamy Salted Butterscotch with just the right amount of salty balance, and J and I fought over every bite.



Oh yeah, and then we caffeinated some more. Surprise surprise. At Novo this time, where we had two cortados with different single origin beans for comparison's sake. In NYC, you would be hard pressed to find a cafe that used single origin beans in your espresso+milk drink. I've seen a few places that do pull single origin shots, but almost never for your cortado. These were indeed dramatically different from your usual cortado in flavor profile.



Meanwhile, as I'm posting my adventures on Instagram, I get a few tips to check out Steadbrook, a men's clothing store with a coffee shop inside. At this point, I've hit my caffeine limit, but we decide to head over anyway to see what the buzz is about, especially as the owner himself has commented beckoning us in (really got to love Instagram when I'm traveling for things like this).



The shop/cafe is impeccably designed. Minimal with great wood surfaces, as well as stunning afternoon light. And that box! (It has its own hashtag natch.)

I couldn't have asked for a better few hours spent in Denver. I'm looking forward to going back someday and actually being able to spread out my coffee consumption. :)

27 comments :

  1. Ooh Colorado has always been on my wishlist. What a wonderful few hours. Adding these places to the list! And you know I get your struggle with getting a post together sometimes. I'm glad you shared these phone snaps, they're gorgeous. Look at you on a skateboard!

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  2. Haha, gosh, what a fun little adventure...

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  3. Even you iPhone shots are hella good. It's crazy to think it was a 3 hr trip. Not sure how I would deal with the pressure to perform, but when you got-you got it!. =)

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  4. Dang you have steady hands. Your photos are so sharp! A lot done within 3 hrs *thumbs up*

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  5. Now if I could only take iPhone shots as good as yours! Love your photos, Alice. New reader and fan here! :)

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  6. iPhone. Really? Wow, I would not have known.

    What great photos and what a great adventure you had :)

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  7. i feel the same way about my site too, lately. It's so hard to get it going and then scrap a whole post. And nice job with those iphone shots - i definitely couldn't tell they were all iphone.

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  8. your iPhone photos make awesome posts - love these :)

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  9. Everything looks pretty darn awesome!!

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  10. Your photos will never be unblogworthy!

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  11. Beautiful! Don't scrap posts; I want to see them all :)

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  12. now i want an icecream :)

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  13. Just fantastic! That coffee shop looks like a dream!

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  14. Wow you took these photos with your iPhone! Love them. http://hello-zara.blogspot.com.au/

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  15. Hi Alice,

    Love your work as always. My name is James and I'm organizing a photography retreat in the South of France. Maybe one year we can collaborate and you could be the featured photographer for the retreat! Cheers!

    James www.provencephotography.com

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    1. yes you should go on this trip. maybe you can find some more liquids in crate and barrel bowls to photograph. or, maybe some coffee froth designs in shapes of leaf hearts, or calendar cards of le chat noir. keep it coming rah rah rah.

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  16. Hi Alice! May I know what app did you use to edit all of these iPhone shots? They're so pretty!

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  17. I was in Bath at a concept store and I got talking to the owners. Turns out they follow you on Instagram. Small world. One of these days, you'll have to show us more of your apartment. Looks incredibly spacious.

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  19. hehe this is my home. next time you're here let me know and i'll show you around <3

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