Plowshare Coffee House

May and June in the Construction Zone

2009-07-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

We've been in the zone! The Construction zone, that is. While we've been digging trenches, dealing with major plumbing repairs, busting concrete and plaster, and pouring cement on the inside, our fine city has been doing the same on the main downtown street outside.

We've gotten to meet our new "neighbors." All the business owners surrounding our shop. They have been so encouraging! Thanks!

Our kids have been amazing. On concrete day, the truck showed up an hour early, before all our helpers. All three kiddos jumped in....one shoveling, one screeing, and the other moving empty wheelbarrows into place! We were all very thankful when Tom and Rod showed! Thanks!

We have a Building!

2009-05-23T08:20:00.001-07:00

Right in the heart of Downtown Redmond! 436 SW 6th st! This building used to be a Sears catalog store, a bakery, an office supply store, and a kid's resale shop. Now we're giving it a good dose of Mandy-ness, along with Pat's practical-ness. Last week we just enjoyed having passed that HUGE hurdle of finding an awesome location by roller-blading on the soon-to-be ripped out tile floor, and having a big potluck. This weekend the tiles begin coming out, and a big chunk of the floor gets ripped out for new pipes! Stay tuned!

Making Progress

2009-04-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

To all of you who anxiously awaiting Redmond's finest coffeehouse: THANKS!!!

It is so encouraging, every day, to be asked about the progress. People other than ourselves are as excited by this as we are. But, it makes me realize that I need to keep you all updated better. Soo.......

In the last 3 1/2 months we have:

roasted over 50lbs of coffee (maybe not much by you large roaster companies, but when you're talking 50lbs cup by cup in a popcorn popper....we're doing pretty good!)
used 6 popcorn poppers
replaced 2 popcorn poppers
put in 2 lease offers
interviewed 6 contractors
cupped 6 different coffees
been amazed at God's "minor purchasing miracles" for objects d'art for the coffee house
relied heavily on our amazing Realtor
pulled into a drive-in coffee kiosk to "check out the competition", and heard 3 little voices from the back seat yell out "I want a hazelnut latte." Aren't they too young for that?
attended meetings with a CPA and attorney
Set up a paypal account & shipped our coffee over 150 miles away. (If this would be helpful to you, email us at pat@plowsharecoffee.com and we'll get your coffee to you ASAP!)

There's more, but this is getting to be a long blog. There are still a lot of hoops to jump through, papers to sign and construction-y things to happen. For those of you that pray, keep us covered...life has been stressful, but good lately.

New Coffees

2009-02-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Hey Coffee Friends,

This week we have been testing some new coffees that we recently received. We got some more of the Guatemala Oriente DP that has been so popular this month, and we still have some of our Organic Ethiopian, which has a fruitiness that is similar to the Guatemalan, though more subtle. We may not get any more from this particular crop of the Ethiopian, so if you would like to try it, now is your chance.

Here is a rundown of our new offerings:

Java Kajumas Organic Taman Dadar: A full bodied coffee with a flavor that one of our friends described as "woody." If you like your coffee to have a certain heaviness, this would be a good one to try. Our importer said that this is the first certified organic coffee they have seen from the island of Java.

Brazil Daterra Farms Yellow Bourbon: This is a very pleasant coffee, smooth and mellow with a hint of nuts.

Colombia Los Pijaos de Tolima: Colombian coffee tends to give you a straightforward, traditional cup. Colombian began actively marketing its coffee to the rest of the world half a century ago, so this is what we have all come to think of as a "cuppa joe." If you want something comfortable and familiar to start your day and don't want to be distracted with exotic flavors, this may be the coffee for you.

Check out our blog: www.plowsharecoffee.blogspot.com and subscribe to it to get all the latest news about our coffee offerings and coffee house progress.

Email or call to order your favorite coffee. 1/2 lb bags for $5.

Pat & Mandy Schmidt
www.plowsharecoffee.com
www.plowsharecoffee.blogspot.com
pat@plowsharecoffee.com
541.905.9927

Coffee Tasting

2009-02-20T10:01:00.001-08:00

We got a new shipment of coffee this week. One of the fun parts of our job is tasting all the new roasts before we put them out for all of you. It's crazy trying to put words to a taste...is it woody, grassy, earthy? How do you describe that taste?A friend joined us yesterday for this. As a non-dedicated coffee drinker, she had a new perspective on tastes and words. Very helpful. Check back soon for the new coffee posting.

Plowshare Coffee Available for Purchase!

2009-01-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Inauguration Day, coffee friends!

We've got some wonderful new coffee's in this week. All of these are "direct trade" coffees, meaning that our importer has a direct relationship with the coffee farmers. This relationship means a better coffee for you, at a fair income for our coffee growers, often even better than a certified fair trade rate. Here's our selection:

Water processed Rwanda Bourbon Decaf: You've asked for a decaf....here it is! I've never met a decaf I liked, but this one did the trick! Full bodied, and processed without harsh chemicals, like many decafs.
Guatemala Oriente: Yes, we carried this last time....But this coffee is good! I know this sounds coffee geekish, but I seriously taste blueberries in this cup. A great morning or dessert coffee. Sweet!
Colombia Huila Concurso San Pedro: Superb body, with a darker flavor.
Organic Ethiopian "Black Sun": From a co-operative of 300 small farms, this coffee is a medium to bold in intensity!

Good stuff, it's hard to choose! Let us know what you'd like to order, we'll deliver the next day. $5 for a half pound. Email or call.

Pat Schmidt
pat@plowsharecoffee.com
541.905.9927
roaster/plowshare coffee

Our first Public Appearance!

2009-01-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

Our soon-to-be Plowshare coffeehouse is partnering with two local churches to show the movie: Lord Save Us From Your Followers. This documentary explores the collision between faith and culture in America.

Come have a yummy latte and join the conversation!

Sunday, January 18th
5:30pm
at The Bridge
2398 West Antler Avenue
Redmond, Oregon

So....what happened to that coffee house?

2008-12-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

(This was originally posted in November 08 on www.creatinggoodsoil.blogspot.com
I'm sure you don't want to hear all the excuses...computer problems, school started, an experiment in community living, etc. We're still working towards the coffeehouse dream.
The last few months has been remarkably similar to the gardening process. Right now we are in the winter months of garden planning. We've been thumbing through the catalog pages of everything the coffeehouse could be: for profit, non-profit, small, large, a music venue, a meal-for-the- homeless site during off hours, downtown, ministry, etc.
We've sticky noted ideas we like. We have named the coffee house: Plowshare Coffee House (in reference to Micah chapter 4.) We have been roasting coffee in very small quantities from home. We practice our latte art. (This photo is one of my first pours!)
We've drawn up some plans in colored pencil. We are in the process of discovering how viable our hope of being a non-profit might be. Next week we'll be attending a meeting that might clarify some of that.
Soon, we'll need to put away the catalogs, sticky notes, and colored pencils, and actually commit to placing our order. So...pray for us as we get closer to that next season.

It starts with a dream!

2008-07-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

(Note: This was originally posted on www.creatinggoodsoil.blogspot.com in July 2008.)

Back in our college days, there was little (single car garage size when it started) coffee house just off campus. A great many of our getting-to-know-you conversations took place there. With a rasberry mocha in hand, I could tackle homework, deep philosophical conversations, and even throw in some quiet book reading, journal writing, music listening and dreaming.

Ever since, we've had this dream to provide a place like that for our local community. Really good coffee, a safe place for conversation, a venue for community to flourish. We see it as a way to combine our way to make a living with our desire to serve people. We're excited about the possibilities of not only reaching out to our local community, but also supporting our global neighbors. We will be making every effort to roast, sell, and serve only fair trade or direct relationship with farmer coffees.

We've been amazed at the way God has started to move us this way. Through many "minor" miracles, our garage is now filled with almost everything we need to start our coffee roastery/house, including a Probat L12 roaster. We're just waiting for a myriad of other details to fall in place. For example, what do we name this business?

That's where you come in, friends! Give us your leading by voting in our poll. (If I could do this in the good ol' Quaker way of consensus, I would. It's hard to "sense the Spirit" via the internet.)

(Note:The poll mentioned had folks choosing between these names; Red Cup Coffee, Plowshare Coffee, Cup of Peace, and Peaceful Beans. These are listed in order of the most favored to the least favored. Obviously we didn't go with the most popular!)