Adventures in Building Rasa-Caffe ( Part -3)

Here are some picture of the storefront that i have been wanting to share.

You will find some before and after pictures with some other interesting photos!

Thank you and enjoy!

This is a picture of the Rasa Caffe storefront before we got started.

This is an  in-between picture of the work

after

After picture! I probably should take the tape off!

Wall before

David of the fire house art collective priming a wall!

in-between

After!

                                                  A  Picture of the pillar and wall.

                           A picture of Tom while working and showing me the progress of                                                                              cleaning , fixing the walls, and priming the place!

                                          Siouxsie taking on part of the project of sanding the pillar.

                                                 After. The wooden pillar came out nicely

                             This is a picture of the floor that we were looking to fix with some Elmer's glue sealant                        and paint . It turns out that this old floor could be a safety hazard if not properly fixed. So it looks like we will get a brand new floor as tenant improvement!

                            This is a photo of my fractured finger. I was belt sanding the pillar and it caught my finger pulling off the nail as well. I am very thankful that David ( of the firehouse) was onsite and drove me to the hospital emergency room. It was quite traumatic and I am glad I still have the digit!

What is Sicily looking for? Actually it's a cool tile store in Berkeley that has a great free tile section!

This is a picture of the coffee cart that is being built for Rasa caffe in our work shop.

We are excited to start fully using it!

Photo of Dash looking for a "pick me up" in the refrigerator.

This is a wide shot of  our work shop a lot is in progress there.

A simple photo of the Rasa Caffe sticker and business cards 

                                              A great photo of espresso art for Rasa Caffe
                                                                       Thanks Sicily!

Adventures in Building Rasa-Caffe ( Part -2

This is a picture of me talking to the Berkeley Zoning department guy 

     about the proper permits for the space that Rasa-Caffe will occupy.

                     For every question I asked, he asked two questions in return. This dude could speed type and look up at me same time! I then realized he may be on edge because of my friend boldly taking pictures!

I asked her later why she couldn't pretend to check messages on her phone and snap shots?

Her reply was "You wanted pictures Right"?!

After dealing with  the zoning depart, we went up to the second floor the Building Department.

It took a while to find the exact section of blue print which displayed the store front due to the technical print. When I finally did  find the our square footage space I just paused " like wow"! "that's the spot"! " My dream its coming true"!

Of-course later we took some blue print (espionage!) shots before we left!

 This is series of picture that show the spice set up of a local Berkeley Indian store called Millan. This store carries spices for our chai in bulk and is one of the main reason I like to go there! I usually pick and choose what I need depending on the freshness and what i am making.  I also like to joke with guys who work there. the other day I asked "You guys don't have cashews in bulk"? The main store attendant said "Its here,.. $6.99 ( for 8oz ). I then said " What about a deal'? He says " How many pounds you want"? " I give you special price"! I told him that I only needed a handful of cashews for some upma ( indian spiced breakfast dish) and he offered me the $6.99 bag for $5.99( good deal). I still didn't buy the cashews(LOL)...

                                             This is the other side of the bulk spice display

This is a picture of some organic ginger for Chai  from the Berkeley bowl. It was quality fresh  ginger with fine density and pale yellow color. The flavor is of clean root with the pungent expectation and the taste of peppery heat.

              AH.... fresh lemongrass. It has a great sweet citrus like character and adds great texture to Chai                                                            

The hands of time! I believe Also in supporting other local spice shops such as Oak town spices 

( right around lake merrit )  I really like that they source quality spice and hold them in small batches. 

These guys carry a Vietnamese cinnamon that is spicy hot sweet and fresh ( kinda like a red hot candy). I also like there coriander which has a earthy lemon citrus aroma. lastly, there star anise is very dynamic rich sweet earthy aroma.

               Here is a picture of Chai  served in a small glass the same as on the streets and villages in                      India. I remember drinking it in small town called Ganeshpuri which is an 1 ½                                              Outside of Mumbai ( Bombay). From my resting spot, I would walk with my friends to the old mans chai shop. We would  say " Tin (three) chai please"! He would Smile at us and turn on hi s stove top. The chai man would always like us kids to gather round his brew pot and closely watch his  preparation method. As the  buffalo milk boiled up, we would inhale the of sweet cream and  spice! The chai was excellent and I      believe the experience may have  made it that much better!

                                A special thanks for this picture ! Actually my  logo would not print for them however,                                                           they did a great job improvising.
                                  Smile! Left to right: Susie Cobb, Chloe Dechelle, and Nat Quraishi.

Thank you 

Sincerely,

Adventures in Building Rasa-Caffe ( Part -1

A Few Days ago me and a friend went out to look  at some fantastic items and essentials that will help shape Rasa- Caffe. We started out by going to a local outdoor furniture store to look at some cool tables and reclaimed wood.  I mainly took a liking to the small round table with the birdhouse sitting on it. 

Doors anyone? I am thinking of putting a new front door on the Caffe.  When we found the door section in urban ore and walked down this isle, I realized it would take a lot of focus to sift through this lot and pull out a gem! Can you Believe there's two more rows of doors like this one!

What a beautiful mantle piece! walking around the ore i came across this spectacle. This would look lovely in the caffe.  On the other hand, its about as big as the cafe and I get the feeling it may not be in the budget!

This bunch of reusable marble in the large back lot of the ore. I am sure i can use some for something..Any ideas?

Next for a pick me up, we stopped at local coffee bar for a strong Honduran Joe pour over. After which, We went outside to the storefront to soak in the warm bay area sun and have jovial conversations with new made friends. I also took few shots of their cool parklet for my idea board. Store front seating outside our shop is important part of our social community! While we are in the process of working on our own design for an outside chill spot, parklets are the way to go! ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parklet )

       

Dude It came in the mail!  the other day I finally got some new coffee Gear that me and my buddy Rj were looking at on line. I think he got a kitty ( smimlar to a moka) and sent me some fine goods like the latest grinder from hario , a stainless steel buono hairo pot good for pour over, and I  know the chemex set is in there some where! Actually the chemex came broken in this very box. Thank goodness the online company sent me out another one fully intact.  When the new Chemex box did  arrive however,  it was some how delivered and left in my  my backyard! I was home all day and the back gate is locked ! Did the delivery person throw it over the gate?  to this day i still don't know what happen. There's some odd delivery people out there!  I am really glad i got my package though.

Thanks more cool adventures to come

Thank you and stay tuned!

Rasa-Caffe "The essence of flavor"

 Hey guys, I am really excited about my new project I have been working on! I just spent the      last few weeks taking on my kick- starter campaign  for a new Coffee & specialty drink bar. I am launching this caffe because I feel that the time is right to use my skills to provide a space where people can relax and enjoy each other's company. Kick-starter approved my video for launch in a quick 12hrs?! OK, so I am a bit nervous and I won't exactly be in a kitchen ( that will come later!).  Shooting the video was kind of weird and fun. We did voice overs and photo shoots both making coffee and chai in-front of the camera. I definitely had to keep an upbeat attitude and through the laughter we succeeded in making a killer video. Please check it out thank you very much!!

   

               Thank you Cat! Equator Barista and BACC ( Bay area Coffee Community) Rabble-Rouser

                                                      

                                                                 Jeremy Americano

                                     All of the spices you need for a great cup of chai!

                                                  Please have some of the good Stuff!