Wanna get fresh with me?

I'm back - again!

Hopefully this time to stay. My life has been somewhat chaotic, hence lack of postings, but everything is settling down into a more ordered rhythm, and all is well. I hope to post at least once a week from here onward.

Having spent several months doing not very much, I have now taken up a 3-month contract running a small, but quality, Coffee Bar in Borrowdale Village. This is the sign above my new work-place (photo taken at 07.00 as we opened):

This is a different view of the shop taken an hour and a half later - showing our outside seating area.

Most days the covered veranda outside is full of folk having coffee, and seating is at a premium. We offer free internet access, and so the inside of the shop is normally full too, with customers on their laptops. I can assure you that there are a lot worse ways that you can spend an hour that sitting outside at Freshly Ground having a fine coffee with either a bacon & chive muffin or a pecan cinnabon, and an aimless chat!

In order to get to work, my trusty steed carries me in and out. As most of you know, it is winter in Zimbabwe, and more often than not I get to work with tears in my eyes from the cold!

This is our product board - many of the cold drinks will not be sold until our winter is gone for good, but it is the coffees made here which are the cornerstone of the business. We only grind the beans when a cup is ordered, and the size of the grind determines how long the water runs through. The grind-size is set according to the age since roasting (in days) of the beans, and . . . the weather. It takes 21 days to fully train a Barista, and I am completely clueless at coffee-making compared to the ladies working here.

Here is our range of drinks . . .

And the wizards who prepare the coffee? Here are 3 of the girls ready to weave their magic and make the best coffees in Harare. No kidding. They are GOOD!

We also sell our coffee - both beans or ground - and the packaging is something a little special! What would you call beans from Freshly Ground?

So - here is my new office - operation control, you might say.

And the interesting thing about the above picture is the file containing all documentation relating to the business prior to my arrival. The business administration was not so good - hence the name on the file.

Third from the left.

Have a nice day!!!!