Cols, Coffee and Cervezas

Dog River Coffee - Hood River, OR A few weeks back we travel to Oregon to attend the wedding of one of our nieces.  The wedding took place in Mosier, OR.  This little town sits on the east end of the Columbia River Gorge.  A national scenic area that separates Oregon and Washington.   We stayed the weekend in a nice Air BnB in the town of Hood River.  This mecca for wind surfing has developed into a prime tourist location.  One of the spots that I immediately wanted to try was the Dog River Coffee Company.   Located on the main east/west route through the central part of it immediately caught my eye.  I knew I would have to try it out. Sunday morning was cool and even a bit damp.  Fabrece was more interested in staying in bed so I made my way to Dog River on my own. Atmosphere Like much of this historic downtown, the Dog River Coffee Company is inside a converted shop front.  This provides them with ample interior space.  Numerous large tables offers plenty of seating w

Hob Coffee - Poway, CA During the Kid's coffee adventures he came across Hob Coffee.  Located in a non-descriptive strip mall in Poway, California, Hob Coffee would seemingly be similar to the endless number of local coffee shops trying to carve out an existence while competing against Starbucks or Peet's. Hob has a seemingly simple business model, offer a great cup of coffee and locally themed specialty drinks. Started by a group of declared "Coffeeheads" who enjoy high quality coffee and want to share it with the community. They typically carry 3-4 single origin beans that can be tasted in a variety of brew methods. Atmosphere HOB coffee is in a unique location in the corner of a little strip mall. There is ample parking, some outside seating, and seating inside. This isn't a large location and with people sitting, waiting for coffee, and waiting in line to order, the space can fill up quickly. There is a shelf area that holds beans, coffee brewing equipm

Copa Vida - Sorrento Valley Copa Vida is a team of baristas and tea lovers that have a close relationship with the community they serve and the farmers they work with. They strive on being transparent and sourcing quality materials. This means working with Direct Trade or Fair Trade roasters and tea companies. They are also members of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Copa Vida has three locations in San Diego county, but today we will be focusing on their Sorrento Valley location (11055 Roselle St, San Diego, CA 92121).   The Sorrento Valley location is a little difficult bit of a challenge to find as it is located west of the Coaster tracks.  Looks for the sign.  :-) Atmosphere Pulling up to this location there is ample parking that it shares with a couple other businesses. Walking into the shop the room is large open space with a counter that wraps around. On the sides there are shelves with roasted beans and coffee brewing products for sale. The seating area is