Yep, Still AM~Erica's Peeps

So anyway...

If you haven't figured out by now, I really like my coffee. No...wait...I really LOVE my coffee! And if you don't know that by now, either we've literally JUST met...or you've been living under a rock (or you're doing a great job of ignoring me...but whatever).

And I've totally talked about how I FEEL LIKE NORM ON CHEERS when I walk into my favorite coffee shop. It delightfully gets proven again & again when I go in there. I love it! (But, please note, I do pay for my beans EVERY time I go in...there's no running tab.)

Lately, over the holidays, things were different in there...a lot of new people started working there. It was crazy! I felt like I only knew a couple of the baristas. Our usual baristas were never there (one of them defected to a totally different store across the way in the mall). I felt like I was the one training new people! I know...probably not right, but I know that's how Norm would have felt if there was a new bartender. But we were gonna get thru this together, right?

No matter, there was still about 3 of them that would call me by name...and onto "training" the others. *wink, wink*

I am about to give you some fun examples as to how I know that I am amongst my peeps when I go into Gloria Jean's:

~ There was the time that I had to get there quickly! Out of coffee beans is NEVER a good thing. As I turned the corner to my coffee world for my beans, I realized someone was in there with a shopping cart from like Sears or something. *face palm* WHO DOES THAT? Oh wait...it was one of my original faves that defected across the way! And she was dressed as if she was working at the "other place", not the GJ's. I walked in...and I'm not sure what all happened, but somehow she made it behind the counter to ring me up...even though she wasn't on the clock there, but on the clock at the other place, and then proclaimed that what she was doing might be illegal. HA! Then she made it  back out to where I was standing to wait on her stuff she'd already placed her order for & was talking to one of the new baristas. She made him hurry so she could get back to her "other job" (blah, blah, blah) & so he could fill my order. There was a whole exchange of whether or not my order needed the sticker of type of beans since we have settled on only one kind now. The decision was that I know what kind of beans had better be in there, so no need for a sticker. And he would also remember me, not by the flowers & accessories in my hair, but instead by the fact that I knew the one barista & known by others there.

~ There was the time that I went to get my weekly (or bi-weekly since there are SO MANY COFFEE DRINKING PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE) bean order, and the dude who remembered that I "didn't need a sticker" for my beans decided he would help out his memory a  little more by doing this:

That's right...I get the Sumatra beans from Gloria Jean's (*snort* I rhymed ~~ wiggy-wiggy); so he gave me the sticker to wear on my coat. People ask me about my sticker...and I love to tell them the story!

~ There was the time that there was quite a line backed up inside of Gloria Jean's. Well, it was the holiday shopping season...in the mall...where people NEED a pick-me-up. But I went in to get my very-regular order (1 lb. whole bean Sumatra...but this stop might have been a 1/2 lb. fill-'er-upper) with about 7 customers in line before me. As I got in line, one of about half a dozen baristas working yelled,

"ERICA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" 

I think I knew about 3 or 4 of them working back there. Then, about 3 of them started climbing over each other to get my beans ready! Seriously, people! As orders continued to be taken in front of me, mine was ready & waiting for me at the register by the time I got up there. Plus...they noticed that I had been given a Sumatra sticker. We were all giggling & having a joyous time. That may have also been the time when I danced crazily, almost knocked over a display of travel mugs, moved over & danced some more, paid for my beans, left & realized my fly was down on my pants. Holy Cannoli! What happened in there that day?

~ Then there was yesterday. Had to stop in to get beans, of course. And I'm pretty sure that statement shocks most of you...or not. As I went in, there was a line. The day after Christmas was a crazy one & people needed their pick-me-up...and I needed beans. So...with about 6 people in front of me & my hubby, I hear it...

"ERICA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...!! 

I waved like crazy at them & I realized I knew all three baristas there this time. YEA! Then one of them shouted that they wanted me to guess what was on brew that day. I started dancing around & celebrating. It had to be Sumatra...which meant that I got $1 off my beans that day! WOO HOO!! And I was told that they thought of me as they brewed it that morning & wondered if I might be in that day. Yep...we are all getting on the same page like that. And...AND...? The barista who gave me my sticker went over to get my beans. He was so excited that I still had my sticker on for about 2-3 weeks. Then...I heard him say it was his last day. WHAT? I just got him all trained & everything! As it turns out...he was only seasonal. I pouted about it...but then...THEN??? He wanted to keep in touch since we would miss each other! Awwwwwww... So, we are now Facebook friends, y'all! Everyone, tell Ryan hi! Oh...and I had my beans in hand by the time I got to the cash register. *GRINS*

Friends, when I say that I am amongst my peeps when I go into Gloria Jean's, I'm not kidding. And I do have non-coffee drinking friends that will stop by that particular Gloria Jean's just to see if I'm there.

I really, Really, REALLY do feel like Norm walking into the Cheers bar. And it feels good!

And, if you ever go by the Gloria Jean's at Independence Center, tell 'em I sent ya! For realz & serious, people.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: Friday, December 28, 2012

Not only should you all wave hi to Ryan...wave hi to Mercedes, too! If you remember, she's one of the original M&M's referenced in the first blog link! I'm so excited she's here, too!

I love my barista folk!

AM~Erica is a Coffee Snob

So anyway...

This past weekend, my hubby had meetings with the Missouri United Methodist Conference taking place in Springfield, MO. That meant being out of town for a few days & mixing up our routine...
Not only did we have to set up a flowchart-needing schedule for our poor kiddos, but we were needing to change up when we got up, where to eat, and most of all...our coffee situation.

Now, most of you may have already figured out how important coffee is for my hubby & me. If you're not as familiar, then you need to know that it is VERY important. Otherwise it's ugly.

So, here we are in Springfield needing to get coffee. You could "brew" coffee in your room, there was complimentary coffee in the hotel lobby, you could spend a fortune for the mini buffet & get coffee in the hotel restaurant, you could pick some up at a fast food or other dining establishment...none of it was working. We heard that Mudhouse Coffee House is supposed to be really good, but by the time we found out about it & found the hours, we didn't have time to try it. Hopefully we will get to try it sometime now that we know about it.

We were missing our grinder & beans. Badly. We dealt with the gift of the coffee we were "given", but once you have freshly ground coffee in the mornings, nothing else is the same again. It's because of this realization we had already come to a few months ago, we also came to this realization:

We Are Coffee Snobs.

Once you've gotten to dabble in the good stuff, it's hard to back down from that. Except at Wendy's. They have a new Redhead premium blend that is actually quite fantastic. And those are big words from an admitted coffee snob. So imagine my level of sad when we discovered that Wendy's is doing their breakfast as a "test market only". So no morning Wendy's coffee to offset any other coffee we could get a hold of. So it seems to be going on about everywhere BUT Springfield. Go figure.

All I have to say is that we were so happy to get back to our grinder & beans! Yesterday morning was delightful making our own coffee, at home, with our own beans. That first appreciative cup was the best. But we didn't have enough for a full pot, so we were slightly short-changed on that first coffee back home. So I had to make a stop to get beans.

I headed over to Gloria Jean's, of course. Our usual baristas weren't going to be there. I knew that. Like they know us & which beans we get, we know their schedule. It's all part of the bonding process. However, we were off schedule. So I didn't know who we would get. It was a barista who has served us before, but it's been quite a while. I ordered only half a pound of beans in the interim to get us back on our coffee schedule. I let her know that I was in the coffee club, and she replied with, "It's 'Erica,' right?" wha-WHA?? Holy Cannoli! She even knew my name! Teen boy was with me & he just started shaking his head. I would like to point out that she knew my name before I handed her the card with my name on it.

That's right...I'm so known at the local Gloria Jean's coffee shop that even baristas we are not as familiar with know my name. *bows & curtsey*

So...what has 2 thumbs & is a total coffee snob? THIS GIRL!!!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

Gloria Jean Knows AM~Erica's Name

So anyway...

Raise your hands if you know where the practice of yelling, "NORM!" came from. *raises hand*

And why did they yell Norm's name when he walked in? He was a regular at the Cheers bar, and they knew his name. And even though he could never pay off the tab he'd been working on for years, they always served him & enjoyed his company. They liked him being there.



If you haven't figured out, I love my coffee. I do...I really, Really, REALLY do! And I have been to several establishments to purchase a cup of coffee, foo-foo or not, to consume. Some are good, some are not-so-good. But I ponder the fact that I have been drawn to one particular establishment. And my draw to it extends back to my newly-post high school days.

Remember back in the 80's & early 90's when some of us were considered mall rats? *raises hand* I had the hair-goddess, lion-mane hair & would go with my friends to invade Claire's, Spencer Gifts & the food court. And going to check out new trends in the stores was a MUST! Maybe even work in a silly photo booth session, and possibly a movie. Those were the days! But I must blame, I mean "give credit", to my friend Renae for introducing me to iced mocha on the Country Club Plaza during my senior year. And that was it!

In the time since then, I was usually at Ward Parkway mall (back when it was a whole mall) since the draw to Bannister Mall was sadly dwindling. (RIP, Bannister Mall) So, I would shop frequently with my good pal, Nikki. And we would often go into the Gloria Jean's establishment to get some kind of coffee concoction. We started getting to know the manager there because she would start to remember us. But it's hard to forget a couple of crazy chics when one of them is albino. But we started getting to know Pam. Then life began to happen; Nikki & I started hanging out less & stopping by Gloria Jean's to get our coffee from Pam. We quit going. For years.

I eventually got a job about a block from Ward Parkway mall & started going there again nearly everyday. Pam was still there & actually remembered me! We started chatting & I would get my coffee. Then a guy named Dave started coming in, too. We were quite a trio talking there almost everyday & entertaining the customers coming in for their coffee, too. I even started spending some days with my (now author) friend, Shanna. She blames me, I mean "gives me credit", for her addiction to frozen coffee just from out frequent visits there.

I got laid off from my job & slowed going. Ward Parkway was dwindling & became less of a mall. Gloria Jean's closed. I had to go back over to Bannister if I was to see my friend Pam & sometimes Dave would show up, too. But that shop closed along with the whole mall. No more Gloria Jean's for a long time...that was over 10 years ago.

In the meantime, we have had local coffee shop coffee & Starbuck's. But it was never the same for me. Not just the taste of the coffee, but the ambiance. I didn't have the "NORM" moments. My hubby & I were in the realm of "general patrons". Until recently...

In December, hubby & I decided to delve into the world of grinding our own coffee beans! And that's what we did. So, off to bean testing: from store brands, to local coffee shop blends, we tried Gloria Jean's. We were most pleased with what they had & how it tasted. So we go weekly into the Gloria Jean's establishment at the mall near us. One of the baristas learned my name since I'm on the coffee club list. *Coffee Snob* Now, when I walk in the door, she yells, "ERICA WILLIAMS!" It doesn't matter how crowded the shop is. Another barista has started learning our habits, too. We have a coffee bean blend rotation...and they are learning it. They will even have a 2-5 minute conversation with each other about us coming in & arguing about what bean is up in the rotation before we can even say hi to them. It's awesome!

They have even gotten to the point they are trying to remember hubby's name. When he walks in, they yell, "MR. WILLIAMS!" Yeah...they don't have his first name down...yet...

So, if you are ever at Independence Center on Friday, Saturday or Sunday afternoon or evening, you may see Morgan & Mercedes (M&M, aka "Two Blondes & a Coffee Shop"). Go say hi, get a drink & tell them Erica Williams sent you.

Cuz...(sing with me)...
"...sometimes you wanna go
where everybody knows your na-a-a-ame;
(bum, bum, bum-bum)
and their always glad you ca-a-a-ame!
(bum, bum, bum-bum)"

(Are you singing, too?)

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica