This week’s picture is a night shot of the Cree Shimmer Wall. It was taken this past weekend while I attended the grand opening of the new Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater. I will have a post up soon with more pictures and my take on the new venue later this week!
Filed under Picture of the Week
Larry’s Beans is a local independent coffee roaster that buys organic coffee beans directly from fair trade relationships with small farm cooperatives. My wife and I have enjoyed drinking their fine coffee ever since we moved to Raleigh and a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to tour their coffee bean roasting facility located along the fringe of downtown Raleigh adjacent to the historic five points neighborhood. What is so unique about their operation is that they not only pride themselves on providing top notch organic fair trade coffee, but the folks at Larry’s Beans also put the old adage “think globally, act locally” into action by employing numerous sustainable practices at their bean roasting facility.
I was really impressed with the turnout and how informative the tour was. I was expecting a small group but was surprised to see about 80 other people there. Obviously the people of Raleigh take their coffee drinking very seriously! The friendly crew at Larry’s Beans provided a great deal of insight into the art selecting and roasting coffee beans and how their operation isn’t just a business venture but a way of life that incorporates sustainable practices. The bean roasting facility is situated in a small industrial park within eyeshot of the downtown Raleigh skyline, yet through a unique layout that incorporates open air offices and a sunny courtyard they have managed to create an atmosphere that makes you feel like you are a world away from the hustle and bustle of downtown.
We arrived a few minutes early for the tour and mingled with other guests the courtyard while being treated to samples of their various coffees. They also had a great little spread of veggies, humus, and crackers and to top it all off they had live samba music being performed by a local Latin band called Samba Jovem. This only made the tour worth the trip! While I was excited to see the inside of the plant I could have easily spent the afternoon ducked into a shady corner of the courtyard sipping my coffee and listening to the Latin music. The tour was broken into two sections, the first comprised of a tour of the coffee bean roasting operation and a lesson about the different characteristics to look for when tasting and judging the quality of good coffee. This was followed by a question and answer session with chief roaster Brad Brandhorst and Larry himself.
The second part of the tour featured examples of how they use sustainable practices in their day to day business operations including how the facility uses “clearstory” to produce natural lighting, and solar hot water tubes and open air offices that reduce electrical heating and cooling demand. Other tour highlights included an overview of Raleigh’s only biodiesel station, rainwater cisterns used for toilet flushing, the use of biodegradable coffee bags, and of course Larry’s famous Veggie Bus that runs on recycled veggie oil.
The tour we attended was held on May 15th and I understand that it was their last tour of the spring. However, my understanding is that they do plan on holding additional tours in the fall starting in September. Because of the popularity of the tour you need to sign up for the tour in advance via email. Visit their website for more information. I would also recommend joining their facebook fan page or emailing them directly if you want to get more information about future tours.
I’m a big fan of buying local products and an even bigger fan of using sustainable practices so it goes without saying that I’m a big fan of Larry’s beans coffee. It was a real treat to see their operation and I enjoyed meeting the friendly staff there. I hope to make another visit in the fall. In the meantime, you can find Larry’s Bean’s Coffee at locations throughout the Triangle. A few of my favorite places to enjoy a cup of their Joe are New World Coffee in North Raleigh, Third Place in Five Points, Taylor’s BP off Six Forks in North Raleigh, and when I need a bag of beans so I can brew my own at home I hit up Wine 101 in Wake Forest. To view additional photos I took during the tour check out my flickr photo album.
Filed under Coffee
Uncorked is a new wine shop located in the Falls River Shopping center just off of Durant Road in North Raleigh. It opened up just before the Christmas holiday and my wife and I have been meaning to check it out. A few weeks ago we met some friends there to take part in one of their free Friday night wine tasting events and we had a fantastic time trying new wines and meeting the owner. The store has a warm rustic interior reminiscent of a tasting room you might experience at a vineyard in Napa Valley, complete with, rocks adorning the walls by the tasting bar in the back and decorative wood beams overhead with a large chandelier illuminating the shop.
While speakingwith the friendly owner and he explained that they typically have a free wine tasting every Friday night from 5:30-7:30pm. These usually involve a mix of four to five red and white wines that you can sample with 2 ounce pours. They also offer some great cheese plates that you can purchase to compliment the wines you are trying. While my wife and I aren’t wine aficionados by any means, we really enjoy venturing out to these events because wine tasting is a great way to get exposed to new and exciting varieties of wines and discover new favorites. It is also an excellent opportunity to meet new people as we have noticed folks are very friendly at these types of events and it is easy to strike up a conversation with strangers and share stories about favorite wines and vineyards you have visited.
In addition to their excellent wine selection the unique appeal of Uncorked is the fact that they have roughly 48 wines on hand that you can sample any day of the week. They have these nifty automated sampling stations that dispense samples of their various wines in portions ranges from a “taste” to a half or full glass. You pay for the samples from these stations by using a pre-paid debit card that you can get at the store. Their is a digital display at each wine station with information on how much each taste costs and when you insert your tasting card it give you a status on your available balance. It is a fun way to try a whole host of wines and test out wines before you buy a whole bottle to drink at home or give as a gift.
Recently the folks at Uncorked added an outside patio with tables with umbrellas for customers to sit at while they enjoy wine at the shop. They even have musical entertainment on select weekend nights usually featuring acoustic guitar music. For more information about Uncorked you can check out their website. They also have a mailing list you can sign up for at the shop to be notified about the wines they will be tasting each Friday night and other upcoming special events. To view the rest of my pictures of Uncorked check out my flicker photo album.
Filed under Businesses, Wine Tasting
This week’s picture features the release of LoneRider Brewing Company’s “Peacemaker” Pale Ale in bottles. They recently started bottling this beer and it is starting to show up on local store shelves now. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a few six packs at Taylor’s BP in N. Raleigh this week. My new favorite beer, although I am still partial to their “Shotgun Betty” hefeweizen as well.
Filed under Local Beers and Breweries, Picture of the Week
Women’s Power Networking is hosting its second annual Women Helping Women Expo fundraiser June 10, 2010, in support of Striving for More, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides emotional and spiritual care for children with cancer and their families.
About the Event
The 2010 expo will feature 80+ locally owned women’s businesses and will be held Thursday, June 10 at the Wake County Shrine Club at 6015 Lead Mine beginning at 5:00pm. There will be a wonderful selection of raffle items valued at $50+ to help raise funds as well. Raffle tickets are $1.00 each or 25 tickets for $20.
“I’m very excited that Women’s Power Networking: Coffee and Contacts has chosen Striving for More.” said Diane Moore, Founder and President of Striving for More and a member of the Morrisville chapter of Coffee and Contacts. “This partnership truly demonstrates how women working together with the community can accomplish great and wonderful things. I am very thankful and moved by everything the organization’s members are doing to support our mission to help children with cancer.”
Entry tickets are $10. Attendees and the public will be able to purchase entry and raffle tickets at the event, online at Eventbrite.com, as well as from members of Women’s Power Networking: Coffee and Contacts chapter members.
Members of the community have the opportunity to help sponsor the event as well as donate raffle items. Sponsorships run $100, $300, $500, $1000 with the grand sponsorship at $5000. More information on sponsorships is available on the expo website.
ABOUT WOMENS POWER NETWORKING
Women’s Power Networking is a North Carolina based women’s business group with 16 chapters in the Triangle area with over 250 active members. Our goal is to support women and help them grow personally and professionally.
ABOUT STRIVING FOR MORE
Striving for More is a Triangle-based nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that children with cancer and their families receive quality emotional and spiritual support. The organization was founded by Diane Moore in 2008 after her nine-year-old daughter, Colleen, lost her battle with cancer. During her daughter’s illness, Diane found that emotional and spiritual support services for children with cancer are under-funded, particularly when hospitals are competing for limited resources. Striving for More is dedicated to encouraging and funding quality psychosocial services, so that every child with cancer receives the critical support they need. For more information, please visit www.striving4more.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Women’s Power Networking – Eileen Batson – Batson Group Marketing and PR – 919.327.5021 or Email Eileen
Striving for More – Diane Moore – 919.339.1214
Filed under Events
The Triangle Explorer 