Areli and I are excited about getting our lounge up and running in Durham!
Last night Areli and I met with Saleem Reshamwala to look at the footage he’s been working on for our Kickstarter video. His images and camera work were so beautiful. We hope to give you a sneak peak even before we launch our campaign. We’ll be spending the next days finishing off our Kickstarter campaign page for Cocoa Cinnamon – the shop!
bikeCOFFEE has been an amazing series of engagements with people at local markets and events (and Motorco brunches!).
Through the bike we’ve made new friends, become closer with others for whom we are grateful. We’ve also gathered a great group of regulars and supporters. Seeing so many of your faces and talking with you is invigorating to us! It, in many ways, is as at the root of the pleasure of what we do. People can amaze, with all of the knowledge, stories, the joy of seeing a familiar face, the desire to be in a world each person envisions. The drinks we serve are a conduit for us to share in that.
Having the shop will allow us to build on this and create a place that is always there for us and the community. To initiate a place that is comfortable to be as a friend or a stranger, no matter what your color, politics, language. The drinks themselves and the discipline and pleasure of honing our craft amazes us as well, and the two are inextricably intertwined.
We thrive off of difference and engagement, and hope that comes through in the people we hire, the crowd we attract, the languages spoken in our shop, the people with a wide spectrum of backgrounds and beliefs that we hope will feel at home at Cocoa Cinnamon.
One of our models is De Balie Amsterdam, whose cafe attracts people from every nation, and allows a place for people to be thinking, relaxing and flourishing together. To do that, while serving the most delicious, sustainable, quality and culture driven coffees, chocolates, teas and spices will be awesome for us! Can’t wait.
This weekend’s bikeCOFFEE setups:
Photo at Outsiders Art Opening by Christopher Gurr who recently came through town as an actor in the show Memphis at DPAC
THURSDAY evening from 5 – 8PM, we will join Pie Pushers, Only Burger and Farmhand Foods at the Oval Park. We will have a freshly roasted stock of organic coffees from Joe Van Gogh hand made to order on an Aeropress. We will also be bringing a healthy selection of organic teas and non-caffeinated honeybush and green rooibos to warm you up!
SATURDAY Morning from 9:30 to 12:15 we will be setup across from the Durham Farmer’s Market.
Then by 1PM we’ll be setup at Motorco for another Central Park School event.
Around 4PM we’ll do the final shooting with Saleem Reshamwala for our Kickstarter Campaign video.
SUNDAY you’ll find us at Motorco for the DtownMarket and maybe a bit of the Super Bowl (though maybe we’ll actually be able to watch some?).
Thanks for coming out!
P.S. Don’t forget the deadline for Valentine’s Chocolate orders is approaching. Click here to see what we have to offer.
Luchadoras Dos was a smash! I was very proud that Cocoa Cinnamon’s sponsored LuchadoraLa Sirenita de Tijuana wrestled fiercely and feistely with her partner La Aguila Dorada!
Brandon Hoe of ClearSketch captured the beat just right!
The English and Spanish language papers have covered the event with gusto! Check out the Luchadoras Tumblr Page for links and such.
We are coming along on our retail location and are working on our Kickstarter campaign page. Saleem dislocated his arm and is a busy man to boot, but we’ll be launching the page with video pretty soon! Keep an eye out. We are in super make-it-happen mode for starting up the shop, so any and all help will have a huge impact! We’ll post more about that soon!
It’s going to be a sunny weekend!
This weekend’s bikeCOFFEE! schedule:
Friday Evening, starting at 5:30PM bikeCOFFEE! will join Ko Kyu and Pie Pushers at the Chris Milk Hulburt opening at Outsiders Art! We will have a selection of non-caffeinated teas to choose from too!
Saturday morning, 9:30 until the last person comes, we’ll be setup alongside Monuts Donuts, across from the Durham Farmers Market. So come on out for a weekend Dip and Sip!
Saturday Afternoon, from 2ish to 4:30ish at Fullsteam Brewery (maybe outside, maybe in), we’ll be setup with bikeCOFFEE and have our self-serve Spice Up Your Winter Spice Bazaar! We’ll have over 100 organic herbs and spices and everything will be sold at a discount! Need to put a little spice in these gray days, come on over and stock up for a new dish, a healthy alternative and the color, texture and scent of spice! This is a special winter thing we’re having a little fun with, so get it while it’s cold !!! You can see a list of many of our choices on our web menu under Spice. See you there!
Saturday evening, we will be participating in the Central Park School – save our arts – fundraiser, starting around 5:30PM at Motorco. Tickets are $10 to see Megafaun, Mount Moriah and The Beast. This show is not to miss and is for an excellent cause! We’ll be set up as bikeCOFFEE! as usual. Also, special for the fundraiser, we’ll be selling two chocolate Tablas to support the cause: The House of Wisdom – dark chocolate slate with honey, almonds and coconut. KoKyu and Pie Pushers will be there!!
Sunday, from Noon to 5PM you can find us at Motorco for the Bloody Brunch with KoKyu and Motorco’s Mimosas and Bloody Marys. And You now get a 25 cent discount off your coffee drink when you mash up with a drink from Motorco’s bar!
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Don’t get caught with your tail between your legs. Check out our chocolate offerings for Valentines Day by clicking HERE.
1 Year, 8 months and two days ago, Areli and I fell in love. We had known each other for 6 years, yet it came completely out of nowhere. I believe one day in either direction, if it hadn’t happened at just that moment, in just the way it did, we would not now be married and in love.
Two simple text messages opened up a world of love and a dedicated marriage and partnership. For that I remain amazed every day and forever grateful.
After expressing feelings that came up in me because of a simple question from a friend, “Is there anyone down there that you want to see?” I stopped for 10 or so seconds on the phone, and then said, “I have never even thought this to myself…I don’t know what I’m going to say,” I started talking about Areli. Once I said the words, the feelings came up in me and took over.
Days later, I decided to express these feelings, telling her that I didn’t even know how I felt, but that I felt like I could love her. I most certainly surprised her, as much as I was still shocked by the realization of the feelings myself.
The place where I had planned to ask Areli to marry me in Stockholm's Archipelago. We had been married for one week already, as life made other plans for us (not pregnancy!).
A path, complex, yet amazingly simple, began. We had no intention to get married 4 days short of two months later, but that is exactly what we did. In a way, it happened to us. Friends said that there was something greater happening and that we felt magical together. We felt it too and over the next weeks, even with a tumultuous world around us, we felt like we were on a boat floating serenely down a river towards each other. Each moment, story and action led us closer together.
Since then, we have seen things that have confirmed again and again little signs that there is something that we don’t understand that makes us so in love.
Here’s one little example I found out well after we were married:
Areli has images of umbrellas through her journals.
Both are significant to each of us in ways that when we saw the connection, felt uncanny.
Characters in a story I had been working on for years overlapped directly with ideas explored in Areli’s journals, almost sounding as if I had written them, or she had conceptualized mine. These connections are evidence of what led us to each other and keep leading us back as we live and create our lives together.
These are just a couple of coincidences. Maybe it is just a way of seeing, informed by the amazement and connection, that is love. I don’t know, but for whatever reason the signs show up again and again.
I am so not someone who normally believes in the idea of “meant to be.” Yet I am sure that there is something that I don’t understand, some kind of life poetry that has brought us together and feeds our love.
There is a lot more detail and complexity to our amazing story that I feel in my heart just as much as I did with Areli’s first reciprocation. Maybe one day that will be a little book, I think we’ll call Ti Amo. Maybe.
For now, we want to share some of the love that we channel into Cocoa Cinnamon! in the form of our chocolates. As we start up our shop, we are letting life lead us together. That feeling has done us well so far, and we feel the need to keep following.
Here is our special offering for Valentine’s Day.
Be happy in love. We hope we can add a little something special to it.
Click on the offerings image to make an order! ORDERS NOW CLOSED.
We are now taking pre-orders. ORDERS NOW CLOSED
To Order - 1. Click the offerings image above and submit your order via our order form. 2. We’ll contact you regarding payment including shipping (if applicable). 3. Put in the order (by Monday, February 6th at 3PM in order to get them for pickup or shipping in time for Valentine’s Day). 4. Get your chocolates via arranged pickup at one of our bikeCOFFEE! setups in downtown Durham or via mail. 5. Indulge!
Please Note: We make holiday orders special. Any orders made after the deadline will be on an availability basis.
LA AGUILA DORADA & LA SIRENITA DE TIJUANA (Las Tecnicas)
(Photo by Victoria Bouloubasis)
HEAR La Sirenita de Tijuana speak on WUNC’s radio program The State of Things, hosted by Frank Stasio today at Noon.
91.5 FM in the Triangle or streaming live at WUNC.org!
Ecuchen! Voy a estar en la radio con Viridiana hablando sobre Luchadoras 2! El show empieza a las 12 de la tarde (tiempo este?) Solo es por 20 minutos asi que no se lo pierdan!
To listen go to, para escuchar vayan a http://wunc.org/programs/tsot on the right in red it says listen now, y en la derecha en rojo dice Listen now! presto!
La Sirenita de Tijuana was an up and coming luchadora in her hometown of Tijuana. Having to fight her entire life for survival given the fact that she grew up in an orphanage, her luchadora skills came naturally. She is loved by the masses because she does not fight for fame or money, but in honor of all those that fight a struggle. La Sirenita de Tijuana and La Aguila Dorada first crossed paths when La Aguila went back to look for La Pluma de Oro after de-masking La Bomba, but was soon informed that La Pluma de Oro was in a deep meditative state in the jungles of Chiapas. Saddened and about to give up her life as a luchadora by de-masking herself in public, she was abruptly stopped by La Sirenita de Tijuana who was instructed by La Pluma de Oro to find La Aguila Dorada. After talking, both La Sirenita de Tijuana and La Aguila Dorada found that they could join forces in their fight for justice until La Pluma de Oro returns from her meditative state.
Las Tecnicas, La Aguila Dorada and La Sirenita de Tijuana, will face off Saturday in Durham’s first lucha libre tag team fight against Las Rudas, Medusa and La Amazona.
La Sirenita de Tijuana is sponsored by Cocoa Cinnamon!
Article from the Official Luchadoras Site: More info click HERE!
On a less fearsome note, we intend to post our Valentine’s Day chocolate offerings today! So keep your eyes peeled! – follow us on twitter, facebook or sign up for our emails on the menu bar to the right (on our site).
To start, Areli along with some of her fellow Luchadoraswill be on WUNC’s The State of Things radio program, this Friday, 12PM, hosted by Frank Stasio. Tune in online by clicking HERE or at 91.5 FM in the triangle.
Friday, starting at 5:30 PM you can find bikeCOFFEE! in Central Park at the Liberty Arts Foundry (not their new location at Cordoba Arts).
You can come in person to Luchadoras this Saturday at Noon at Motorco Music Hall. bikeCOFFEE! will be serving a special Luchadoras inspired signature drink and we’ll have our Cocoa Cinnamon La Luchadora Dark Chocolate Tabla – organic cayenne, cacao nibs and Mexican coffee ground to a powder. So you can warm up with a coffee and chocolate and ease down with a choice from Motorco’s wide selection of beers. I’m digging the French Broad Koelsch! If you want to make a full day of it, Motorco has a followup event doozy – the Food Truck Mashup! We’ll have family coming out to watch our in house rastler, so we’ll be turning in early to hang with them.
Sunday, from 12 – 5PM we’ll be at Motorco again for the Bloody Brunch with Ko Kyu. We’ve been alternating between Bloody Marys and Mimosas. Either way, it makes for a great Sunday.
Speaking of Sunday Brunches. We enjoyed introducing our “Spice up your Winter” Spice Market at the DtownMarket. We may pull out the spices this Sunday; if we do, they’ll be self serve. This is a limited time thing we’ll be doing this winter. All spices are organic! We have over 100 to choose from. I like to browse and smell the spices, herbs and seasonings, choose a couple that are interesting to me and create a dish with the spice as my starting point.
Photo by Victoria Bouloubasis - http://thisfeedsme.com
After the brunch we’ll be getting some final cutaway shots for the kickstarter video that Saleem Reshamwala is working on – hopefully under a beautiful Durham sunset (that one can frequently witnesses on Rigsbee) – of us riding away on bikeCOFFEE!
On the horizon:
Over a series of conversations, almost by accident Anomaly, Inc action has begun. First on the horizon, with Tom Dawson at the lead, Anomaly will be presenting a series of happenings during the month of February. These happenings will take place downtown at 108 Morris Street. Invisible’s performance The New Obsolete will be the main attraction and will go on for 5 February nights. As part of the happenings, a series of artists, musicians and food trucks will put on their craft. This event will not be one to miss. You can purchase advance tickets at Seven Stars Cycles and at bikeCOFFEE!
You can find details at http://soundsinvisible.com and by liking Anomaly Inc. on Facebook.
This past year and 1/2, as Areli and I have transitioned places, broadened our concept with chocolates and gone from one brick and mortar shop towards a new one, we’ve had a lot of moments to try new things and redefine ourselves and our business ideas. A couple come up again and again. 1. If I’m not in love with it, I shouldn’t do it. 2. We thrive off of people. We do love wholesale and behind the scenes, but what we thrive to be a part of and what makes us feel more alive is interacting with people and all the different stories, personalities, beliefs, ideas and surprises.
At the DtownMarket!
Yesterday was a holiday to remember Dr. Martin Luther King. As we all know, Dr. Martin Luther King was an extraordinary human being who played a key role in an extraordinary human time. Sometimes, I feel like our time may become such a time of real change. I also believe that change can happen in leaps AND through small changes in daily behavior. That’s why we got into commerce.
When Cocoa Cinnamon, the shop comes alive, we hope that it will be a place where almost anyone can feel comfortable and have a pricing structure where anyone can sit and enjoy and talk. And people of all colors, beliefs, languages and backgrounds can make it a kind of public house.
We think it is amazing that we live in what The Daily Beast has called “America’s Most Tolerant City,” I think it is obvious that tolerance does not imply a human state of flourishing, only a step towards it. I think we should be careful to feel too successful with tolerance alone. Martin Luther King day serves to remind us of this and all the hard work of many groups and individuals who changed our world for the better. Dr. King, like Gandhi is a hero for all people, in all nations. Dr. King’s memory reminds of his words and deeds to work towards thriving together, to “work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together!”
Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, 1964 - Photo By: Marion Trikosko
In memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, and at the prompting of @jeffandking, we’re going to make sure we move beyond our usual patterns, beyond our visits to downtown shops and even Not Just Wings and Joe’s Diner to more and more businesses around the city, owned by people of many different colors and creeds. For one, my next stop is at Jeff’s family’s Chicken Hut, in “the bottom” on Fayetteville Street. I’ve been craving some chicken! Plus they have awesome reviews all over the internet.
Speaking of reviews and public houses. As part of our preparing for the shop, we’ve started doing tasting and feedback sessions with some customers and friends. We had one at Fullsteam’s Tavern last Saturday! Meredith Stewart, one of the attendees and a prolific and talented writer and teacher, wrote up her thoughts on the tasting. She touched on many of the things that we too love about what we do. Thank you so much Meredith! (p.s. I went to Teachers College too!)
Read the full article, A Masterful (and Tasty) Lesson, by clicking HERE.
Photo by Meredith Stewart - http://inforgood.wordpress.com
Today was intense and full of motivation, great people, new faces and a lot of fun.
To start Saleem Reshamwala (http://kidethnic.com) and Mana Ogasawara shot for two purposes in one as we rode over to the Durham Farmers Market. 1. They were getting some cutaway shots for our soon to come Kickstarter Campaign Video (to help bring Cocoa Cinnamon the shop into a reality). 2) Areli was acting/modeling for a Gizmon spot (http://gizmon.com). Yes, at the same time, while riding, while making coffee, and after in Durham Central Park. Thus the intensity.
When we got to the Farmers Market, we setup with our faithful partners in commerce Monuts Donuts (http://monutsdonuts.com). We ran a teeny weeny bit behind schedule and as soon as we opened, we made coffees non-stop. This was our first time at the Farmers Market; we made it out special to meetup with Cliff Bellamy and Christine Nguyen of the Durham Herald-Sun who are doing a special article about bike vendors, including us and Monuts. It was exciting and it always feels good when people are interested in what we are doing. Then we went into a whirl making coffees. During brews and grinds, we talked about drink recipes, brewing methods and plans for the future. Today’s method, the aeropress was perfect for the super-cold weather. Clean cup, a faster brew for cold outside temps – and we had the help of some cup of excellence coffees from Carrboro Coffee Roasters.
Then as Areli finished shooting with Saleem and Mana for Gizmon, I rode the bike over to Fullsteam Brewery (http://fullsteam.ag) with the obligatory riding shot for the DHS.
After the Gizmon shoot, Areli and I started setting up for a tasting and feedback session for Cocoa Cinnamon drinks and shop ideas, which we held at Fullsteam. We had 9 guests, served 4 chocolate tablas and 4 drinks.
We got really great ideas, thoughts and feedback from everyone who came. It was really invigorating to be communicating and getting feedback on Cocoa Cinnamon…The passion that everyone shows for what we are up to is so important for us to achieve our goal!
Now, we’re taking it easy for a bit. Thinking about the special wintertime spice bazaar we’re having at the DtownMarket (with Colin Miller’s help) and our old faithful bikeCOFFEE!
After all that, birdgherl (i.e. Areli) will be DJ’ing in the eve at The Pinhook as part of King Kenney’s Chocolate Sunday! [I love my Luchadora, super sweeta, musicala, pure at hearta, power woman!]
Thank you everyone for taking part in this inspiring day! See you tomorrow!
Last weekend we played with the Straight of Hormuz recipe with success. The secret ingredient that landed up doing the trick was simple: Organic Malabar black pepper – the native source for black pepper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pepper). This spice lays at the heart of the history of spice exploration and conquest and was a key good that traveled through Hormuz for centuries – analogous to the oil that travels through today. I like a couple of the responses that we got: a) it balanced the sweetness of the Ko Kyu meal one customer had ordered and b) the spice/pepper hint in the coffee added a warmth on the cold day. It’s definitely not caramel syrup. If you want to try something unique and peppery this weekend come visit us and try The Straight of Hormuz! Open up your coffee world.
Saturday morning from 10AM to 12PM you can find us setup together with Monuts Donuts (http://monutsdonuts) across from the Durham Farmer’s Market. A lot of you have requested for us to come to this event. And the Durham Herald-Sun is coming out to get some pictures of our bikes together and talk to us for a story.
This Sunday from 12 – 5ish we’ll be back at our old faithful DtownMarket and MotorKoKyu Bloody Brunch! Here you can get on your spiced Bloody Mary or Sunday Mimosa thing, eat a ridiculously good meal and browse true indie wares hand made and gleaned, oh and get a hand made cup of coffee from bikeCOFFEE! Check out the DtownMarket’s Facebook & Event Page for a full lineup: https://www.facebook.com/events/#!/events/231784816896315/
Come by and get a cup before the Tweetup too!
We’ll also be doing something a little special at the DtownMarket this Sunday! With a little extra help from our friend Colin Miller, we’ll be adding the Spice Up Your Winter Spice Bazaar! We’ll have over 100 organic herbs and spices and everything will be sold at a discount! Need to put a little spice in these gray days, come on over and stock up for a new dish, a healthy alternative and the color, texture and scent of spice! This is a special winter thing we’re having a little fun with, so get it while it’s cold !!! You can see a list of many of our choices on our web menu under Spice. See you there!
And as you can imagine, we are now thinking about Valentine’s Day chocolates. We’ll have our menu posted by this time next week. Stay tuned!
Fresh back from our deep holiday breath, we have brewed up a lot of ideas and events, experimented a bit, rested almost enough and are ready to get back into things.
First, we wanted to let you know where we’ll be this weekend. So here it goes:
Saturday we’ll start out at The Scrap Exchange (http://thescrapexchange.org) from 10AM until 1 or 2. Then we’ll move over to Fullsteam Brewery (http://fullsteam.ag) for the afternoon and early evening.
I don’t know if it will be ready yet, but we’re playing with a coffee drink called the Straight of Hormuz inspired by stories we’ve read in Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta’s biographies and thinking of the events now happening in that 34 mile wide ever important choking point to the Persian Gulf. Stay tuned!
The Straight of Hormuz
Sunday we’ll be at 7 Stars Cycles (http://sevenstarscycles.com) and Motorco (http://motorcomusic.com) for the Bloody Bike and Brunch from 10AM to late afternoon – Ko Kyu will be open by noon. 7 Stars is open before and after the ride for all of your bike gear and tune up needs. You can take part in the 26 mile ride (with one bailout point – for a shorter ride). Details – click HERE.
As many of you know by now, bikeCOFFEE! is about much more than a bike. It is a precursor of more to come – some of which you have seen – as Cocoa Cinnamon. We had a blast featuring chocolates, in great company, on New Years as part of The Final Countdown at Motorco. We didn’t even have to work. Some of you may have even witnessed my rarely seen dance moves (obviously this post is not by Areli).
Cocoa Cinnamon chocolates at The Final Countdown NYE Party
That being said, we have been playing around our full idea at different events and on the bike itself. Weather and sun providing, we’ve had chocolates on the bike in addition to our select coffees and TEAS! On one hand we don’t want to overwhelm you with all the things we have our hands in, but on the other we think you get where we’re coming from, even if you sometimes ask us.
Let it suffice to say that as we continue to work on the shop, we are going to let our experiments and offerings open, to be re-condensed when we open the shop. For now, we’re allowing ourselves the chance to play.
That brings to mind a few things we have on the horizon.
Taking into account cold weather and brew times, we’ve been experimenting with brewing your coffees on the bike with the Aeropress. The Aeropress does a few things for us on the bike. 1. It’s fun. 2. It brews a deep and concentrated cup of coffee with full flavor. 3. It has a shorter brew time, so as the weather chills, your coffees will be hot, despite brewing them outside and one at a time. So let the tasting begin. Well soon, that is.
Aeropress!
We have learned that many of you aren’t late nighters like us and don’t necessarily drink coffee late at night during the week. So, as we are also tea lovers and researchers and have some really great teas for you to try, we figured for some of our evening setups we’ll roll out a menu with more of a focus on tea (in the broad sense of the word), some caffeinated, and many without caffeine. For the evenings, I’m thinking Organic Honeybush and Green Rooibos for your tasting and health pleasure!
AND, two Sundays from now, at our mainstay gig, The DtownMarket, with the help of Colin Miller, we’ll be running bikeCOFFEE! as usual, but we’ll also be testing the spICe up YOUr WINter SPICE bazaar! We’ll have over 100 spices, teas and herbs to spice up the dreary winter! Hit the Spice option on our menu to the right to see many of our offerings. Many spices will be discounted. And we’ll have some giveaways!
Besides all that Areli and I have our hands in some other things that are fueling our artistic jones in our not spare time. Areli has a regular gig DJ’ing at WXYC, Thursdays from 12 – 2 PM. You can tune in in the Chapel Hill area on 89.3 or online at http://wxyc.com/listen. She has also been DJ’ing around town. Check out her next set at The Pinhook as part of Chocolate Sunday, January 15th, 9PM – 2AM.
She was one of the last Emcee’s in the last LUCHADORAS. This time around she’ll be wrestling! And we’ll be there with La Luchadora Chocolate Tabla – 72% dark chocolate, pure vanilla, finely ground Mexican coffee, organic cacao nibs and organic cayenne pepper. We also hope to feature some of Counter Culture Coffee’s Los Luchadores coffee that we’ve heard about. Next match, January 21, 12 Noon at Motorco. If this is anything like Luchadoras 1, you won’t want to miss.
We also brought a non-profit arts organization with us when we moved to Durham last spring. And through conversations and connecting with arts-minded people, it has gained life. Anomaly Inc. will be presenting INVISIBLE a performance featuring Mark Dixon and a series of artists, musicians and Epicurians. Details to come very soon. Check out some of Mark’s work by clicking HERE.
We have more to say about our thoughts on transforming Cocoa Cinnamon to a brick and mortar certified community location that we’ll share with you soon! We want to tell you our how’s and why’s, the video for kickstarter that we’ve started working on with Saleem Reshamwala. We want to give you a sense of what we have in place, the kind of help we might need and how it’s all going to be amazing, relaxing and delicious! That will be in another post soon and when we have more information on the reality of it. Thank you for asking everyone! Don’t worry we’re at least as excited as you.
!!! You can see a list of many of our choices on our web menu under Spice. See you there!
