The Girl in the Coffee Shop, by Caedem Marquez, is a short, surprising story about a chubby college student turned journalist.

I received this story as a review copy. Having read the blurb, I must admit that I approached this story with a bit of trepidation. I am a plus sized woman, so the description of Gertrude as chubby followed quickly by a list of her snack of “strawberry muffins, scones, and three Frappaccinos” seemed to be playing to the stereotypes of fat chick who eats too much junk food. And, yes, there were several description references that made me squirm, but the author at least let the main character handle them with a sense of humor.

Gertrude is sitting in a coffee shop attempting to write her college thesis on “Expanding Christian News in a Modern Internet World.” Her Christian sensibilities are shocked when she sees a couple who are obviously having an affair. Gertrude’s reaction is believably sophomoric, and she spends perhaps too much time saying “gross,” “yuck,” and “eww,” but she gradually convinces herself that this is her path to news-anchor fame. “I could follow them. I could write my first major news story, I could put it on the web and get a million hits on Youtube. The people at church would applaud me for stopping such evil.”

I admit that I wasn’t at all comfortable with where this was going, particularly in regard to the main character’s religious presumptions, but there really are people out there like that. I kept reading.

Gertrude takes off after the couple. I enjoyed the description that started the chase. “The Moped wheels scream to life as they burn rubber. Okay, okay, they don’t scream, rather they sputter and protest but I do smell burnt rubber. I can’t tell if the scent stems from my over-worked tires or the tire burning factory…. I prefer the former as the cause of the smell, after all, this is my first real-life chase.”

There were a few run-on sentences exacerbated by punctuation choices that left me mentally gasping for breath as I raced through them. Most readers probably won’t notice as they get caught up in the author’s descriptions. The pacing is good. I was actually almost starting to like Gertrude. I could see some hope for her to grow up a little through the story, and I liked where the plot was going. Then it ended.

I was not prepared for the abrupt conclusion. I was only 57 percent through the Kindle document (Location 266 of 556) when I reached the end of the story. I see now that the Kindle version lists the inclusion of an excerpt from Caedem’s upcoming book, but there is no such note on the Smashwords version. I’m trying not to hold that against the The Girl in the Coffee Shop, but I’m still disappointed.

Would I recommend this story? Yes, I think that I would, though with the above-noted reservations. Sometimes it is good to be taken out of your comfort zone. This little nibble of a story was a fun way to pass part of my lunch break. The real reason I liked the story is in the resolution, but I won’t spoil that for you. You’ll have to read it yourself.

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http://thejoyofcoffee.com/start-run-a-coffee-bar#comment-872 Anonymous Sat, 10 Sep 2011 13:38:21 +0000 http://coffeeloversnews.com/start-run-a-coffee-bar#comment-872 <div style="margin-left:0.5em;"> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> 56 of 57 people found the following review helpful: </div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span style="margin-left: -5px;"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/customer-reviews/stars-3-0._V192240710_.gif" width="64" alt="3.0 out of 5 stars" title="3.0 out of 5 stars" height="12" border="0"/></span> <b>It's a good start...</b>, <nobr>November 25, 2004</nobr></div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <div><div style="float:left;">By </div><div style="float:left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3IA8ETPRFWYJ2/ref=cm_cr_if_pdp/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Smittie</span></a> (Santa Cruz, CA) - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A3IA8ETPRFWYJ2/ref=cm_cr_if_auth_rev/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2&sort_by=MostRecentReview" target="_top" rel="nofollow"></a></div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Start-Run-Coffee-Bar/dp/1551803542/ref=cm_cr_if_orig_subj/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow">Start and Run a Coffee Bar (Start & Run ...) (Paperback)</a></b> </div> Start & Run a Coffee Bar is a good starting point. The devil is always in the details. This book does a great job of helping you to think about the details. All those little things that you usually discover as you are in the process of setting things up. Starting with the business plan and working through to expanding and franchising. The book offers sample lists, charts and worksheets that provide ballpark figures to work with. The book talks about the basics of the product itself, coffee and espresso. In short, the book is very thorough in covering the things you will need to think about in starting and running a coffee bar. <br/><br/>If you do exactly as the book says, you'll end up with a coffee bar that is like a thousand other coffee bars. The overall approach is very formula focused. You will need to bring your own personality and ideas to the table to make your place unique. <br/><br/>While I appreciated the information the book provides, I found the manner and tone annoying. I found the commitment boxes at the end of each chapter sophmoric and condescending. The book's description of how employees should greet and deal with customers is delivered in a tone that indicates little room for variance. This is the only way to do it. And most of the book is that way. The book addresses a coffee shop with a roaster on site. A lot of the marketing discussion centers around the roaster and custom roast coffee. Great if you're planning to have that. <br/><br/>At $17, I don't regret the purchase. The book contains a lot of very useful nuts and bolts information. But I think you will want to read several other books to really understand the coffee business and the coffee customer. <br/><br/>I found the accompanying CD of little value. <div style="padding-top: 10px; clear: both; width: 100%;"> <div style="float:left; padding-right:15px; border-right:1px solid #CCCCCC"><div style="padding-bottom:5px;"><b class="tiny" style="color:#666666;white-space:nowrap;">Help other customers find the most helpful reviews</b> </div><div style="width:300px;"> <a name="R22F7EOMEEN84X.2115.Helpful.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span><span class="votingPrompt">Was this review helpful to you? </span><a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R22F7EOMEEN84X/Helpful/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=3BF0E3F71378DC9355D1A0FCCFF1A104038D0452&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=R22F7EOMEEN84X.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-yes-sec-md._V192249951_.gif" width="35" alt="Yes" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R22F7EOMEEN84X/Helpful/-1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=6634343A3DABACDC27074A941B1BFC577F11942A&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=R22F7EOMEEN84X.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-no-sec-md._V192249949_.gif" width="35" alt="No" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <span class="votingMessage"/></span> </div></div><div style="float:left;"><div style="padding-left:15px;"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"><span class="tiny"> <a name="R22F7EOMEEN84X.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span class="reportingButton"><nobr><a rel="nofollow" class="reportingButton" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R22F7EOMEEN84X/Inappropriate/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=BA8555A3EB61073D05A2F2FD3FF738734D0907EA&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=R22F7EOMEEN84X.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"></a></nobr></span> </span> <span style="color:#CCCCCC;">|</span> <span class="tiny"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R22F7EOMEEN84X/ref=cm_cr_if_perm/?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551803542&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow"></a></span></div><div style="white-space:nowrap;padding-left:-5px;padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R22F7EOMEEN84X/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551803542&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/comment-sm._V192250344_.gif" width="16" alt="Comment" hspace="3" align="absmiddle" height="16" border="0"/></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R22F7EOMEEN84X/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551803542&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow">Comment</a></div></div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <br/></div>

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

It’s a good start…, November 25, 2004

By 

Smittie (Santa Cruz, CA) –

This review is from: Start and Run a Coffee Bar (Start & Run …) (Paperback)

Start & Run a Coffee Bar is a good starting point. The devil is always in the details. This book does a great job of helping you to think about the details. All those little things that you usually discover as you are in the process of setting things up. Starting with the business plan and working through to expanding and franchising. The book offers sample lists, charts and worksheets that provide ballpark figures to work with. The book talks about the basics of the product itself, coffee and espresso. In short, the book is very thorough in covering the things you will need to think about in starting and running a coffee bar.

If you do exactly as the book says, you’ll end up with a coffee bar that is like a thousand other coffee bars. The overall approach is very formula focused. You will need to bring your own personality and ideas to the table to make your place unique.

While I appreciated the information the book provides, I found the manner and tone annoying. I found the commitment boxes at the end of each chapter sophmoric and condescending. The book’s description of how employees should greet and deal with customers is delivered in a tone that indicates little room for variance. This is the only way to do it. And most of the book is that way. The book addresses a coffee shop with a roaster on site. A lot of the marketing discussion centers around the roaster and custom roast coffee. Great if you’re planning to have that.

At $17, I don’t regret the purchase. The book contains a lot of very useful nuts and bolts information. But I think you will want to read several other books to really understand the coffee business and the coffee customer.

I found the accompanying CD of little value.

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]]> http://thejoyofcoffee.com/start-run-a-coffee-bar#comment-871 Smittie Sat, 10 Sep 2011 13:24:55 +0000 http://coffeeloversnews.com/start-run-a-coffee-bar#comment-871 <div style="margin-left:0.5em;"> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> 110 of 117 people found the following review helpful: </div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span style="margin-left: -5px;"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/customer-reviews/stars-5-0._V192240867_.gif" width="64" alt="5.0 out of 5 stars" title="5.0 out of 5 stars" height="12" border="0"/></span> <b>Excellent book.</b>, <nobr>December 20, 1998</nobr></div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> By <b>A Customer</b><br/></div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span class="crVerifiedStripe"><b class="h3Color tiny" style="margin-right: 0.5em;">Amazon Verified Purchase</b><span class="tiny verifyWhatsThis">(<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase/175-1008396-1581658" target="AmazonHelp" onclick="amz_js_PopWin('http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase/175-1008396-1581658', 'AmazonHelp', 'width=400,height=500,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,toolbar=0,status=1');return false; " rel="nofollow">What's this?</a>)</span></span> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Start-Profitable-Coffee-Self-Counsel-Business/dp/1551800985/ref=cm_cr_if_orig_subj/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow">Start and Run a Profitable Coffee Bar (Self-Counsel Business Series) (Paperback)</a></b> </div> I found "Start and Run a Profitable Coffee Bar" an excellent book for restaurant novice such as myself. I have operated a business but not a restaurant or coffee shop. This book is excellent. It provided many different forms which would be useful in running a coffee bar. The book also included in an appendix coffee organizations and suppliers, helping the novice tremendously. I would definitely recommend purchasing this book if you are interested in starting a coffee bar or shop. <div style="padding-top: 10px; clear: both; width: 100%;"> <div style="float:left; padding-right:15px; border-right:1px solid #CCCCCC"><div style="padding-bottom:5px;"><b class="tiny" style="color:#666666;white-space:nowrap;">Help other customers find the most helpful reviews</b> </div><div style="width:300px;"> <a name="R1EDC6W6D4M3O9.2115.Helpful.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span><span class="votingPrompt">Was this review helpful to you? </span><a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R1EDC6W6D4M3O9/Helpful/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=7BFFACCCED0A60622A6BA5424C6B7333DEABB146&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=R1EDC6W6D4M3O9.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-yes-sec-md._V192249951_.gif" width="35" alt="Yes" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R1EDC6W6D4M3O9/Helpful/-1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=60E0D3CB231E5EA5D713E873016A0FB7D8389468&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=R1EDC6W6D4M3O9.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-no-sec-md._V192249949_.gif" width="35" alt="No" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <span class="votingMessage"/></span> </div></div><div style="float:left;"><div style="padding-left:15px;"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"><span class="tiny"> <a name="R1EDC6W6D4M3O9.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span class="reportingButton"><nobr><a rel="nofollow" class="reportingButton" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R1EDC6W6D4M3O9/Inappropriate/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=D43520ABF6EDF2159939CE47B9A4D9AAA238BC24&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=R1EDC6W6D4M3O9.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"></a></nobr></span> </span> <span style="color:#CCCCCC;">|</span> <span class="tiny"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R1EDC6W6D4M3O9/ref=cm_cr_if_perm/?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551800985&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow"></a></span></div><div style="white-space:nowrap;padding-left:-5px;padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R1EDC6W6D4M3O9/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551800985&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/comment-sm._V192250344_.gif" width="16" alt="Comment" hspace="3" align="absmiddle" height="16" border="0"/></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R1EDC6W6D4M3O9/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551800985&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow">Comment</a></div></div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <br/></div>

110 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent book., December 20, 1998

By A Customer

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This review is from: Start and Run a Profitable Coffee Bar (Self-Counsel Business Series) (Paperback)

I found “Start and Run a Profitable Coffee Bar” an excellent book for restaurant novice such as myself. I have operated a business but not a restaurant or coffee shop. This book is excellent. It provided many different forms which would be useful in running a coffee bar. The book also included in an appendix coffee organizations and suppliers, helping the novice tremendously. I would definitely recommend purchasing this book if you are interested in starting a coffee bar or shop.

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]]> http://thejoyofcoffee.com/start-run-a-coffee-bar#comment-870 julie, horse lover Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:51:23 +0000 http://coffeeloversnews.com/start-run-a-coffee-bar#comment-870 <div style="margin-left:0.5em;"> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> 92 of 94 people found the following review helpful: </div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span style="margin-left: -5px;"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/customer-reviews/stars-5-0._V192240867_.gif" width="64" alt="5.0 out of 5 stars" title="5.0 out of 5 stars" height="12" border="0"/></span> <b>Best book for the beans</b>, <nobr>May 23, 2004</nobr></div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <div><div style="float:left;">By </div><div style="float:left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AF6PUDIHDKBII/ref=cm_cr_if_pdp/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: bold;">julie, horse lover</span></a> (redding, ca United States) - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AF6PUDIHDKBII/ref=cm_cr_if_auth_rev/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2&sort_by=MostRecentReview" target="_top" rel="nofollow"></a></div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Start-Run-Coffee-Bar/dp/1551803542/ref=cm_cr_if_orig_subj/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow">Start and Run a Coffee Bar (Start & Run ...) (Paperback)</a></b> </div> We are opening a coffee house in 4 months and, needless to say, I have been reading and researching tons of books. Not just on the coffee world, but on insuring a small business as well as other legal insights. This book has been a HUGE resource for our venture. It is an easy read, meaning, it doesn't numb your mind for countless pages discussing, say, insurance. Let me add that it does talk about insurance, and I thank the authors for that. They explain complicated business talk with clear and consise examples. They also tend to weigh situations against other situations. For example, when drawing up the plans, they give you three ways of doing it (yourself, a draftsman, and an architect) and explain the pros and cons of each. This is consistent throughout the book and they go on to explain why or why not certain things work. They discuss marketing, staffing and the interview process, equipment tips, design layout, decor, etc. This is obviously written from the stand point of people who have been there. They cover all the bases about getting your shop up and running while touching on some potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. And if you get in a bind, they discuss how to get out of it. My highlighter has gotten a workout and I am passing this on to my co-owners to read. I am grateful to have found this book and only wish I had found it sooner to save money on the previous "coffee house" books I have purchased. This book exceeded my expectations as it went beyond the basics and truly is the only book you'll ever need. I was impressed to see that they covered LLC's, C corporations, and, S corporations...where people can't sue and go after your homes, bank accounts, personal assets, etc. Our attorney recomended an LLC for our type of operation and I was relieved to see that this book brought the topic up. Thanks to the authors for being the most complete work out there (in my opinion) on starting your business THE RIGHT WAY from the start. <div style="padding-top: 10px; clear: both; width: 100%;"> <div style="float:left; padding-right:15px; border-right:1px solid #CCCCCC"><div style="padding-bottom:5px;"><b class="tiny" style="color:#666666;white-space:nowrap;">Help other customers find the most helpful reviews</b> </div><div style="width:300px;"> <a name="ROGEZN3HF36D8.2115.Helpful.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span><span class="votingPrompt">Was this review helpful to you? </span><a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/ROGEZN3HF36D8/Helpful/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=5627E9CBA8392FE0C0A3C9344EC4E565E38B922A&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=ROGEZN3HF36D8.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-yes-sec-md._V192249951_.gif" width="35" alt="Yes" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/ROGEZN3HF36D8/Helpful/-1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=EF581EE5813AA777D0A4D3863DA1BF91688BF7B3&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=ROGEZN3HF36D8.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-no-sec-md._V192249949_.gif" width="35" alt="No" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <span class="votingMessage"/></span> </div></div><div style="float:left;"><div style="padding-left:15px;"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"><span class="tiny"> <a name="ROGEZN3HF36D8.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span class="reportingButton"><nobr><a rel="nofollow" class="reportingButton" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/ROGEZN3HF36D8/Inappropriate/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&token=3A5ED8CD35992BCF2EACF1AF99D227DAD47A5171&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8xNzcwNDAwMzU0L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTc1LTEwMDgzOTYtMTU4MTY1OD9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTE3NzA0MDAzNTQmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz1yUGcyN0U0VFJXNnlBNVFYMWxWSEl4WjBwenBhMmRZQ1RTcTAwcnhQUFZRJTNEJmV4cD0yMDExLTA5LTExVDEyJTNBMjAlM0EyOFomYXRhZz1hbWF6b25jbGljay0yMA&voteAnchorName=ROGEZN3HF36D8.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews&voteSessionID=175-1008396-1581658" rel="nofollow"></a></nobr></span> </span> <span style="color:#CCCCCC;">|</span> <span class="tiny"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/ROGEZN3HF36D8/ref=cm_cr_if_perm/?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551803542&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow"></a></span></div><div style="white-space:nowrap;padding-left:-5px;padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/ROGEZN3HF36D8/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551803542&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/comment-sm._V192250344_.gif" width="16" alt="Comment" hspace="3" align="absmiddle" height="16" border="0"/></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/ROGEZN3HF36D8/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/175-1008396-1581658?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1551803542&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow">Comment</a></div></div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <br/></div>

92 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

Best book for the beans, May 23, 2004

By 

julie, horse lover (redding, ca United States) –

This review is from: Start and Run a Coffee Bar (Start & Run …) (Paperback)

We are opening a coffee house in 4 months and, needless to say, I have been reading and researching tons of books. Not just on the coffee world, but on insuring a small business as well as other legal insights. This book has been a HUGE resource for our venture. It is an easy read, meaning, it doesn’t numb your mind for countless pages discussing, say, insurance. Let me add that it does talk about insurance, and I thank the authors for that. They explain complicated business talk with clear and consise examples. They also tend to weigh situations against other situations. For example, when drawing up the plans, they give you three ways of doing it (yourself, a draftsman, and an architect) and explain the pros and cons of each. This is consistent throughout the book and they go on to explain why or why not certain things work. They discuss marketing, staffing and the interview process, equipment tips, design layout, decor, etc. This is obviously written from the stand point of people who have been there. They cover all the bases about getting your shop up and running while touching on some potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. And if you get in a bind, they discuss how to get out of it. My highlighter has gotten a workout and I am passing this on to my co-owners to read. I am grateful to have found this book and only wish I had found it sooner to save money on the previous “coffee house” books I have purchased. This book exceeded my expectations as it went beyond the basics and truly is the only book you’ll ever need. I was impressed to see that they covered LLC’s, C corporations, and, S corporations…where people can’t sue and go after your homes, bank accounts, personal assets, etc. Our attorney recomended an LLC for our type of operation and I was relieved to see that this book brought the topic up. Thanks to the authors for being the most complete work out there (in my opinion) on starting your business THE RIGHT WAY from the start.

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]]> http://thejoyofcoffee.com/the-joy-of-coffee-the-essential-guide-to-buying-brewing-and-enjoying-revised-and-updated#comment-869 Anonymous Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:31:13 +0000 http://coffeeloversnews.com/the-joy-of-coffee-the-essential-guide-to-buying-brewing-and-enjoying-revised-and-updated#comment-869 <div style="margin-left:0.5em;"> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> 5 of 6 people found the following review helpful: </div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span style="margin-left: -5px;"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/customer-reviews/stars-5-0._V192240867_.gif" width="64" alt="5.0 out of 5 stars" title="5.0 out of 5 stars" height="12" border="0"/></span> <b>Great Coffee and Equipment Guide</b>, <nobr>March 26, 2006</nobr></div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <div><div style="float:left;">By </div><div style="float:left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3TOL0CG0HH9DG/ref=cm_cr_if_pdp/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: bold;">D. Vogel</span></a> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A3TOL0CG0HH9DG/ref=cm_cr_if_auth_rev/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2&sort_by=MostRecentReview" target="_top" rel="nofollow"></a><br/><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=cm_rn_bdg_help/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&nodeId=14279681&pop-up=1#RN" target="AmazonHelp" onclick="return amz_js_PopWin(this.href,'AmazonHelp','width=340,height=340,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,toolbar=1,status=1');" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reputation/c7y_badge_rn_1._V192249968_.gif" width="70" align="absmiddle" alt="(REAL NAME)" height="15" border="0"/></a>    </div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span class="crVerifiedStripe"><b class="h3Color tiny" style="margin-right: 0.5em;">Amazon Verified Purchase</b><span class="tiny verifyWhatsThis">(<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase/180-1208786-6684855" target="AmazonHelp" onclick="amz_js_PopWin('http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase/180-1208786-6684855', 'AmazonHelp', 'width=400,height=500,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,toolbar=0,status=1');return false; " rel="nofollow">What's this?</a>)</span></span> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span>The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying - Revised and Updated (Paperback)</b> </div> I learned a lot from this book about coffee, and it was a very valuable source of information when I recently purchased a new espresso machine. <div style="padding-top: 10px; clear: both; width: 100%;"> <div style="float:left; padding-right:15px; border-right:1px solid #CCCCCC"><div style="padding-bottom:5px;"><b class="tiny" style="color:#666666;white-space:nowrap;">Help other customers find the most helpful reviews</b> </div><div style="width:300px;"> <a name="R3OZBFVY6WGKN4.2115.Helpful.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span><span class="votingPrompt">Was this review helpful to you? </span><a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R3OZBFVY6WGKN4/Helpful/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&token=EAD58A5053DD827B3C53AAA9A3C421398598C75F&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8wNjE4MzAyNDA5L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTgwLTEyMDg3ODYtNjY4NDg1NT9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTA2MTgzMDI0MDkmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz16dVphalExZHdhSXprJTJGckEwN0dpUlRIY2xXQ3RpbEF5UW9senljcUIxZEklM0QmZXhwPTIwMTEtMDgtMzFUMTIlM0EwOCUzQTUzWiZhdGFnPWFtYXpvbmNsaWNrLTIw&voteAnchorName=R3OZBFVY6WGKN4.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=180-1208786-6684855" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-yes-sec-md._V192249951_.gif" width="35" alt="Yes" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R3OZBFVY6WGKN4/Helpful/-1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&token=FD1119F9ECD5B980B7720957319B938B553BC02E&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8wNjE4MzAyNDA5L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTgwLTEyMDg3ODYtNjY4NDg1NT9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTA2MTgzMDI0MDkmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz16dVphalExZHdhSXprJTJGckEwN0dpUlRIY2xXQ3RpbEF5UW9senljcUIxZEklM0QmZXhwPTIwMTEtMDgtMzFUMTIlM0EwOCUzQTUzWiZhdGFnPWFtYXpvbmNsaWNrLTIw&voteAnchorName=R3OZBFVY6WGKN4.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=180-1208786-6684855" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-no-sec-md._V192249949_.gif" width="35" alt="No" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <span class="votingMessage"/></span> </div></div><div style="float:left;"><div style="padding-left:15px;"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"><span class="tiny"> <a name="R3OZBFVY6WGKN4.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;" rel="nofollow"> </a><span class="reportingButton"><nobr><a rel="nofollow" class="reportingButton" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R3OZBFVY6WGKN4/Inappropriate/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&token=DC222490B1D65268533BA2D9CEA85BB491C6292B&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy8wNjE4MzAyNDA5L3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTgwLTEyMDg3ODYtNjY4NDg1NT9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9YW1hem9uY2xpY2stMjAmdj0yJmxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZhc2luPTA2MTgzMDI0MDkmdHJ1bmNhdGU9NTAwMCZha2lkPUFLSUFJT0FSVFVFMlpUUkcyNzZRJnNpZz16dVphalExZHdhSXprJTJGckEwN0dpUlRIY2xXQ3RpbEF5UW9senljcUIxZEklM0QmZXhwPTIwMTEtMDgtMzFUMTIlM0EwOCUzQTUzWiZhdGFnPWFtYXpvbmNsaWNrLTIw&voteAnchorName=R3OZBFVY6WGKN4.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews&voteSessionID=180-1208786-6684855" rel="nofollow"></a></nobr></span> </span> <span style="color:#CCCCCC;">|</span> <span class="tiny"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3OZBFVY6WGKN4/ref=cm_cr_if_perm/?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0618302409&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top" rel="nofollow"></a></span></div><div style="white-space:nowrap;padding-left:-5px;padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3OZBFVY6WGKN4/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0618302409&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/comment-sm._V192250344_.gif" width="16" alt="Comment" hspace="3" align="absmiddle" height="16" border="0"/></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3OZBFVY6WGKN4/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/180-1208786-6684855?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0618302409&nodeID=&tag=amazonclick-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top" rel="nofollow">Comment</a></div></div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <br/></div>

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Great Coffee and Equipment Guide, March 26, 2006

By 

D. Vogel –

  

Amazon Verified Purchase(http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase/180-1208786-6684855', ‘AmazonHelp’, ‘width=400,height=500,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,toolbar=0,status=1′);return false; ” rel=”nofollow”>What’s this?)

This review is from: The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying – Revised and Updated (Paperback)

I learned a lot from this book about coffee, and it was a very valuable source of information when I recently purchased a new espresso machine.

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