Spring is here! ...Almost!

Sunny weather has sure been dragging it's feet around these parts.  Yesterday it was a beautiful 70 degrees and today (Sunday) it's rainy and cold. I think Durham needs to reevaluate which season it wants to be in.

Warm weather for us coffee addicts means COLD BREW... and we have an unbelievably sweet Ethiopian Yergacheffe "Z" that takes delicious to a whole new level. The "Z" stands for "Zero Defect"- because of the intense level of sorting and processing- we can create the closest thing to heaven in a cup!  For those unfamiliar with Cold Brew, you won't believe the difference in flavor.  Instead of just brewing a super strong batch of drip coffee and then pouring it over ice, what we do is let the coffee steep all night long and then in the morning filter out the grounds.  The extraction process is gentle and smooth and draws out all the sweetness while leaving harsh notes behind.  (It's also easier on your stomach if you have a bit of a tummy reaction to coffee)

We've also got a delicious Jasmine Blossom Iced Tea and a Spring Delight Latte (with our homemade vanilla and fresh orange).

Also, have you noticed that all of this sun is powering your house and lowering your bills?  What's that??  You don't have solar panels on your roof??  Well, you're in luck!  Yes! Solar Solutions (based out of Cary, NC) is offering discounted pricing on solar panels based on how many people sign up!  It's a part of the movement called "Solarize Durham."  Call them and tell them that Tim from Caffe Bellezza sent you.  The owners, Stew and Kathy Miller, are great people and they helped us become the ONLY SOLAR POWERED FOOD TRUCK on the East Coast!  The number is 919-459-4155.

And lastly, our truck is getting painted!  The talented Erik Leighland will be putting a sweet sexy logo all over our little trailer!

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Here's to another beautiful cup,

Tim

Weather, whether you want it or not!

There's something magical in the air when the weather changes from cold winter to warm spring.  In the case of Durham, NC, it's more like a bad magician suddenly throwing freezing cold water on you and then scorching you with a heat lamp and then back to the cold water again.  The reason I bring up the weather is because of how drastically it affects business for food (and coffee) trucks. It also affects how much power we can draw from our solar panels.

On Friday, Bethany and I enjoyed a lovely cool morning of serving coffee and tea to folks at One Renaissance Center in Raleigh only to be barraged by gail force winds and vicious rain all the way home.  There were several times that we wondered if our trailer would be able to stay on the road!

The following day the sun came out and so did the people.  Durham Farmer's Market and Hunt St. Market was PACKED and we did our best day of business there to date.  We started serving Iced Beverages as a trial run and it went over great!  Our iced mocha is devine- made with real Videri Chocolate!  Soon we will have a very unique COLD BREW and a nice selection of Iced Teas.  We also have introduced a new special drink: the Irish Cream Latte and Irish Coffee.  Both are made with a REAL WHISKEY REDUCTION to make every Irishman and Irishwoman proud to be living in America.  

Lastly, we've already started preparing for our second Durham Food Truck Rodeo that will be on March 9th, from noon-4pm at Durham Central Park!  Don't miss this awesome event!  There's live music, 4 beer venders and 48 different Food and Coffee Trucks! We will be streamlining our truck to make sure that Durham doesn't have to wait too long to get its Specialty Coffee and Tea from the Triangle's only Solar Powered Mobile Coffee Bar. Check out http://durhamcentralpark.org/event/food-truck-rodeo-4/ for more information.

Thanks for the photo, Fran!

Thank you to our loyal fans and neighbors!  We'll see you soon!

-Tim

Reflections after our first Food Truck Rodeo!

SO much has happened since my last post!  We have been busy keeping the trailer running smooth, trying out new locations, and making delicious coffee memories!

At the rodeo we served over 200 thirsty customers!!  WOW.  Big thank you to Julie Morris and Cam Kinch who swooped in and saved the day by getting us milk and cups when we ran out and helped brew coffee like pros!

Some of my favorite things that I have heard about us lately:

"This has got to be the nicest food truck I have ever seen"

"Oh my god, this hot chocolate is amazing."

"This smells incredible."

"Best latte I've had in years.  And I'm not just saying that!"

So a HUGE thank you to our supporters and small group of loyal followers!  If I were to say that it is tough starting a business I would be understating it by about a billion. There's so much uncertainty, politics, and grundgy work!  But the trade off is that we get to make our own schedule and be our own bosses!  

In other news, we had our first catering gig on Tuesday night on Duke's West Campus!  Tim got to talk with coffee-craving students about the pourover method and then hand out free cups of fresh-brewed coffee and loose leaf tea!  Big thank you to RA of the year Jeff Nelson and the Kilgo Quadrangle.  If you are curious about having us cater your event, email INFO@CAFFEBELLEZZA.COM.

Here's to every beautiful cup!

Caffe Bellezza