Black Rose Metaphysical

Posting from: Tucson, AZ
Listening to: Chip Ritter’s THUNDER MACHINE cover of Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of LondonAs some of you may know, I am ever so slightly picky when it comes to (a) coffee and (b) restaurants. This has a way of coming to an ugly head from time to time when I am at a coffee shop.So far Javalina’s still reigns as my Number One Favorite Coffee Shop in Tucson. But it is barely in Tucson- it’s way out on the east side in Rita Ranch, and I live way, way, way west of Tucson so I’m often nowhere near there when I want coffee. Plus, I worry that the place will one day close or something so I decided a while ago to find myself a backup coffee shop. And that led me to write some very nice things about a place called 6th Street Cafe. Unfortunately, shortly after that a terrible thing happened- mid-terms. Many of the barristas at this place are university students which is not surprising given that the university is basically across the street. But the problem with that is that they come and go with the school schedule. About mid-way through last semester, there were suddenly 2 or 3 new employees and I suddenly got really, really crappy drinks. First it was the iced mochas- two bad ones in a row. Neither of the barristas knew how to make one though they sincerely tried. Then it was my regular hot drink- a caramel cafe latte. They kept getting cooler and cooler each time I got them, and then one day it was back to hot the way espresso and steamed milk should be but I had gotten acclimated to lukewarm ones and wound up burning myself. Then there was the final straw that caused me to break up with this coffee shop. The barrista made my caramel cafe latte for me, and I sipped off of it for a while trying to discern any caramel flavor whatsoever. I couldn’t detect any, so finally I brought it back and asked for more caramel. The fellow said sure he’d add more but he thought he’d put a lot of caramel in the first time but “maybe I should have stirred it.” WTF? Maybe? Oh god, kill me now. Sure enough, when I finished there was a thick wad of caramel in the bottom of the cup along with a lot of espresso grounds that had landed in it. Yuck. That was that.I have to say that I don’t think the problem was with the barristas- they seemed to really want to do a good job, and were willing to fix things if I didn’t like the drink. Only once did I have the heart to break it to them that they were not making good drinks. When I see someone looking at the menu to see if chocolate syrup is one of the ingredients in an iced mocha, I have to think that training was severely lacking. I think if the owners had taken the time that Bonnie Vining does over at Javalina’s to make sure the barristas are properly trained, then this would have stayed a great place.But whatever. The experience was ruined for me, and I decided to move on and find another backup coffee place. Here’s what I found:I was looking for a place on Stone Ave. called Coffee Vein, but I accidentally passed it and found the Black Rose Caffe instead which I’d never heard of. I have never made it over to Coffee Vein to check them out because I just keep coming back here. Most Tuesdays I come over here between work and my drum lesson because (unlike Javalina’s) they have sandwiches, salads, etc… in addition to coffee and sweets. I once had a delicious pulled pork sandwich on some kind of whole grain roll topped with coleslaw which was the special one day. I have longed for it ever since until a couple of days ago when I discovered it had been added to the regular menu! Woohoo! And I dearly love my hot Black Magick Mochas so much that I haven’t been able to goad myself into ordering it iced. That is the best hot mocha I have ever had anywhere.

So far as I’ve seen, the staff of Black Rose Caffe consist of the owners Demetrius and Mariha. They are really lovely people. My main worry for this place is that it is a pagan-themed cafe located on the first floor of what seems to be a Californicated-college-kids apartment complex. I don’t quite see how those cultures meld. There aren’t ever very many people when I’m here, but Mariha mentioned once that they are usually busier at lunchtime and on music nights which I have so far missed. I really hope they are getting a lot of business. Like Javalina’s, Black Rose Caffe seems to be making a real effort at developing a community here by hosting writers’ group meeting, druid fellowship meetings, hosting local and touring musicians a few nights a week, featuring the work of local artists on its walls, etc… I really dig that. They also have free wi-fi and very lovely and clean restrooms (or at least the ladies’ room is- I didn’t actually check the men’s). At this point they have moved way up my list from “backup coffee shop”. Now I think of Javalina’s as my east side coffee shop and Black Rose Caffe as my west side coffee shop. I love ‘em both!