A little about Tyler

I am not much of an artist, but I take pictures. Sometimes they come out looking ok, more often than not they come out looking not ok. Regardless, I found a few that I have taken over the years that I like a lot and so I put some of them up for others to take a look at. All the 8×10’s were taken by me or by my good friend Brandon Woods. We traveled around the world with backpacks and a Cannon Rebel SLR in the summer of 2009. We took pictures, ate food, talked to people, learned stuff, got sick, ate more food, got sick again, learned about missions work, caught a glimpse of globalization, and came home.

The 11×14s were taken with a Pentax 35mm camera. I used a basic 55mm lenses, and some 400iso film. Most of those were taken onboard the cargo ship I worked on as the 3rd officer last year. A scattered few are from other places or times. While I was working on that ship we called in Singapore, the west coast, the Mississippi, the gulf coast and the Dominican Republic.

If you have an interest in any of the photos email me at burnstlb@sbcglobal.net or call 805-459-5868

Each month at Higher Groundz we feature a new local artist, showcasing their artwork in our store. Not only does this make our coffee shop look great, but our customers get to experience a new ambience every month that reflects each artist. Feel free to contact us for more information on our artists or becoming a featured artist.

A little about Heidi

I grew up in a very crafty household. My mom seeing cool things and would often say “I can make that”. I am glad to inherit that way of being. Growing up art was always my favorite subject with recesses close behind. Even in college days my favorite activities were attending art classes and playing volleyball. Now, art fills my house and my mind.

I have always loved the look of mosaic art. I came across the idea of making mosaic from magazine by accident. Flipping through a design magazine one day while watching HGTV, I started to tear out pages I liked… bright colors, neat textures, weird designs. With magazines scattered all over my living room floor I created my first magazine mosaic. Now, I am unable to enjoy a magazine for its intended use; I always have the urge to rip out everything interesting that I see. I enjoy the recycled aspect and the variety of textiles that can be found. This art is very me.

I live in Templeton with my cool hubby Shaw along with our 4 animal kids… 2 dogs and 2 cats. I work at Neurotopia as a neurofeedback technician during the day and at night I enjoy life and create art.

Enjoy,
Heidi Thompson
piece.by.piece@live.com

Each month at Higher Groundz we feature a new local artist, showcasing their artwork in our store. Not only does this make our coffee shop look great, but our customers get to experience a new ambience every month that reflects each artist. Feel free to contact us for more information on our artists or becoming a featured artist.

A little about Leah

Leah T. hails from Fredericksburg, VA—what she considers the best place on earth. She became a bachelor of fine arts at Cornell University in 2008, and then packed her bags for SLO. These last two years she has served on staff with The Navigators, sharing with students life and a lot of coffee. She hates cupcakes and donuts, yet loves sweet tea. She also loves her Navajo family, making Mom proud when she became the 2006 Cornell frybread-making grand champion. Rumor has it she’s marrying David Bromberg this very August.

Each month at Higher Groundz we feature a new local artist, showcasing their artwork in our store. Not only does this make our coffee shop look great, but our customers get to experience a new ambience every month that reflects each artist. Feel free to contact us for more information on our artists or becoming a featured artist.

A little about Alex

“I have always been creative… the wheels are always turning. I see it as both a blessing and a curse, as I really have fun exploring new ways to stretch my creative legs, while maintaining the financial practicality of a college student. Being creative gets expensive! I am finishing up my degree at Cal Poly in photography, and in the process of figuring out what sort of photos I really love to take, I began incorporating my passion for thrift store shopping. Pipe and Pepper is the name of my photography/vintage online shop where I sell not only the one of a kind an unique items I stumble across, but also the photos that I take of these finds. I do not know what comes next after I get this degree, but I do know that taking photos will certainly be in the picture.”

Each month at Higher Groundz we feature a new local artist, showcasing their artwork in our store. Not only does this make our coffee shop look great, but our customers get to experience a new ambience every month that reflects each artist. Feel free to contact us for more information on our artists or becoming a featured artist.

A little about Donna

Ask Donna and she’ll tell you she’s always been artistically inclined. But through life circumstances never had a real chance to really express that part of herself.

After her youngest child Carly graduated, she began taking classes at Cuesta and soon discovered a joy through expressing her creativity through photography. Even though she loved taking pictures and displaying them as fine art in shows and contests, she soon discovered her true passion of taking photographs of people. She was persuaded by good friends to photograph their daughter’s wedding and the rest is history. Even though she had never done wedding photography before, she found her joy and passion in capturing all the emotion and beauty of the most important day of a couple’s life.

She now loves wedding and all types of portraiture (seniors, pets, families, etc.) She still loves her fine art photography! For instance, this year she won two first places and one second place in the New Times annual photography contest. As well, one of her first place images was chosen as the cover on the New Times publication announcing the winners of 2009.

You can view more of her work at photo-art.squarespace.com or photo-art.smugmug.com

Each month at Higher Groundz we feature a new local artist, showcasing their artwork in our store. Not only does this make our coffee shop look great, but our customers get to experience a new ambience every month that reflects each artist. Feel free to contact us for more information on our artists or becoming a featured artist.

A little about Barb

Aside from being a wife, the mother of 4 wonderful kids, and serving with her husband with the Navigators at Cal Poly, Barb enjoys finding pockets of time to get creative and see what her paint brush can accomplish. Born in Ohio and raised in Brazil, Barb spent several years at Cornell with her husband before coming to San Luis Obispo. She has a love for college students, and seeing what God can accomplish in their lives. You’re bound to find Barb on the couch at Higher Groundz sipping a non-fat sugar-free vanilla chai latte with her friends.

The Showdown

You can tell a lot about a person based on how they take their coffee– or can you? Either way—whether you dump in the bowl of sugar, or proudly show off your pure black joe—coffee is meant to be savored and enjoyed. We serve JavaTree craft-roasted coffee at Higher Groundz, and encourage you to try sipping it black before you add your goodies to it and see what you think. Its the best brew we’ve ever had, and hope you feel the same.

Cheers!

Each month at Higher Groundz we feature a new local artist, showcasing their artwork in our store. Not only does this make our coffee shop look great, but our customers get to experience a new ambience every month that reflects each artist. Feel free to contact us for more information on our artists or becoming a featured artist.

A little about Marigee

Marigee Bacolod Yoshinobu is an author, photographer, and economist (A.P.E.). She is a recent resident of San Luis Obispo, and is also an Assistant Professor of Economics at UC Irvine. Her photo, I Madonnari, won her 1st Place in the 2009 SLO New Times Photo Contest. When not monkeying (APE-ing) around, Marigee toddles around town with her three-year-old son Hutch and mathematician husband Stan. You can reach her via email at marigee.bacolod@gmail.com and view more of her photos at ape.smugmug.com.

You may think that the grande-sugar-free-nonfat-half-caf-extra-shot-caramel-macchiato-blah-blah-blah-with-no-whipped-cream coffee fad is taking the world by storm, but coming from Asia there is a new contender that is fast sweeping across the sea into the US. Bubble Tea—otherwise known as boba, pearl tea, milk tea, or other names—is in many ways part drink, part snack and part dessert, and all fun!

Boba Beginnings

Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the 1980’s and over the past 10 years has migrated to China, Canada, New York City and then to the west coast. Rumor has it that after featured in a Taiwanese TV show, the bizarre drink became an instant hit. You can now find a Bubble Tea café on almost every corner in Asian cities, and they are springing up in US cities as well.

So what is it?!

The Boba experience is made up of big black balls of chewy tapioca, which are about the size of small marbles. They sink to the bottom of your cup, and the tea is usually served with a large straw to suck them up with. They have a gummy consistency which adds a unique texture to any drink. Sometimes the drink is made with fresh fruits, milk, and crushed ice to create a healthy milk shake. You can also find drinks that are made of powdered flavoring, creamer, water. And if you like it like the Asians do, the cool drink usually includes a healthy tea, infused by a flavoring.

At Higher Groundz

The beauty of Bubble Tea is it’s versaltility. At Higher Groundz we offer Boba in any drink for fifty cents, but also offer a small menu of drinks that we recommend that pair the best with these unique pearls. A lot of people claim that is is a drink that you’ll either love or hate; but either way we encourage you to give this fad a shot and let us know what you think.

Use the comment form below to let others know what you think, or what flavors you’d like us to ad here at Higher Groundz.

So, its Saturday morning and you’re feeling a little groggy from a late Friday night. Do you really want to make a mess in the kitchen slaving over some breakfast dish? Okay, sarcasm aside, you really should pop into Higher Groundz this Saturday morning and try out our delicious homemade pancakes that are sure to jump start your weekend.

Let us serve you

Our house pancakes are made from scratch here in our kitchen fresh every Saturday morning from white and whole wheat flour with buttermilk. They’re served as a triple stack with your choice of toppings: strawberries, blueberries, candied almonds, bananas, and more. Also served with a side of syrup and butter.

Some pancake history

“The modern pancake has roots dating to ancient times. Foods similar to pancakes can be dated back to the ancient Romans, although, the pancakes we know today originated in Medieval Europe.”
–Pancakeology

“Pancakes have long been a staple of the American breakfast table, and their history is as old as that of the Native Americans who shaped a soft batter in their hands and called it, in the Narragansett, nokehick (it is soft), transmuted by early white settlers into ” no cake.” Cornmeal pancakes were called “Indian cakes” as early as 1607. The Dutch in America made similar cakes from buckwheat, panekoeken, which by 1740 were called “buckwheat cakes.” English settlers brought with them the feast of Pancake Tuesday, an old name for Shrove Tuesday, the day before the Lenten fast begins…By 1745 Americans were also referring to hoe cakes,” perhaps because they were cooked on a flat hoe blade…One of the most beloved versions of this simple cake is the Johnnycake [also known as journey cake], specifically associated with Rhode Island…The word “pancake” itself was not in general usage until the 1870s…”
–Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 229-30)

Some pancake tips

Don’t over mix your batter:

Excessive mixing of your batter will over develop the gluten in your flour. This will lead to chewy cakes. Mix your batter only enough to make it workable. Don’t worry about a few small lumps.

Whip Your Egg Whites:

Separate your eggs and whip the whites until they are firm. When the rest of your ingredients are mixed, fold them into the batter.

Throw in the Kitchen Sink:

Don’t be afraid to stray from your recipe. Throw in some fruit or nuts. Experiment with different grains or try adding spices like cinnamon or nutmeg.
–Pancakeology