See you next year!

We are taking a few days off!

Please note the following changes:

Monday, Dec 29th CLOSED
Tuesday, Dec. 30th CLOSED
Wednesday, Dec. 31st CLOSED
Thursday, January 1st CLOSED
Friday, January 2nd 7am-8pm

Happy New Year!

Christmas Hours

Wednesday Dec 24th Christmas Eve: 7am-4pm
Thursday Dec 25th Christmas Day: CLOSED
The day after Christmas Friday Dec 26th: 8am-8pm

Scenes from the parking lot

The license plates have been altered to protect the not-so-innocent.

I don't even know what to make of this.

Three parking spaces. One car. Why?

What can I say? I'm in a weird mood today.

Peace. Tricia

Make yourself at home

So I've always said that we think of our little coffee shop as an extension of our living room. A place to kick up your feet and forget about anything that might be troubling you.

We want everyone to make themselves comfortable. So comfortable, in fact.. that maybe you'll might sneak in a nap. Like our friend David.

This is David and Debbie.

They're a delightful couple who frequently hangs out at Wildfire Coffee to read thick books and sip on mochas. Usually it's Debbie who actually gets a lot of reading done here. David starts in on a book, then gets about 3/4 done with his mocha before the little sheep in his head start to jump the fence and.. He. Is. OUT. No doubt dreaming of real chocolate mochas, mocha java shakes, and spicy cinnamon.

ahhhhh! Don't you want to come pull up a comfy chair and make yourself at home, too?

David and Debbie will soon move to North Texas. Hopefully they'll find a nice cozy neighborhood coffee shop comfy enough to have a nap. We'll miss you!

Tricia

Winter Blend

Baby it's cold outside!

Okay maybe it's not so chilly today. What are you doing sitting at your computer? Get your keister outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather!

Then stop in at Wildfire Coffee Roasters and pick up a pound of Winter Blend coffee beans. mmmm. Can't you just smell the aroma? Sitting by the fireplace enjoying a nice hot cup of Winterness.

Our Winter Blend is a festive mix of Central and South American beans, roasted to their peak of flavor.

It'll be available through January.

New Tea Sets

This just in. New gift Sets!

Put these on your wish list:

Organic Single Origins loose leaf tea set

A set of two exquisite ceramic tea cups, a gorgeous teapot, and four delicious loose-leaf organic teas to brew and sip. 36.50.

Blooming Tea Set

A sleek glass teapot and a box of flowering teas. It's all packed in a reusable and unique bamboo box. Perfect for giving or receiving! 40.

Bamboo Treasure Chest of teas

A bamboo chest stuffed with an assortment of tea bags. Green, Black, White, Herbal. A variety of choices to keep you warm throughout the winter. 14.50.

Quantities are limited, so hurry in.

Tricia

Dealcember

Come to Wildfire Coffee Roasters anytime from Dec. 6-24th and cash in on some fun deals just in time for the holidays.

We'll be featuring a different deal every day from drinks to merchandise. But don't ask us what the deal is for the next day, Mark and I are last-minute kind of people and will come up with it on the fly that morning depending on our mood.

So come on in.

Who knows, your Iced Peppermint Mocha may even be on special!

It's raining gum. Hallelujah!

It's raining gum.

Have you noticed all the employees chewing gum lately? Rather than looking at us with contempt, join in whydoncha?

A while back a marketing company called and asked me if we'd like some gum samples. Since I am so honest and suspicious, I let them know that we don't sell gum, and the samples would work better somewhere else. "No problem!" The voice on the other end replied, "we just want to get these things out there."

hmm.. I was thinking there might be a catch so I asked if there was any obligation for us to purchase gum in the future.

He said, "no maam!"

"Then send the over!" I squealed. Okay, I didn't really squeal. I just wanted to use that adjective. And can you believe he called me ma'am!??

So I forgot about that phone call, until we got a curious delivery. What is it? Our logo merchandise? Tea? Mark and I looked at each other, thinking the other had ordered something and had forgotten about it, which believe it or not, is a common occurrence.

Then we opened the box.

In that box?

Four big boxes. Of gum.
4000 packets of sugarless gum.




So swing on by, it may be the only time all of us have really fresh breath all at the same time!

Grab a few packets to take the edge off after you partake in a deliciously decadent Eggnog Latte.

By the way, my teeth hurt.

-Tricia

Black Friday Deal!

Need a gift for someone at the office you know is a coffee addict? Get them off bad coffee for good. Buy them a Wildfire Coffee Roasters gift card! And get this.. buy it on Friday and save some money.

FRIDAY ONLY!

Buy 2 $20 gift cards for only $30.

That's a $10 savings!

FRIDAY ONLY!

Buy one for them. One for you.

Or buy two for yourself!

Here's the best part. You won't have to stand in line for hours to get this deal. It's all day. Don't forget.. we're open 9am-5pm.

So come on by!

-Tricia

Thanksgiving Hours

Just a reminder of our Holiday Hours next week..

Wednesday Nov. 26th: 7a-6p
Thursday Nov. 27th: CLOSED
Friday Nov. 28th: 9a-5p

Thanksgiving Blend!

Hey everybody!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Nope. Don't say you are unless you already have a pound of Wildfire Coffee Roasters Thanksgiving Blend.

It's smooth. It's rich. It's flavorful.

It's the perfect ending to the stuff-your-face endless eating fest that is the all American pastime we call Thanksgiving.

I won't guarantee it'll prevent the turkey stupor that sets in at around 3pm, but it'll definitely help get through it! Especially when Uncle George pulls out his laptop to show his and Aunt Betty's latest European escapades paid for with your inheritance.

Thanksgiving Blend: A rich smooth coffee perfect with Pumpkin Pie.

Get it before it's gone!

-Tricia

Swanky New Coffees

First up is Congo.

That's in Africa, for those of you not up on your geography. This coffee is roasted medium to dark, and has a heavy syrupy body. It kind of reminds me of Sumatra, except with a bigger bite. Some other flavor notes: sweet, spice, winey, oak.

Some Congo facts:

It sits smack in the middle of Africa, and was founded as a Belgian colony in 1908. They called it The Republic of Congo. It gained its independence in 1960. However, a colonel, who led a coup in 1965 and declared himself the president, changed the country's name to Zaire. (by the way, when I was in fifth grade, I wrote a research paper about Zaire.) In 1997 the regime was toppled, and the name changed back to the original Republic of Congo.

Our other new coffee is Ethiopia Natural Sidamo.

This coffee is delightful. It's organically-grown by 300 smallholder farmers. It's processed naturally using a sundried process. Some of the tasting notes: lemon/lime skittles, blueberry, sparkling acidity, sweet.

Join our fan page

Have you noticed?

Within the last year or so, facebook opened up its network to include those of us who WEREN'T born in the 80's or 90's. Now it's filled with 30-somethings trying not to feel old.

So, of course.. Mark and I quickly hopped on the bandwagon once all our friends had joined. If you too are among the newest crop of facebook users like me and Mark are, then why not join our fan page? Heck even if you've been on since its inception, we'll let you join too.

Everyone's invited!

Fans of Wildfire Coffee Roasters!

A little bit of Internet buzz

So recently we began designing our own stickers and getting them printed at Sticker Giant. They are fast, and the friendly folks who work there will CALL you if there is any possibility of a problem.

For example, the font we chose for our coffee bag stickers was really hard to read when printed at the size we wanted. They called and suggested we tighten up the copy and make it bigger or choose a new font.

What other place would do that? I know of some places that will just print what you send without regard to how the finished product will look!

Sticker Giant ended up making a video to showcase some recent clients' work they've printed and included a tidbit about little ole' us.

Take a look here!

Making News

Wildfire Coffee.. getting the thumbs up from The Paisano, the student newspaper at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

They said we were fun and funky!

Read the entire story here.

Don't ask me why the picture of Rey's awesome latte art on their webpage is sideways.

It'll PUMP youuuu up!

PUMPKIN is back!!!

Pumpkin Spice will get you in the Autumn mood. Add it to a mocha for a seasonal twist on an old favorite. Or sip on a Wildfire original: Pumpkin pie a la mode latte topped with homemade whipped cream.

Lane Pain

If you aren't in the Wildfire Bowling League, you're missing out.

We've been having such a great time hanging out at Country Lanes on 281.

This past Sunday, though, we had some lane problems. The bar kept getting stuck so we got moved to the next lane over. Then THAT lane had problems! It had a hard time reracking the pins.




Between that and the iridescent nacho cheese:



Don't you wish you were a part of our league?

Tricia

New Photography at Wildfire

The laser stud finder/leveler is out and on. That can only mean one thing. ART!!!!

If you've been in recently, then perhaps you've seen the incredible photos hanging on our walls. It's the photography from a very talented friend of ours, Alicia Wagner Calzada.

She and her husband, Billy (a photojournalist as well) installed the show last week.

Billy and Alicia ensure the photos hang even and level

Alicia's photos ready for action

The work is a series of photos from Alicia's recent travels around the world. Come by and check them out!

If you like her work, you can always hire her to shoot your wedding, portrait, or other classy function you may have coming up. She even has a website.

Tricia

Autumn Sips

I know it's technically still summer, but school's in session, the weather's getting slightly less hot.. so that means AUTUMN MENU!!

We're calling it Autumn Sips because we're tired of the uninspired "menu" that usually accompanies our seasonal menu boards.

Here are some of your choices:

Cinnamon Roll Latte- this is a warm latte with the all the yumminess of a cinnamon roll without as much of the fat and calories! It's made with light brown cane sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Honey Vanilla Latte- Take a vanilla latte and add a nice big squirt of honey. Sweet and smooth.

Orange Spice mocha- Orange and cinnamon syrups are added to our real chocolate mocha to make a citrusy spark of a drink.

Caramel Apple Italian Cream Soda- Caramel syrup. Apple syrup. Sparkling water. Cream.

Tricia

Roaster Rant

Funny story.

Not really, but I must try to find humor in this story somewhere. Let's start from the beginning.

Every 6 months Mark takes apart the venting system to the coffee roaster and cleans it out. It accumulates lots of potentially fire-causing "stuff" that needs to be scraped out and washed off.



So he took the pieces to the car wash and afterwards, put them on top of his car. You'd think the story ends there.. but it doesn't.

You see, We've been married for 11 years. Mark and I have this running source of bickering. It's something that ALWAYS causes a little tiff between us. We don't flat out fight or yell.. it's just.. bickering.

Picture the scene.

Mark wants to put stuff on the car roof to get it from point a to point b. I say no.. "it'll fall!" He says "No it won't! It's physics.. nothing will happen to it." Then I get upset because I'm worried the stuff will fall off. We've had this argument plenty of times. He sometimes gets his way, because I think it's a ridiculous thing to argue about, and then he proves me wrong as the stuff usually stays put. (blankets, suitcase, 2X4's, chairs)

Until now.

Let me repeat: he took the pieces to the car wash and afterwards, put them on top of his car.

At the intersection of 410 and Blanco he heard the thud. He thought "oh, no.. that can't be good." He looked back and saw the piece on the ground. No problem. He turns around, and before he could even pull over. The only other car on the road at that dark hour RUNS OVER THE THING!

flat duct

OMG. Not good.

These ducts aren't the typical duct you can buy at home depot. These are special ducts that need to be installed by "Professional Duct People." So while we wait for the pros to find the parts, we're running out of coffee. People are coming in wanting beans. And we only have a few pounds left!

Sami to the rescue! Our friends at San Antonio Coffee Roasters near the airport sympathized with our plight and is roasting our coffee for us until we get the roaster up and running, which will hopefully be Friday afternoon.

Until then.. NOTHING is going up on the roof of our car ever again.

Tricia

Closed for Labor Day

Please note:

Wildfire Coffee will be closed for the Labor Day Holiday, Monday Sept 1.

We'll see you on Tuesday morning at 7am!

Diorama Drama

Girls vs. Boys.

Here at Wildfire we have a camaraderie you won't find at the corporate coffee places. Those places put an end to the fun before it even begins. Not here. We embrace the fun. We're loud. We make signs. We draw things. We tease each other. We play practical jokes on each other. So it's no surprise that THIS transpired over the course of about 4 days.


What the heck is it, you ask? Well, allow me explain.

It started out innocently enough. I had gotten a box of free paper from the office supply store. Once Lucas got his little hands on all this paper, he cooked up a plan to make a boat. Well, first it was an airplane but that lasted all of 2 minutes. Boys!

So anyway back to the boat. It looked like a hat to me, but whatever.

He left it out on the counter for all of us to marvel at his folding skills. This led to Natalie girlifying it with pink paper and a taunt.

Which led to Lucas making another boat. A pirate boat. That he positioned to attack the girl boat. Mark added homies. Those are so 1999, btw.
He added a paper airplane complete with the little "pewpewpew" dots to shoot the girl boat!
At this point- It. Was. On! What can destroy a ship and a plane? A flying saucer!

Natalie and I conspired to make the flying saucer out of chipped plates. It even had frikkin laser beams to shoot the boat and the plane!

Until Lucas made a Star Wars Satellite that would launch a "nucular" weapon at us! The nerve!


Shara came up with the topper to top everyone. A sea creature made out of a plant. It's a thing of beauty.
Poor homie.


Girls rule.
Boys drool.

That's what we do at Wildfire when no one's looking.

The end.

Tricia

The live shot that wasn't

So, Wildfire was supposed to be on TV this week. We got a pleasant phone call from the friendly producer of San Antonio Living, the morning lifestyle show that airs on WOAI (Channel 4.)

Sweet!

They wanted to use the coffee shop as a backdrop for a story about moms taking their kids back to school and stopping in for a much-needed coffee fix. We are less than a block away from Huebner Elementary, after all. Wow. They didn't call a chain. They didn't call the corporate giant. They called little mom-n-pop Wildfire Coffee.

Cool!

They showed up on time, got everything set up. Ready to go. Drinks in hand. Makeup retouched. Only. They couldn't get the live truck to work.

DOH!

Sadly, we never made it on air.

But we did get a picture of what you would have seen if you had tuned in and if the production guys HAD gotten the live shot up.

I hope no one got fired.

Tricia

If there's something strange.. in your neighborhood..

Who ya gonna call!?

GHOSTBUSTERS!

Our resident latte artist, Rey, made this cute little ghost. Just in time for Halloween! Which is. um. 2 months away.

Doesn't that look tasty.

Come in and get one. Maybe we'll draw something fun in it!

Tricia

Here comes the rain again

It's raining.

Well not today, but a lot over the past week or so.

We decided to have a little fun with our leftover luau drink umbrellas.

Mark

Lucas

Meredith

Silly kids! Those won't protect you from the rain like a nice rich real chocolate Wildfire mocha will!

Tricia

Order Wildfire Coffee online!

Big news.

Wildfire Coffee's online store is open for business. There are still a few little kinks to work out, but all in all, it's doing what it's supposed to do.

Orders will typically go out on Mondays via priority mail.

So check it out!

order online

Luau weekend

What a weekend!

Wildfire Coffee celebrated its 3rd anniversary with music, flowers, grass skirts, and limbo.








Rey outdoes himself again with his latte art. This time with a gorgeous beach scene complete with a sunset and 2 palm trees.


Nigel on vocals and Devin on guitar shared their original music with the folks at Wildfire. Hopefully we'll have them back again in the coming months.

Frankie shows off his temporary tattoo.

Let's Bowl! Let's Bowl! Let's.. Rock n Roll!

Time to bowl!

Last year we had so much fun bowling we're doing it again this year. The Wildfire Coffee Fall Bowling league starts up September 7th, 2008. Teams consist of three people and all ages are welcome.

Games will be Sunday evenings at Country Lanes (281 near Bitters) starting at 6pm. Everybody bowls 3 games each and it costs only $10.35 a week to play, and it includes shoes!

The season runs 14 weeks.

So get your team together and sign up today.

Third Anniversary

Aloha!

Three years ago today Wildfire Coffee Roasters opened its doors for business. To celebrate, we're hosting our annual Luau this weekend and offering $3 specials all month long in appreciation for your continued support.


We couldn't have made it this far without you.

Thank you!

We're all family.

Some customers know where to find the cream if it's not out, so they help themselves. Some have taken our trash out for us. Still others have even swept the place! We love our customers, and we consider them a part of our extended family, and hope they feel like they are stepping into an extension of our home living room. We invite everyone in to sit and chat, have a drink and relax.

So we have one particular customer.. hmm.. let's call himmmmm... uh.. Antoine! Yeah. Antoine.

He is a dashing young dad who likes to frequent Wildfire Coffee. Now his drink of choice is usually a 12oz Mocha; though this East Coaster is not afraid to show his softer side by ordering a fruity mango smoothie. Yes. I said fruity! And if it came with an umbrella, he'd be first in line.

I know.. sounds like a winner, eh ladies? He's also happily married. Very happily married. I have not met his wife, but I imagine she could probably take you out with one stomp of her Jimmy Choos. So don't even think about it. She sounds like a doll, though. (anyone who could put up with him is ok in my book!!! har har)

Today Antoine and I we were chatting about the fact that he usually sits at the table near the register-- and sees an eyeful of drama.

He's witnessed flirting sessions. He's been front row when someone came in cheering about a firing. He's rolled his eyes at countless men who shamelessly check out our cute swimming moms who stop by. I've joked that we should get him some popcorn for all the drama he's seen here.

He is a self described "trouble-maker."

One time as a practical joke we put a Houston Astros cap in place of his NY Yankees cap sitting on the table. He's a HUGE yankees fan, and he noticed it immediately and was all like.. ok.. ha ha!! gimme my cap!" Egads.. we all had a good laugh at that one.

It's a good thing we didn't think to hang it on the ceiling fan, like the time my brothers did that to my sister's teddy bear when she was 6. Only, Antoine would have been able to reach up and grab it. My tiny sister.. notsomuch!

Gotta love "family!"

Vacation- all I ever wanted

Mark and I went to Southern California for a much needed vacation away from the shop. The first day, we went to Manhattan beach, and I had the BEST cotton candy ever.

cotton candy head

Tuesday we went to Little Ethiopia. A restaurant there did coffee ceremonies. Traditionally, it consists of roasting coffee on a cast iron skillet, and serving it up right there, complete with incense. The woman who served us is from Ethiopia, and told us she learned to make coffee from her mother, who still lives there.

The coffee, just off the fire. It's crackling and popping.

Pouring the coffee from the clay pot

She pours it from a certain height to keep the coffee grounds out.

Mark tries his hand at pouring the coffee.

Little cup of coffee. Black, no sugar. No cream. Soooo Strong! But tasty.

A boobilicious confection at an exotic cake bakery in Little Ethiopia.

After our adventures in Little Ethiopia, we trekked across town to find the L.A. Intelligensia Coffee. It's a Chicago-based Coffee Roaster with just 4 locations there, and one new one in L.A., on Sunset Blvd.

We walked in, and I heard a familiar sound. Chop. Chop. Chop. Chop. The sound of chocolate being chopped on a cutting board with a big knife. Hey! I thought WE were the only ones who did that!!!! Once I saw the pile of chocolate on the cutting board, I knew I had to have a mocha. And it was delicious.

Cool place, eh!?

A Cupful of Art

If you've been to Wildfire Coffee, then you most likely have been served a latte in a ceramic cup complete with a nice leaf etched in the foam.

Ever wonder how we do it? Rey will show you!




The finished latte with Rey's swanky art adorning the foam.


Rey with his creation.

Wildfire's Ethiopia Yirg judged "Outstanding"

So we've been roasting for about 5 years now. In business for 3. Now. Finally. Finally! Wildfire Coffee Roasters gets some national recognition.

Yes, our little Ethiopia beans received a 90 out of a possible 100 points in a blind cupping along side some of the established and best roasters in the business.

It all started with an email from a customer named John. It wasn't addressed to us. It was sent to "Coffee Review." The website was looking for reader submissions for their favorite coffees from around the country. This is when a lot of the little-known coffee roasters get recognition.

Coffee Review started in 1997. It consisted of blind cuppings by the experts in the coffee field. The results are given in 100 point reviews, similar to the wine industry. Over the last 11 years, the site has grown to become THE go-to site for coffee lovers to find the best and most interesting coffees out there, while recognizing the art of coffee roasting.

We are so proud to have been nominated, and to be awarded such a high score! 90 points out of a 100!

Here is a little about what they said..

"The reader who nominated the excellent Yirgacheffe from San Antonio-based Wildfire Coffee Roasters (90) wrote that he "would like to see a roaster from a non-traditional (for most roasters) part of the U.S. get a mention."

Blind assessment: "Floral and tangy orange notes in the aroma with a sweet hint of honey."

Come by and try some!

Article
Coffee Ratings

Sign of the times

Mind your manners.

Imagine the following scenario.

A man steps into the store.

He seems nice enough. I greet him with a smile and "Good morning!" He replies, "Good morning!" He walks up to the counter and I ask, "What can I get for you today?" To which he puts his finger up as if to say, "one second" and pulls out a crossword puzzle, then he starts filling in the words!

He's not paying any attention to me, but is saying the clues aloud. "hmm, what's a 4 letter word for 'impolite?'"

"oh, sorry.. yes.. I'll have a large latte," he says.

"Great!" I exclaim, "Would you like a flavor added?"

He looks down at his crossword.. "RUDE! That's what it is.. rude. Now.. 6 down.. oh sorry.. I HAD to do that crossword right now, what what was it you asked me?"

Would you ever think to do such a thing to someone?

Probably not.

But people do it every single day. Only not with a crossword. But a cell phone. Cell phones have taken over the part of the brain that governs manners in our daily life. People have that thing stuck to their heads, as if they will shrivel up once it gets too far away from their ear.

I see it at the grocery store. A customer ahead of me is yelling in their cell phone all the while the cashier is timidly saying "That'll be $23.55."

I see it at restaurants. Servers aren't sure if customers are ready to order because those customers are on their phones.

What is happening here? What is so important that it can't wait just 2 minutes? Where have our manners gone!?

Some people have teased me about my dislike for cell phones at the counter. But I think it's more than just a "dislike." It's about respect. Respecting me. Respecting our business. Respecting people.

I think we've lost sight of that.

So to take back our counter, so to speak, we've posted a nicely worded sign,

To ensure
accurate service,
no cell phones
at the counter, please.

Lots of customers have noticed it, and applauded it. The only people who have not said anything about it?

Those who had a cell phone stuck to their ear and did not see it.

-Tricia

Scenes from the shop

Expanded Family

Meet our new nephew, Billy. He's standing with Mark's brother Bobby, whose family just adopted him. He is now officially Billy Ray Sobhani. And now our grand total of nieces and nephews on both sides of our family totals: 13!! WOW!!!! Big families are fun. (in the background is Grace who wishes she'd never set foot in our store because she was immediatly harassed by James, another of Mark's brothers.)

Busted!


Rey. On the phone. During his shift. tsk tsk tsk. But I let it slide, since it was his dad calling from who knows where. He drives an 18 wheeler across the country to make deliveries here and there.

ICK!


Sarah tests out some frozen drink samples sent to us recently from a supplier. Ew. It's a good thing we make our own frozen drink mix. These tasted very "chemically" and fake. As Sarah put it "I'd feel ripped off if I paid money for this frozen drink!" So we won't be using any pre-made mixes. Ever.

Spell check! Where are you?
Sarah shows us the shoes she decorated for kickball. Classic!

Nice parking job.
Rey invades my space.

-Tricia