Freedom Of Espresso

This place was awesome. I finally found a barista who appreciates tea and made the best cup of tea I have ever had...chocolate chai tea with steamed almond milk and honey. She was also super friendly and welcoming. The wifi was free and worked well. However, the bathrooms were not clean. (Minor inconvenience compared to the rest of the experience).

Third act. Thanksgiving is Thursday and I have applied for Friday as a day out of the office. That makes this a three day week. Most of the internal clients should be out of the office, starting today. In my camera bag, which also holds my laptop, I have a jar of honey I bought Saturday night at Freedom of Espresso, the Armory Square location. I picked it up, asked to photograph it and the barista said yes. The jar of Farm Girl Honey from Cato New York photographed well, the amber liquid filling with ambient light, glowing like an amber tailed firefly. "There's something mysterious about women who keep bees". "Really, why would you believe that"? I conceded. One really can't gender anything. "I see I'm gendering. Sorry. And now I risk mansplaining. So, I said it was mysterious. That means I can't explain". And I sat down, put in my headphones and sipped my bottle of Sparkling water from Saratoga Springs. Five minutes later she got my attention, speaking over my music. "But I just can't shake this. Tell me why you think women beekeepers are so mysterious". "They're mysterious to me. Doesn't a mystery go without explanation"? "In the words of one of my teachers, let's unpack that a little". "Sure, I want to take a break from my scribbling, wasting good paper in my journal". I Googled beekeeping demographics, and men outnumber women beekeepers two to one, but more women than men are taking up beekeeping in the under forty demographic. "So it's a trend. Satisfied"? "No, let's take a few more layers off the onion, shall we"? "Okay, two summers ago, a back to the land think tank called Crosshatch organized a circle of beekeepers on the Mission Peninsula, Traverse City. Only ten beekeepers showed up and all of the beekeepers were women from many walks of life. I heard the stories of bees that stung, of queens who flew away and colonies collpsing, varroa mites that won. The mite isn't called the Varroa destructor for nothing. Anything more?" "Let's go one more layer deeper". "Okay, then. My mother gardened every summer from 1970 to 1981 and a neighbor with a John Deere tractor tilled and disced the land for her. She set the lines with twine and we sowed the seeds. And then we weeded the beans, the potatoes, the tomatoes, the squash, the pumpkins and the watermelon and the sweet corn". "Did she ever keep bees"? "No, but we had a hive in our walls. The colony just make a home and a beekeeper came and removed it, put it in a beehive for his yard She did tap all of our maple trees for sap and boiled it down for maple syrup". "So, a women who beekeeps reminds you of your mother, who fed you from her garden, ensuring your survival". "Yeah, I thing we've gotten into the inner most layer. Let me buy a pound of that Farm Girl honey. I like honey on toast for my morning meal at work". "That's good, I'll ring it up. You're doing good work".

BEST coffee shop ever! I am in absolute love with their, "Joe Heath" blend. That's a very interesting story (who he is and why the coffee is named for him). In any case, wonderful staff and a very welcoming atmosphere in ALL locations. Coffee is a medium roast and BEANS ARE FRESH. I highly encourage a visit.

A cute location on Armory Square. The coffee is great and they have a quaint but good pastry selection. The service is professional but casual. The facility is clean but the decorations are a little lacking. Maybe with the right amount of patrons or live music, it would give off more warmth. We still prefer it to the Starbucks across the street. But if you want a warm local spot with eclectic art and a vibe, you may come up a bit short. Certainly worth a visit.