It's another rainy, cold, and windy day in Napa, and I decided to have a nice cup of coffee and a morning bun at Napa's new Oxbow Market.
The morning bun should have been the first warning. The cashier at the bakery said the total was $1.75, I was almost certain I had read $1.50. Taking a second look, I realized that I was looking at the muffin prices and not the morning bun prices. But, twenty-five cents...no big deal.
Then, I came over to the coffee shop in the market -- Ritual Roasters. I had purchased a couple of Iced Americanos there and they were pricey ($2.75), but not exorbitant. Plus, the setting was nice and they had free Wi-Fi. Today, I wanted a nice warm cup of coffee. I learned that all of their cups of coffee are made to order, and you get to pick your coffee from a list of about six different available beans. Easy enough. So, I decided to start at the top of the list and ordered the El Alcazar from Colombia.
Holding two $1 bills in my hand, I patiently waited by the cash register for the barista to grind my beans, measure the water, and then brew my coffee. After a couple of minutes, the coffee arrived at the register and the barista said, "$4.25, please."
"Huh?"
"Yes, the El Alcazar is $4.25." I looked down at the list of coffees and there under the description of the coffee was printed "$4.25 per cup." Casually slipping my two humble dollar bills away while pulling out my debit card, I tried to convey the impression that I always pay $4.25 for a coffee. No, no...I actually thought $4.25 was a BARGAIN. I had those two dollar bills out just in case I needed to sneeze or spit my gum out in them (I, of course, wasn't chewing any gum at the time).
That being said, it was a pretty delicious cup of coffee...smooth and rich, with just a touch of acidity. Unfortunately, I'm guessing they don't do free refills.
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$2 went to the "free" Wi-Fi, $1 was donated to Haiti, the coffee farmers got 76 cents, so your buddies at the coffee shop only made 49 cents of that sale. I hope you tipped well.
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