Wow! caffe d'bolla is thirteen

This month marks caffe d'bolla's 13^th anniversary. 

It's hard to capture what thirteen years has been in a short post. It's been a family business from the start, both Yiching and I worked the day to day from opening day - making drinks, cleaning, baking, roasting and everything else that comes with owning a business for more than ten years. And once Alex was walking, Yiching moved behind the scenes, still handling baking, a lot of our social media, and coordinating our international shipping. While she does that, she's a full time mom teaching a brilliant and energetic young boy the important things in life.

So now, I'm just a husband and a father who happens to be passionate about coffee. Every day I come home, Alex says, “Did you work hard for us at caffe d'bolla today?” Then he asks, “Who was your favorite customer today?” Maybe it's YOU. If it's sometimes you, or if it's been you, you'd probably know it. Some days there are several “favorites”. Other days, it's a blur. And, if it's not you today... maybe tomorrow.

Caffe d'bolla is an embodiment of our family's guiding principles. Work hard, have unshakeable standards, and strive to be the best in whatever you do. The business has always been family and continues to be a vehicle for teaching our son about the “joys” of hundred hour work weeks and the rewards that come with setting the minimum bar at “excellent” and learning and improving daily. There's a determination and a fire in him I know he has because of what both of us have done and what each of us continues to do.

I have roasted our coffee and espresso for nearly twelve of our thirteen years. And I'm good at what I do. Every day I come in, I taste and adjust our current espresso until it's pulling just right. And I do it throughout the day. I've done it thousands of times because your first sip matters. So every time you come in to have an espresso, macchiato, a latte or maybe take the time to sit down for a siphon coffee know that what you are tasting took thousands of hours of roasting and an equal number of hours making drinks at what's proven to be world class standards, and there's a reason for that. Love of craft and love of coffee is best as a shared experience. So, thank you for coming and letting us share what we do best with you. I'll see you tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

Thank you for another wonderful year. Merry Christmas!

caffe d'bolla is twelve - Thank You!

John says...

Twelve years ago, Yiching and I officially opened our doors at caffe d'bolla. As all new businesses, we used a combination of determination and ingenuity to get everything off the ground. From traveling to trade shows, listening to as many presentations as we could, and taking furious notes to filling a trailer with all of our equipment – including a full size commercial refrigerator we squeezed through a hole in the drywall that would be a future door, turned on its side and rolled it on pipes before setting it in place, to working into the wee hours of the night so we could get everything right.

We spent every day in our shop together, taking turns running errands or having something to eat. We learned about the continuous discovery that is espresso, and latte art (which Yiching has always been better at), and I learned the craft of roasting so I could share something wonderful with our customers.

 Over the years, our hours have changed a little, and we have done a couple of remodels to the store, but one thing that has never changed is how much we love our shop and seeing smiles on customer's faces as they take their first sip. And although you may not see Yiching in the shop [much these days], she continues to bake our treats daily - from muffins to her perfect brownies, and she maintains our online presence (especially all the good pictures), and coordinates our overseas ordering and imports. This is all because more than two and a half years ago, our son Alex was born, and after an early introduction to coffee and espresso, he is now busy at home with Yiching learning all the things a curious and energetic boy should.


As the years go by, I know that Alex will learn how to pull the perfect espresso and brew siphon coffee to our standards. Maybe it will be you (yes, YOU) who tastes his first drink. Stay tuned for our celebratory "Thank You!" It's going to be another fantastic year!

It's been 11 Years

This season is 11 years since we opened our little coffee shop. We have met many wonderful people over the years. We've seen children grow into adults and high school sweethearts become husband and wife. We've shared birthdays, holidays, rainy days, and weddings. But it is the drinks we make that allow us to thank you every day.

It is a privilege to make you smile, and we are honored you are part of our lives. We all look forward to a terrific year twelve! ☕❤

with love, 

-- John, Yiching, and Alex

caffe d'bolla's 10th anniversary: A Celebration and a Thank You.

This weekend marked the completion of caffe d'bolla's tenth year in business. It's been an amazing journey so far for Yiching and me, and this year, as many of you know, we added a new addition to the family. Alex will be turning 9 months in just a few days and before too long he will be pulling shots for you as well.

It was in late 2001 that we first came up with the idea of opening our own coffee and tea shop. Nearly three years of planning, preparation, and negotiation before we foud the right space, and knew what to do with it by the time 2004 rolled around. It's always been a little insanity and a lot of drive and focus to create something exceptional that has been behind every cup that we make. But we would not be where we are today without the support of our wonderful customers.

Although many of our customers are surprised, or simply unaware that it's only been Yiching and me doing everything at caffe d'bolla for the past ten years, we have found in each other the perfect relationship that takes the best of each other's abilities and allows us to share our passion with all of you. And as we are a family run business with Yiching, me, and now Alex, we often have a closer connection to our customers, many who have become good friends over the years. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to us to take our time to do what is necessary to give you the best espresso, coffee, and tea drinks possible. This is why we only source seasonal, Specialty Grade regional and single-farm coffees and roast everything in small batches on site. We change our espresso nearly every week so I can learn something new with each espresso I have crafted. Midnight roasting sessions, and literally thousands of hours of work tasting, testing, and brewing are the best I can offer in hopes that you will smile when you taste your coffee or espresso.

We also take all of our tea drinks seriously as well. Yiching has gone to great lengths to source all of our tea products, and caffe d'bolla imports over a ton of fine teas, bubble teas, and other supplies direct from Taiwan, Japan, and China just so you can have something special to satisfy whatever your mood is that day.

So to those of you who have supported our vision, and those who continue to support us daily, we extend a huge “Thank You!” to every one of you. And a special thank you goes out to those of you who have made a special journey for the sole purpose of wandering into our coffee shop in hopes that the kind words that others have said were true. It has been an honor to roast and make drinks for all of you.

It's been a great first ten years, and we all look forward to making you something special every time you walk through our doors for the next ten years as well.

Best,

 John, Yiching, and Alex