New: Café Aqui
A new microroastery and coffee shop called Café Aqui is open at 1317 S. Sixth Ave. Seating is a couch and a couple of chairs; sacks of coffee are piled here and there; and a big black coffee-roasting apparatus towers over it all. Oliver Ray and Winston Watson—who play in local band Greyhound Soul—put the place together, and Ray is currently running it. Expect imported bulk coffee roasted onsite (some from a Guatemalan farm owned by Ray), coffee by the cup and a friendly, down-to-earth vibe. Ray says he’ll “quietly introduce” Tucson to the differences between light and dark roasts at a tasting at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 16. Call 623-3767 for more information.
The Great Bean-Tasting
Regular beans are a yawn compared to what Native Seeds/SEARCH sells. There are white beans, pink beans, blue beans with pink specks and so many more; many are varieties cultivated for thousands of years by the people of the Hopi, Tarahumara and Tohono O’odham tribes. Janos Wilder and other local chefs will create holiday dishes using these unique beans for a tasting at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Native Seeds/SEARCH store at 3061 N. Campbell Ave. Recipes will be available, and admission is free; 622-5561.
Wines and Vines
Want a piece of Canelo Hills Winery and Vineyard of your very own? Grapevines will be made into holiday wreaths at a workshop featuring wine-tasting and snacks from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11. Guests will cut vines from the vineyard and make one decorated wreath to take home, with the option to make as many additional undecorated wreaths as they choose. It costs $35, and reservations are required. Canelo Hills is located at 342 Elgin Road, in Elgin; (520) 455-5499; www.canelohillswinery.com.
Noshing Notes
The new Beyond Bread location at 421 W. Ina Road is open. ... Frogs Organic Bakery is open at Casas Adobes Plaza, on the corner of Ina and Oracle roads. More next week. ... Jasmine Market, the Mediterranean grocery store at 2516 N. Campbell Ave., has closed. ... Biscuits Country Café has moved from 7002 E. Broadway Blvd. to a spot with more seating at 7026 E. Broadway Blvd. ... elle wine bistro, the new incarnation of elle, a Wine Country Restaurant, is expected to open any day at 2970 N. Campbell Ave.
