Coffee Review: Coffee and Collectibles – Tanzania Peaberry

For many long time residents of the Greater Sacramento area, Denio's Roseville Farmers Market & Swap Meet is a great place to find hidden treasures or enjoy fresh produce from area farmers. Now if you wander through the small farmer's market, you will come across a small shop called Coffee and Collectibles. Among the large mason jars of aromatic loose leaf tea blends, exotic spices, and sultry herbs there is a collection of various ground coffees they also have available.

Strolling through the selection, I came across some Tanzania Peaberry which I had never heard of before. Taking a whiff of the aroma, I noticed the sweet floral notes but there was something else about it that grabbed my attention so I purchased a couple of ounces and brought it home, sticking it into my own mason jar for safe keeping and to ensure freshness. Once home, I brewed up a pot of my newest acquisition and noticed that the scent of the coffee was relatively light compared to most coffees I've tried out. The flavor, I discovered, was relatively mellow with hints of sweetness with almost faint chocolate notes to it. Another interesting thing I need to note is that there is almost no aftertaste at all. It's rather smooth on the tongue and I have yet to taste any bitterness to it what so ever. Certainly a surprise since I was prepared for something to grab those back tastebuds.

For those of you who are willing to venture to Denio's, while strolling through the farmers market, don't forget to take a peek at Coffee and Collectibles. Everything is sold by the ounce and is of good quality so is well worth the time.

Denio's Roseville Farmers Market & Swap Meet 

1551 Vineyard Road 

Roseville, CA 95678

Hours: Fri. 10am - 3pm 

Sat. 7am - 3:30pm 

Sun. 7am - 5pm 

Coffee and Collectibles 

(916) 771-0765

A common influence... maybe: Diana Beltran Herreras

Cardinal by Diana Beltran Herrera 

Happy new year for all! Let us kick 2014 with a brand new installment of 'A common influence... maybe'. Recently, while roaming the Smithsonian Magazine's Arts & Culture category for some news and something interesting, I stumbled across an article that caught my attention. Written by Megan Gambino, there was an article in the Collage of Arts and Sciences category titled Diana Beltran Herrera's Flock of PaperBirds. The article highlights some of Columbian artist Diana's accomplishments and describes part of the process of how she creates her paper birds. All of her creations are to scale of birds in nature and take several days to complete.

Knowing that there were several paper artists on deviantART, I sought out 4 of them and asked:

“After seeing your wonderful paper birds, I was curious if artist Diana Beltran Herreras was your inspiration. If not, who was your inspiration?”

Of the 4, I did receive a response from one of them but have yet to hear from the others (probably due to the holidays) so as soon as I do get word from them, I will update this post to share their insights.

Richi89.deviantart.com (Australia)

A young paper artist located in Australia, Richard shares with his viewers a variety of paper works including origami but his most captivating images in his gallery are the paper sculptures.

Golden Phoenix by Richi89

One of his most eyecatching pieces is his Golden Chinese Dragon which he states in the description is made of gold card stock, a wire skeleton in order for it to maintain its shape and LEDs for the eyes.

“Hello,

Actually a friend told me about her only at the start of this year and before that I'd never heard of her. She does do some beautiful bird sculptures. I have only made one bird which is the phoenix.

I'm not really sure what inspired me, I guess I just wanted to make a phoenix and looked at some pictures here on deviantart to get some ideas. Then just use my own imagination to create it :)"

Illustrated Paper Owl by hazelb

hazelb.deviantart.com (South Africa)

A graphic designer/illustrator and paper sculptor from South Africa, Hazel Buchan doesn't have very many images in her gallery but what she does have are lovely examples of her skill and eye for detail. One amazing example is her Illustrated Paper Owl. In the description, she states that it is a paper sculpture of an owl where each feather was illustrated on before construction. Unfortunately she doesn't say how long it took her to complete this amazing piece but the amount of dedication she put into it is rather note-worthy.

Paper Raven by IgorSan

IgorSan.deviantart.com (Brazil)

With his gallery filled with colorful graphic illustrations and little mythical creature sculptures, Brazilian artist I Ching San has a whimsical collection of imagery. One little creature that has become rather popular in his gallery is his creation of the mushroom faery Shiitake, which he has several pictures of including progress shots. Amongst the various 2D and 3D works is a black Paper Raven.

Paper Bird by NaylaSmith

NaylaSmith.deviantart.com (Canada)

An illustrator and student located in Canada, Nayla Smith is currently working on her Fine Arts Diploma while attending the Ottawa School of Art. Many of her pieces almost have a sense of influence in them reminiscent of artist Amy Brown, with soft muted colors, heavy grey tones and the feel of raw emotion behind them. Hidden in the collection of works she had on displace was Paper Bird which she states is made of a wire skeleton to hold its form and the pages of an old book.