Today’s post covers two things about which I’m passionate – supporting local business and introducing you to some of the great people in our neighborhood of Phoenix. The review of the week is about the delightfully delicious drink many of us love – especially with a generous serving of real cream and a scoop of ice.  Yep.  We’re talking about Coffee, folks!

Alas, my queasy pregnant stomach (and nose) can only dream of such indulgences right now. Lucky for me, I’m privileged to know one of Phoenix’s foremost coffee connoiseurs, Jim Helman, earned by virtue of his passionate obsession with coffee. (I’m sure it’s a healthy one).

A while back, Jim and his wife, Colleen, embarked on a mission to explore some of the great local coffee shops we have in Phoenix and share them with other java lovers. He kindly agreed to share a little bit about himself and his favorite shops (so far!).  So – without further ado – meet Jim Helman.

Jim, how long have you been in Phoenix?  “I moved to Phoenix, Christmas 1977 to enroll at ASU for my Master’s degree in Music. My original plan was to go to ASU for a year and then move to Texas to work on a doctorate. Eventually I wanted to teach music at a Christian college or university.” (Monna: We are lucky to know Jim because he chose a job on the music staff at the church where Rob works.)

We are starting to talk a lot about building community in this blog space. What do you and Colleen do to contribute to this idea? “I have been meeting business owners in the area for a while … some examples, I developed an exchange with the owners of the Ace Hardware Store in the Cinema Park Shopping Center. That ended up with me officiating for a the wedding between two of the employees. I’ve know the owners of Cheese-N-Stuff family since those early 1980′s days. Also, Luci, after which Luci’s Marketplace is named, is also a breast-cancer survivor like Colleen. We’ve begun the relationship speaking with them… of course, it takes time to develop genuine rapport, as you can imagine.”

How did you come up with the idea to review local coffee shops one at a time? “ …Colleen and I took our weekly Saturday morning dates for coffee and mixed it with an idea to visit ALL the coffee spots within a five-mile radius from [our Central Phoenix] church. We make it a point to introduce ourselves to the owner, if they are present, and then just take it from there! The owners all want to reach out to the customers and I just want to introduce myself to the owners so it works easily enough. Social networking makes it easy to get recommendations from other coffee connoisseurs. I’m thinking there are probably 20 locally-owned coffee spots not counting eight or so Starbux in that five mile radius.

…Phoenix has it’s own personality but it’s leaning more and more like a Seattle-esque city with people walking, jogging and using light-rail and bus to get around that five-mile radius I mentioned.”

How long have you and Colleen been married? “Colleen and I have been married since 1981. She is a native Phoenician and can tell you stories about many of the buildings and the previous businesses that once occupied the space now being used by these coffee places.”

Isn’t it nice to meet new people? You’ll see Jim around town at some of his favorite coffee spots. To find the shops, just click on the name. They’re linked to their own websites. Check them out!

Jim’s Favorite Coffee Experiences

Best, consistent Americano:  Lux Coffee

Most romantic Coffee Place:  Fair Trade Coffee, Midtown

Best places to meet someone to talk:

North Valley: Next Coffee

Midtown:  Luci’s Healthy Marketplace – Summer cold drink happy hour from 5-close daily!

Downtown:  Cartel Coffee

Best Coffee +Plus something to eat : AJ’s Coffee Bar, AJ’s Fine Food Uptown Plaza

Three Downtown Coffee Spots you need just need to try out:

Two of Cartel's awesome crew

Cartel Coffee Lab Downtown ~ NE Corner of 1st Street and Washington, this place is eclectic.  The baristas are super cool, love their work and make a terrific Americano.  You can meet someone here to talk, sit alone and study, drop by for a quick jolt, or hang alone to write your autobiography. It has weekday hours.

Cartel on Facebook

The cool view from Gideon's

Gideon’s Coffee ~ Gideon’s Coffee opened about the middle of September, 2010 and really caters to the downtown, working crowd. It’s a block south of Sing High Restaurant and just south of the new Maricopa County courthouse. It’s hours are early morning to mid-afternoon Monday through Friday so we had to catch them some time other than our usual Saturday coffee time together. It has weekday hours.

209 West Jackson Street  http://www.gideonscoffee.com/

Jim's lovely wife, Colleen

Lola Downtown ~ One spot that is worth the effort to find is the DOWNTOWN edition of Lola Coffee in the older Roosevelt district. It’s inside a brick building amidst a bunch of new loft condos and apartments. It reaches to a younger crowd, again in the 20′s & 30′s with the occasional Baby Boomer.  (I.E. Colleen Helman)

1001 N 3rd Ave   http://www.lolacoffeebar.com/