Starts with the right coffee bean:   

• Choose coffee made from Grade A Arabica beans. 
• Choose coffee that has been recently roasted.  This is the most important element – coffee tastes the best within one month after roasting. 
• Smell the coffee beans – a strong smell indicates fresh beans.
• Invest in a coffee grinder and buy whole beans.  Grind your coffee immediately before brewing.  Once the coffee is ground, the flavor dissipates more quickly.  We highly recommend investing in a burr grinder.
• When buying decaffeinated coffees, look for coffees that have been decaffeinated using the Swiss Water Process.

How to Store Coffee:

1. Storage is integral to maintaining your coffee’s freshness and flavor. It is important to keep it away from excessive air, moisture, heat, and light – in that order – in order to preserve its fresh-roast flavor as long as possible. 

2. Coffee beans are decorative and beautiful to look at but you will compromise the taste of your coffee if you store your beans in ornamental, glass canisters on your kitchen countertop.  Doing so will cause them to become stale and your coffee will quickly lose its fresh flavor.

3. It is important not to refrigerate or freeze your daily supply of coffee because contact with moisture will cause it to deteriorate. 

4. Instead, store coffee in air-tight glass or ceramic containers and keep it in a convenient, but dark and cool, location. Remember that a cabinet near the oven is often too warm, as is a cabinet on an outside wall of your kitchen if it receives heat from a strong afternoon or summer sun.

5. The commercial coffee containers that you purchased your coffee in are generally not appropriate for long-term storage. Appropriate coffee storage canisters with an airtight seal are a worthwhile investment.

How to Make Coffee: 

1. Begin with freshly roasted coffee beans.

2. Grind the beans right before brewing.

3. Use filtered water.

4. Ideally use a French press, although you’ll get a good cup of coffee from a drip maker too.

5. Use approximately 1 rounded teaspoon of coffee per 8 oz. of water, to your taste.

Brew, and serve!

9.  Local.  We buy our supplies as local as we can.  From local farmers, to Walnut Creek in Amish Country, to our regional roaster, we support other local businesses, jobs and the economy.

8.  Quality.  Our coffee is the highest quality from farmers around the world.  The beans are air roasted in small batches versus drum-roasted and delivered to you within days of roasting!

7.  Variety.  You can create an infinite variety of delicious drinks from our quality ingredients – KaffeeScape espresso, Ghiradelli chocolate, Stirling flavored syrups, ice cream, milk, and frozen yogurt.  Your imagination is the limit!

6.  Community.  We care about the community.  We are downtown to help be a part of downtown revitalization.  We are members of Downtown Lima, Inc, the Heart of Lima Neighborhood Association, and the Lima Chamber of Commerce.

5.  Green.  We buy Fair Trade/ Organic coffee, we use smoothie cups made from corn, we serve dine-in food on actual plates, we try to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible.

 4.  Art.  We care about starving artists and struggling musicians.  With our Open Mike Night, monthly art exhibits, and Saturday night concerts, we offer an avenue for artists to share their talents with the world.

3.  Homemade.  Our sandwiches, salads, desserts, and soups are all fresh and made to order.  We bake our own breads and baked goods using quality ingredients and no preservatives!

2.  Lima.  We are Lima owned and operated.  We invest back into Lima.  We live in Lima.  And there aren’t any stockholders on the other side of the world we  have to try to make happy!

1.  People.  We have awesome, friendly, customer-oriented employees who want you to come back to The Meeting Place on Market again and again.  “Sometimes I want to go where everybody knows my name. And they’re always glad I came.”

These 10 differences add up to a unique, welcoming place where you can enjoy coffee, smoothies, food, and fun.  Come on in and let us know what you think!

Q:  Why did you start performing? 
A:  “I started performing in church when I was very young for special music or Christmas plays. When I was 12 I began writing songs after being inspired by two recording artists, Michael W. Smith and Rich Mullins. That gave me original material to sing and play at summer camp talent shows and school concerts. By the time I was 15, I was playing for local organizations like Kiwanis Club, weddings, and Christmas parties. I knew by then I was going to major in Music at college and make music part of my career.”

Q: What is your inspiration? 
A:   “I draw inspiration from my faith in Jesus, from the Bible, from relationships; musically, I’m influenced by artists like Rich Mullins, Michael W. Smith, Sara Groves, Minnie Driver, and Fiona Apple.”

Q:  Where would you like to be in 5 years with your music? 
A:  “I can see myself 5 years from now still playing churches, coffee houses, camps, retreats; all of the things I do now. I intend to record another two records within the next 5 years. The first will be a cycle of songs inspired by the church calendar from Advent to Pentecost; the second will be an album of original Christian pop music written out of my experience as a missionary to Florida and the Dominican Republic; some English and a little Spanish, hopefully a bit of Latin music flare and BossaNova!”
 
More information about Leah J is found online at:  www.leahjsongs.com. She’s also on Facebook (www.facebook.com/leahjsongs), MySpace (www.myspace.com/leahjsongs), and ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com/leahjsongs).

The Meeting Place on Market hosts concerts by local musicians and bands, as well as local art exhibits.  If you are interested in performing at The Meeting Place on Market, fill out our Request Form.  For a schedule of events, see our Event Calendar.
 

The employees starting moving around the furniture. You see, they knew that owner #1 and owner #2 were out of state for the weekend. They knew that owner #3 was working his second job. They knew that owner #4 was home with her three little kids, and probably wouldn’t be in that night. So they thought they could re-arrange everything – just for the night – and put it back before any of the owners stopped by. Well, owner #4 decided to drag her kids in for a smoothie. Surprise!

But owner #4 thought some of the changes were good. So, they all brainstormed together and came up with some even wilder ideas that involved a drill, some hardware, brawn and some paint. The employees volunteered to show up bright & early on a Sunday morning to implement the changes. And so they did! In a few short hours, they moved the booths out of the pub and against the Meeting Room wall. They moved the large tables into the pub to create a kind of meeting space. They moved the couch and book shelves into the front “Family Room” to create a comfortable hanging out space. And they put the coffee shelves up onto the Terrace.

Together we re-painted the pub (ok, so I’m owner #4 – owners #1 & 2 helped too), organized the tables, re-arranged the current artist’s artwork, and added some shelving for our bakery items. By 6 pm on Sunday, we were done! Below are photos of the makeover.

Thank you to Stephanie, Brandon, Eric, and Brandi who designed and implemented the makeover! We love it!

New paint and large tables in the “pub”

Booths over by the West Street entrace

Coffee shelves in the Terrace

New comfortable couch and game area facing Market Street

View Complete Slideshow (28 Pictures)

Add some money to your Rewards Rewards card, and then swipe it on the kiosk next to the coffee airpots. You can then pay for any size coffee and/ or a newspaper. Get in and out as fast as you can pull the coffee!

You can also use the Express Checkout if you have a coupon for a free coffee on your rewards card. Use it, and buy 9 coffees, get 1 free!!

Benefiting the Veteran’s Food Pantry

All day:
* Try an unlimited variety of coffee with our Coffee Tasting Pass for $2
* Cups of coffee free to all veterans

1 pm: Coffee Pro Training—learn about the art of coffee tasting, plus learn how to brew using a French Press (the right way!)

2 pm: Coffee Frame Art—create picture frames decorated with coffee beans—open to kids and adults

3 pm: Coffee Painting—paint watercolors with coffee—open to kids and adults

Admission to all events: a donation of your choice of non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, or money to the Veteran’s Food Pantry.

The Veteran’s Food Pantry is a local food bank benefiting our veterans. Located in Lima’s Memorial Hall, it has seen a dramatic increase in need over the last year. They have 665 Veterans and 25 Family on Active Duty that receive food. The Meeting Place is proud to sponsor this food drive for the Veteran’s Food Pantry.

At The Meeting Place on Market, 220 West Market Street, downtown Lima, Ohio

Breakfast Pizza
Bacon, ham, boiled egg with cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and a ranch sauce on a crispy thin crust. 9 inch size. 5.95

Good Morning Melt
Ham with melted American cheese and scrambled egg served open-faced on our homemade wheat or white bread, baked. 3.50

Cranberry Bacon Melt
Bacon and swiss cheese with scrambled egg on our homemade cranberry walnut bread (or choose any of our breads), baked. 3.50

Swiss Spinach Melt
Swiss cheese with scrambled egg and spinach served open faced on wheat or white bread. 2.50
Egg Cheese Croissant Scrambled eggs with melted cheddar cheese on a flaky croissant. 2.50 With bacon or ham. 3.50

Everything Bagel Sandwich
Hot scrambled eggs with American cheese on an Everything bagel.  2.50 Add bacon or ham. 3.50

Cinnamon Raisin Bacon Sandwich
Hot scrambled eggs with bacon and melted Swiss cheese on a cinnamon raisin bagel.  3.50

Oatmeal
Rich, hot oatmeal served with your choice of milk or cream, and brown sugar. 1.95 Add blueberries or strawberries. .50

New Gourmet Pizzas

Veggie Pizza
Mozzarella and feta cheese with mushroom, red pepper, green and black olives and diced tomato over a tomato basil sauce, baked on a crispy thin crust.  9 inch size.  8.95

Supreme Pizza
Pepperoni, mushroom, red pepper, green and black olives and diced tomato, with Mozzarella and feta cheese, over a tomato basil sauce, baked on a crispy thin crust.  9 inch size.  8.95

Double Cheese Pizza 
Mozzarella and feta cheese over a tomato basil sauce, baked on a crispy thin crust.  9 inch size. 6.95

Visit Us Downtown!

Downtown is full of great events this week – stop at The Meeting Place, see Mike Huffman’s art exhibit (running all month), and take $1 off your order with the coupon at the bottom of this email.

Coupon expires Saturday, 10 am.

Other Great Events:
Saturday:
Downtown Holiday Festival at Civic Center
12 String Relief in Concert at The Meeting Place
Shawnee Alliance Choir Concert at The Meeting Place
Bells, Brass & Bows at Civic Center
Breakfast with Santa at WinGate Inn
And more!

Visit our website for more info:
www.meetingplaceonmarket.com

Local Artist Mike Huffman Art Exhibit Throughout December

Mike Huffman’s artwork will be on display at The Meeting Place on Market November 27th through December 31st.

Mike Huffman received his MA and then MFA from Bowling Green State University in 1974-75. He has been actively producing works of Art and teaching since that time. His teaching has included everything from 1st grade through graduate level painting and drawing. From 1986 -2006 he involved himself in ever increasing degrees of Arts Administration with the Lima City Schools concluding with 12 years as Director of Arts and Magnet Programs. As an artist his work has evolved from expressionistic interpretations of his environment to “gender politics” and other issue based subject matter. He is currently teaching grades 5-8 in the North Arts Magnet… and still painting.

Info, Updates and Sales

*Visit our web site for up to date information!www.meetingplaceonmarket.com
*Join the Facebook group “The Meeting Place on Market!”

*Be sure to take home some of our featured fall coffee, Pumpkin Spice and Harvest Spice! Remember that our coffee beans can be purchased whole bean, or we can grind them for you at no extra charge. Our delicious Pumpkin Spice Flavoring Syrup is also available for purchase by the bottle!

*The Meeting Place is now on Twitter! Follow us at https://twitter.com/MeetingPlaceonM

Gift Baskets Make Christmas Shopping Simple and Successful!

Don’t forget that The Meeting Place offers a HUGE array of gift basket options and ideas! Choose a pre made basket from our gift area, or speak to an associate to custom design the perfect gift for that special someone- or that special business partner or client! From a small thank you to a breathtaking presentation of goodies, we can create exactly what you have in mind!