The Coffee Baron of Caffe Pronto

I see that the coffee word is spreading – fast…

Oh yes! My favourite time of year has finally arrived! The culmination of the schools rowing season – SA Junior Champs! The cream of South African Schools rowers gathered to battle it out against their foes, and with them,,, all of their delightful supporters.. The banter, the smiles, the joking, the flirting. Its another world out there.. Its my world. Were there any special quotes, anecdotes or moments? All were special – from when we arrived and I could hear cries of “Baron, thank goodness you are here” and “we missed you Baron” and “Oh Baron, I wish I could convince you to bring me coffee every morning”…..

So, this was a welcome back into the world in which I revel – here are some visuals of the day!

 Notice the absolutely sensational women, waiting… in anticipppppppation……. Notice the gorgeous blue water, where the young warriors did battle….. Notice the absolutely sensational women – oh I just said that..

So,,, I wear these copper things on my wrist, as a sign of my independence from the norm. I have come to discover, that when I am unhappy, or not well,,,,, they are dull in colour. They have been EXTREMELY dull for some time now.

This weekend, I did a coffee gig for the first time in a while. Half an hour into the gig…. They were shiny.

Is it the coffee? The interaction? The crowds? Or, could it just be, that this particular type of event,draws the most gorgeous women, who are not adverse to some harmless flirting, and, indeed, who love to reciprocate.

Or could it just be, that I was back in the Land of The Baron, and out of the Baronland?

Riding through the traffic on my chariot this morning, my mind turned to matters of importance.. Coffee, and women..
Over the last weekend, I had the pleasure if dishing out caffeine in differing forms to many many delightful women, and, during the weekend, one of my regular ladies said something to me which made me think…

“Baron, how is it that you always flatter us, we always know that its not 100% sincere and said with the tip of tongue in cheek, yet we still love it when you do?”. I turned to her and said “But it is always 100% sincere, as I only flatter gorgeous people”. She giggled and blushed furiously……. This got me thinking..

Is flattery a bad thing? Is a charmer of women labelled as shallow, and when he flatters a woman, is it always insincere? Do women discount flattery, or turn their noses up at men who verbally appreciate beauty?

From my perspective, flattery is just that – a verbalisation of a visual. Some men express it – others dont – the expressive ones get labelled as charmers…..

So, ladies, your thoughts, S’il vous plait? Merci

The tallest trees get the most wind, a rolling stone gathers no moss…. this type of cliche’d saying points to one thing… If you have the status of The Baron, then continual strategy and marketing plans are required. You just HAVE to keep ahead of the pack.

With this in mind, I felt that I needed to revisit the cornerstones of my realm – Outstanding coffee, Fabulous-ness, Attractive Women, and Women. So, I went to my second favourite coffee disher-outter (mine being the favourite, by a loooong shot – of Espresso), ordered my caffiene of choice, along with……. a muffin…….

This got me thinking……. In my business, would I attract more birds if I served muffins with my awesome coffee? If I did attract more birds, would they be more attractive?

The conclusion was: I would probably attract more, but they wouldnt necessarily be more desirable (see evidence below)

Lesson of the day comes in the form of two more bulldust Corporate boardroom sayings.. (1) Are we on the same page????? (2) Quality of customer vs quantity of customer.

In this case, I choose quality.

Chatting to a friend of mine today, I mentioned that this last weekend, was like moving into a different world. A world containing yester-years characters, yester-years music, but this years cappuccino’s. My consumers lived up to all expectations (see “from push bike to motor bike). They were astounding in their “out-there-ness”.

I promised you a story, and this is it.

Miss Macchiato (see “the characters”) decided that she would oversee operations for the weekend. Coldest freaking start that I have had, in a LONG time – but,,,,, they arrived. Beautiful three wheeled Goldwings, thumping Harley’s, and screaming Superbikes. And of course, all of the classic bikes – they were superb!

Which starts off my thought process of things that struck me..

Should I be worried that

• The first (and only)  Superbike that I owned, is now considered a classic?
• All the Vikings and other bikers are from my era! Where is the next generation of bikers?
• The SAME band played the SAME classics from Creedance and Boston, and the like

The answer – NO! This was given by Miss Machiatto with her continual utternances of “cool” and “awesome” and “he is scary – but I like him”.

So, that was the self affirmation part of the story (AS IF The Baron EVER needed self affirmation).

So, I think…… this blog should be some visuals, and then I will regale some detailed stories later!

(1) Scariest Dad Biker in the world goes to…..

(2) Best band who NEVER forgets the songs from last year, or the year before, or……

(3) A Baron’s nightmare for a macchiato to bring home – and the macchiato promptly falls in love with! (seriously – he seems like a pretty cool dude tho!) – Lead singer and Guitarist of the legendary band

So,,,,,,, does this set the tone ????

Ahhhhhh the joy of fresh air, fresh coffee, smiling faces and ultra fit bodies and ultra fit bodies – oh I said that already!

What drives people to get up in the middle of the night (seemingly) to hop onto their ultra modern and high tech bikes and dash off into the mud and grime? To arrive back after having subjected themselves to hours of this to hop into their motor vehicles, and go home to catch up on the board pack that is due on Monday? One of life’s great mysteries.

I dont know, and am not going to ponder it. Because,,,,,,,, preceeding and post the event, they do crave the ultimate beverage, from the ultimate source, and we were there to deliver. they came in all forms, from the hoards of bike people……

To the spectators and supporters (who I prefer, cause they are NORMALLY cleaner and less smelly!)..

Sometimes, even Barons have lapses in judgement, albeit small ones. This Baron decided to take a couple of weeks off from the coffee scene, to focus on his building alterations to his house. Suffice to say – a valuable lesson was learnt! I learnt that I am a Coffee Baron, and NOT a building one…….. Some sayings spring to mind, like stick to your knitting and stuff…

Anyway – I miss the coffee vibe, so,,,,,,,, in two days, we shall be out and about again! Watch this space for updates. I am sure, with the weather such as it is (chilly, for my International readers) that we will be so busy that there will be no time for pics.

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye,,,,,,,,,

So,,,,,, one of my favourite venues for the disbursement of my delicious, stupendous, and mindblowingly delicious coffees, is the dam, while watching and mingling with the super sophisticated rowing fraternity… Just because, they my kinda mensch*, you know! Anyway – what could be better than having your loyal subjects coming to you, with a backdrop such as this one?

*mensch – “someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being “a real mensch” is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous

There we were, four against four thousand……. What a blast!

Easter Rugby Festival at KES – much frivolity and festivity,,,,, and coffee,,,,,, and smoothies,,,,,, and stuff..

Miss Macchiato (see characters tab) was laid low with a broken arm from a motorbike accident the day before (Baron very proud of this fact!). So her role this weekend was cast – in plaster – lay low..

Madame Coco (see characters tab) was all ready and raring to go – AND on time, along with her two Part Time Pete’s (see characters tab ) in tow.

The Baron (see…. ah never mind) was, well, The Baron – modest, quiet, reserved and demure – NOT!

On arrival, we could sense, this was going to be a biggie – Caffe Pronto, set up in their regular, prime spot, ready for the masses – Tents, Vendors, Tattoo Parlours, Beer Tents, Big Screen TV’s, and yes, the hallowed rugby field of KES – prepared for the Warriors!

So, prepare yourselves for the tales of the festival, and others…. And, some Vivacious Visuals to boot!