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Rachel Noelle Sammons

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Tag: Coffee

May 23, 2019May 22, 2019 Rachel Noelle Sammons Coffee

Dear Competing Coffeeshop

We see you over there, slinging lattés with your newly bought portafilter that glints in the sunlight. We see you using that certain tamp that all the baristas are saying is the next best thing since boba. We see you drawing in all sorts of coffee-lovers—the flannel-shirt-wearers, the frappé-slurping teenagers, the families who are on … Continue reading Dear Competing Coffeeshop

March 12, 2019March 12, 2019 Rachel Noelle Sammons Coffee

All About Palate Coffee Brewery’s Pending Coffee

Some of our customers are homeless. Well, okay, do I know that they’re homeless? No. I have never asked. I do that thing they say you shouldn’t do: I make assumptions. Maybe they fumble for change. Maybe their clothes are stained with dirt and sweat. Maybe they ask for money. Whatever they do, I get … Continue reading All About Palate Coffee Brewery’s Pending Coffee

February 26, 2019 Rachel Noelle Sammons Coffee

The 10 Commandments of a Palate Barista

Thou shalt honor thy Palate brothers and sisters. Maybe you’re in a rush and you just wish your co-barista could sling a latté in half the time. Or perhaps they forgot to top up the syrup bottles and now you’re rooting through the cabinet for a bottle of vanilla. But to quote a classic hymnal … Continue reading The 10 Commandments of a Palate Barista

February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 Rachel Noelle Sammons Coffee

Love in the Air at Palate Coffee Brewery

There are two important things I need to share with you. The first is that there was another proposal at Palate Coffee Brewery. The second is that we’ve got our Valentine’s Day drink specials in. I don’t know which thing I’m more excited about. No, we already told you about Yahia & Bréanne. (Which, by … Continue reading Love in the Air at Palate Coffee Brewery

January 9, 2019 Rachel Noelle Sammons Personal

Jesus-sizing Coffee

“Twenty years and he wants a divorce.” I freeze. Soap bubbles still running on my hands. The lady leans across the coffee bar with sad, translucent eyes. Seconds ago, she was wincing about how we ran out of kombucha. Now she’s nodding her head, chin propped up by her hand, like, yes, so sad, but … Continue reading Jesus-sizing Coffee

May 17, 2017January 3, 2019 Rachel Noelle Sammons Travel

How to Have Fun in Suburban Florida

What is there to do here? I feel my city girl coming out. Making beelines to hipster bars and any place with the words “Live Music.” But a change of scenery means a change of style and I’ve been adapting. Here's what I've discovered.

All this talk about “send her back” has got me thinking: what does it mean to be American? Does it mean to be just white? In response to Trump’s recent language, @Voxdotcom cofounder and senior correspondent Matthew Yglesias says: “Trump sees nonwhite Americans as not genuinely American…as possessing a kind of inherent foreignness regardless of where they were born and a second-class claim on citizenship.” Everyone, the idea that nonwhite = non-American is pervasive. I have a person in my life who calls me half-American. Never mind that my mom was born and raised in America and that her parents are naturalized citizens. No, it’s my dad’s side that makes me American. Because he’s white. - But confession: I contribute to this sense of otherness. I emphasize my Asianness in my writing and in my conversations with friends. So if I don’t want to be seen as half-American, why talk about my Koreanness? Why blog about meeting my relatives in Seoul? Why join a group chat with my friends called Asians Unite and debate over the best Pocky flavor? (It’s strawberry, by the way.) Surely those things will make me seem not that American. Right? - Actually, NONE OF THAT makes me less American. Juliet Lapidos, senior editor of @theatlantic, writes: “This is a country where immigrants can come and decide precisely how much they want to be American, and how much they’d like to retain of the ‘places from which they came.’… The United States offers immigrants the freedom of self-definition.” - The assumption that ‘to be not completely white is to be not completely American’ negates a wealth of experiences that make America America. I can gorge on barbacoa tacos, see a Mandarin movie in theaters, and meet my friend for cream tea. I can hear my coworkers banter in Spanish, and then go to the coffeeshop and overhear a conversation in Slovakian. And ALL those experiences would be characteristic of the American life. They may be different to your experiences. And that’s okay. But they’re still American >> rachelsammons.com - #American #Americanidentity #Americanculture #blogger #identity #Trump #racism #xenophobia #sendthemback #multiculturalism #asianamerican
Happy birthday to my partner in crime ❤️ Let's never stop discussing Tupac, gorging on Korean food, and bringing it all back to Jesus. I love you, friend.
City life #sanfordfl
The speaker said: “If you want to show your English friends that you’re trying to embrace the culture, here’s what you do: have a drink in your hand.” When I moved to England, I equated English culture to one thing: drinking. And who could blame me? My professor brought champagne to our 9 am seminar. My colleagues spoke openly about getting smashed. My friends would meet their pastors for a pint. It’s like Prohibition never happened (because, you know, it hadn’t). I wanted the English to embrace me. So I threw myself into the drinking culture. It didn’t work. - I remember standing outside a club with my friend while she listed all the people she was close to. She ended with: “Rachel, you’re different because you’re American so there’s only so close I can get to you.” I didn’t know my nationality could be a barrier to a close friendship. But still, my mission to fit in didn’t stop there. I craved a sense of belonging. I sought it everywhere I could. It cost me my religious convictions. It cost me my emotional well-being. It even cost some friendships. Turns out, striving to be like the cool kids can sometimes mean selling your soul. Whether or not you’re in England. - Eventually, I did make close friends. I did adapt to the culture. But it wasn’t by people-pleasing. It was by being a genuine person. Living in England taught me to not fixate on blending into the culture, especially the drinking culture. But it also taught me a more important thing: Don’t compromise your convictions to make someone like you. I have to remind myself of this on a daily basis. I left England feeling a sense of belonging. I miss it every morning, every afternoon, and every evening. I miss my friends. They feel like they’re an ocean away (because, you know, they are). But now, I have this lesson in my heart. And I am forever grateful to England for it. - PC: @_ponderthat - #livingabroad #beyourself #blogger #England #livinginEngland #foreignstudent #friendships #cultureclash #traveling #travel #travelEngland #travelUK
These kids taught me something I will never forget >> link in bio. - Funny how, you’re twenty-three, in Cambodia, on the other side of the world from your home, and here, now, is where you see a side of your dad that you’ve never seen before. - #khmer #cambodia #phnompenh #explorecambodia #travelcambodia #travelwriting #travelblog #travelblogging #travelwriter #travelasia #exploreasia #family
What did I do in Cambodia? -I dined at a North Korean restaurant -knelt in front of a Buddha statue -and (almost) ate dog Not in the order, of course. New blog post up! Link in bio << rachelsammons.com - #cambodia #phnompenh #explorecambodia #travelcambodia #travelwriting #travelblog #travelblogging #travelwriter #travelasia #exploreasia #family
Well that's bazaar #sanfordfl #exploreflorida #colorful #sanfording #sanford
OKala is O.K. - #exploreflorida #roadtrip #centralflorida #ocalaflorida #quirky
What was it like to meet my Korean family? UN REAL. Check out my new blog post! Link in bio ❤ - My friend asked me if meeting my Korean family made me feel, well, more Korean. Honestly, I expected that. I thought meeting my relatives would bring me face-to-face with my heritage. - But instead, the reunion was too surreal. I sat across from my second cousins and said in my head: “These are my second cousins...these are my second cousins...these are my second cousins…” - #seoul #seoulsearching #exploreseoul #travelseoul #exploreKorea #travelKorea #travelwriting #travelblog #travelblogging #travelwriter #Korea #family
THIS is why I love street art: The Ihwa Mural Village was a decrepit neighborhood set to be destroyed. Instead, under an “Art in City” project, the village was revitalized by street art. - Over seventy artists spilled their creativity across walls, fences, staircases, alleys, and rooftops // Photos and blog link in bio 😉 - #seoul #seoulsearching #exploreseoul #travelseoul #exploreKorea #travelKorea #travelwriting #travelblog #travelblogging #travelwriter #Korea #streetart #Ihwa #IhwaMuralVillage #muralart
And then I meet Itaewon, a street-art-tatted, expat-infused neighborhood of Seoul. Need a place to warm up, drink beer, and chow down on homemade Cheetos? @magpiebrewing has got your back. (P.S. The bartenders are sweethearts ❤ ). - Blog post > LINK IN BIO 😉 - #seoul #seoulsearching #exploreseoul #travelseoul #exploreKorea #travelKorea #travelwriting #travelblog #travelblogging #travelwriter #Korea #magpiebrewing #beer #drinking #alcohol #brewery #Itaewon
Hello, pretty bar! We slip into Seoul's Pong Dang Craft Beer Company. I feel both proud and apologetic for being in this place. Like we've cracked a code to the underground drinking culture. Sorry, locals! The secret's out...I think... Blog post > LINK IN BIO 😉 - @pongdangcbc - #seoul #seoulsearching #exploreseoul #travelseoul #exploreKorea #travelKorea #travelwriting #travelblog #travelblogging #travelwriter #Korea #pongdang #beer #drinking #alcohol #brewery
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