Moody Seats
Elias K. - 8th grade
Pinwheel has many seating arrangements that welcome a variety of customers. Our arrangements provide spaces to sit down and have a chat with a barista, meet with a group of friends, or get work done while enjoying an amazing drink and snack. But with so many great options, how do you know what the best seat is for you?
The Espresso Bar = A New Friend
It’s 8 am and you walk into Pinwheel, really wanting to talk to someone new. Today, you decide, you will get to know the barista who is serving your coffee. You order a chai and sit at the espresso bar. You ask Dot how busy it has been this morning. You get into a conversation about your favorite movie. After you finish your chai latte, you wrap up your conversion, get up, and leave feeling like you made a new friend.
“You head into Pinwheel because it is a great place to get some work done.”
Back Tables = Hang-Out Spot
It’s 3 pm and you and your friends need a good place to hang out. One of your friends suggested you go to Pinwheel. You and your friends bike to Pinwheel and you drop off your bike at framework for a check up and new handle grips. You arrive and your friend leads you back to a table with seating for eight people. Once everyone has gotten settled, you start to talk about Snow Crash. There is some quiet music playing in the background. After some quality discussion, your book club group agrees on the next book, Cryptonomicon. You get up from your seat, thank the barista for the drink, and head back out side and get your cleaned bike.
Window Seat = Work Spot
It’s 12 pm and you are ready for some lunch. You head into Pinwheel because it is a great place to get some work done. You order a spicy sausage breakfast burrito and sit down at the window, watching the cars pass by. You pull out your computer and start to design the next website you need to make for Second Nature, the local hair salon. It is peaceful with the music in the background, the click of your computer keys, and your delicious burrito. After thirty minutes have passed, you realize that you need to go to a work meeting. You look out the window one last time and then leave to continue your busy day.
Two Person Seat = Relaxing
It's 3 pm and you are ready to try a new coffee shop in your neighborhood. A quick internet search directs you to a shop called Pinwheel Coffee. You decide to go and check it out. You walk in and the smell of chai makes you feel welcome. You order and sit down at a table for two. You have had a terrible day and a coffee is just what you need to cheer up. As you sip your coffee, you look at the wonderful messages on the walls. “At Pinwheel, we know your name, your favorite order, and what makes your day brighter.” “Wow,” you say, “This place is really amazing.” You leave feeling great.
Overall, pinwheel has many different seating arrangements that welcome everyone. There is a seat for everyone.
Facts About Pinwheel’s Espresso Machine
Elias K - 8th grade
Pinwheels brand is a Synesso MVP. You can see this if you sit at the bar and look at the back of the machine.
The left steam wand used to steam slower than the right steam wand. Before pinwheel fixed their espresso machine, the machine would always steam faster on the right side than the left, even though they used it more often.
The top of the espresso machine keeps things hot. The cups on the top of the machine are warm because the heat goes out the top. It also keeps the caramel and mocha syrup warm, so it does not harden.
The espresso machine was born in 1884 in Europe. Synesso MVP was born in 1884 in Europe and was made by Mark Barnett. He was trying to make a temperature stable and reliable machine, and after a while,e he made the Synesso MVP.
Pinwheels can change the handles. You can screw off the handles on the espresso machine and change them to different ones.
The right side handle is newer than the left. One day, the handle fell off because it was used much more than the left side, and Pinwheel had to replace it.
Pinwheels machine is versatile. Pinwheels can make it so different amounts of water come out of the machine at a time. This is so Pinwheel can make sure the machine is pumping the best shots of espresso.
Cinnamon Rolls are at Pinwheel Coffee!
Elias K. - 7th grade
“It’s sweet, sticky, and warms your heart.”
Did you know that Americans consumed 67.46 million cinnamon rolls in 2020? That is almost 200,000 a day! The best thing about cinnamon rolls is the satisfying taste of cinnamon sugar on your tongue. It’s so good it makes you forget about all your problems.
We can all agree that cinnamon rolls are delicious, but read on to learn about their impressive history. Cinnamon rolls’ main ingredients, bread, cinnamon, sugar, and butter, were used in cooking way before the first cinnamon roll was made. Cinnamon was most likely invented around 2000 BC. It was very valuable because it was scarce, but also extremely delicious in food. It was even given as gifts to the Chinese monarchs. Butter was also made back as early as 2000 BC, but it was not mass-produced until around 1860. Evidence shows that yeast bread was made as early as 1000 BC in ancient Egypt. Sugarcane originates from what is now called New Guinea at around about 8000 BC, where it grew wild. It was first cultivated in the United States in the 18th century, and the first refinery was built in New York. The first-ever cinnamon roll was made in Sweden on October 4th, 1920, which is national cinnamon bun day in Sweden and Finland.
Now that you know where they came from, you should come and get one at Pinwheel! They will go fast because everyone loves cinnamon rolls.
Student Created Lemon Lavender Latte
Elias K. - 7th grade
Olive made this drawing to represent the drink she created.
I plopped down on the couch to rest after lunch when a group of 6th graders walked in. They have some beautiful smelling drinks. It smells so good I inhale the amazing scent. A faint smell of lemonade hits my nose. I have to find out what these 6th graders are doing here. I need to taste these drinks. Elias is on the job.
Before I can get up to ask them what they are doing with these amazing drinks, one of the 6th graders comes up to me and says, “Here you go.”
Then they hand me a drink that looks like lemonade. This must be the drink I smelled.
I ask, “What is this drink?”
“It is a Lem-Limeade,” he said.
“I have never heard of this. Did you make it?”
“Yes.”
Here is Henry about to enjoy the drink he created.
Then he goes back to get his presentation ready. I need to find out more about this drink. During the presentation, I take a sip of the drink and it tastes excellent. I clap loudly after the presentation is done. I watch all of the other presentations and sip all of their drinks. I sample a Lemon Lavender Latte, a Strawberry Peach Lemonade, and an Italian Cream Soda. That Lemon Lavender Latte was really good. I have to investigate. Let’s go interview the drinks creators, Henry and Olive.
Where did the idea for this combination come from?
“We started with a Lavender Marigold Latte but we could not find any [marigolds],” Olive explained. Olive and Henry thought to combine lemon with lavender instead, as the flavors represented springtime.
What was your process in developing this drink?
Once they settled on their final ingredients, they started to test it and taste their drink. “We started with orange juice but it took away from the lavender so we got rid of it,” said Henry.
“We tried five times to make this drink perfect,” said Olive.
Henry interrupted, “Dry zest was the worst. It was sweet and was not fresh. The dry zest had no taste or smell so there was no point in it.”When we put in the dry zest we put in the same amount as the fresh zest and it was too much. The whole pan was covered in zest.”
Olive added, “Pinwheel had all the ingredients we needed to make this drink. We did this because it was the easiest option and it reduced the cost.”
What have you learned from this experience?
“That it takes a long time to make a drink and get the supplies needed.”
What do you want customers to know about your drink?
“That it was made by Embark students. It is a great option for people [who like] to try new things because lemon and lavender are not common things that go together,” said Henry.
Olive added, “It tasted sweet and you can really taste the lemon!”
The Lemon Lavender Latte is currently selling! Come get it now and see from yourself what an amazing drink these Embark students have created.