Featured Friends is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for Life in Wanderlust. You’ve heard me rave about it before but every time I have a guest, it makes me so happy! I love getting to know my fellow Travel Bloggers and totally honored to have them on my blog.
Anyway, meet my April Featured Friend, Melina from Coffee Fernweh! She’s been a loyal Fly Away Friday participant for a while now and I’ve loved following along on all of her channels as she travels near and far featuring one of my favorite things ever: coffee! As her brand Coffee Fernweh would suggest, she’s an expert in the subject of coffee and I love that she includes this aspect to her content. Without further ado, let’s start the interview!
1. Tell us about yourself!
Hi! I’m Melina, I manage a licensed Starbucks (I’m inside a Vons grocery store.) I was born and raised in SoCal. I’m a huge coffee snob (and proud of it) and I love to travel.
2. What inspired you to start your blog, Coffee Fernweh?
I love traveling and I love researching/planning trips. I’m usually the one in my family or group of friends that does the research and plans everything out. A few of my friends suggested I start a blog to share my knowledge and experiences in the cities that I visit and Coffee Fernweh was born.
3. If you could only drink coffee at 3 places across the world for the rest of your life, where would they be and why?
Only three? That’s a TOUGH question.
*Aloha Roastery in Kauai, twin brothers own and operate this amazing shop, they know their stuff. They have a simple coffee menu but they do it right. I got an iced coconut latte and a mocha here and it was two of the best drinks I’ve ever had.
*Barista in Portland, This was probably my favorite coffee shop in Portland. The vibe is great , baristas are friendly and the coffee is fantastic
*Dripp Chino Hills CA, the decor of this shop is super cute, i’ve never had a bad drink here, friendly baristas who know what they are doing, plus they have donut Tuesdays and have homemade pop tarts.
4. What do you look for in the perfect cup of coffee and/or coffee shop?
I usually get one of three drinks: a mocha, iced coffee or a latte. I look for properly aerated milk(milk in lattes and mochas should be velvety and sweet with micro foam, not flat), well balanced espresso ( it shouldn’t be bitter or burnt tasting), in my mocha I want that perfect balance of espresso and sweetness. Iced coffees shouldn’t require sugar and cream. Haha I told you I’m a coffee snob. In a shop, I’m looking for friendly baristas, good selection of pastries, great vibes, and if you can make my drink right chances are I’ll be back.
5. As you travel and try different coffees from all over the world, what differences do you see in them, broad or specific?
Coffee is fairly universal. Most coffee is grown in the coffee belt, which is bound by the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer because all of the countries in this area have moderate climates with plenty of rain and a dry season. That’s why if you notice most coffee you see in stores are from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil etc. Roasting and brewing methods are the main differences I see once the bean hits coffee shops. A great coffee shop will roast the beans in house or will purchase coffee from a small roaster. I love when I go into different shops and see the same coffee but roasted differently or they use different brewing methods. You’d be surprised how a brewing method can completely change the flavor profile.
6. If money or time wasn’t an issue, where are 3 places you would like to visit that you haven’t already?
I’d like to take a month and travel through Italy, Tokyo is pretty high on my list, and Scotland.
7. Other than your cell phone, camera or passport, what are 3 things you can’t travel without?
My packing cubes!!! I finally got some a few years ago and they are a lifesaver. My laptop and a book. I love to read and I love the feeling of an actual book in my hands.
8. A lot of viewers visit my blog for SoCal recommendations. Since you’re a fellow SoCal gal, do you have any favorite spots (coffee, food, anything!) in SoCal you would recommend?
I feel like In-n-out is a SoCal staple, King Taco is another favorite of mine. For coffee, Dripp in Chino Hills or Fullerton, Stumptown, Intelligentsia, and Enchanted Coffee Bar in La Mirada are some favorites.
9. What do you hope to accomplish through Coffee Fernweh?
Traveling isn’t always easy, it can be hard to find good places to eat or things to do. If I can help anyone find a great coffee shop, restaurant, cool place to visit or help figure out public transportation through my experiences, i’ve accomplished my goal.
10. Share a fun, cool or random fact with the readers!
A random fact, my parents actually got my name from a James Bond movie. A fun fact, I’ve been a certified coffee master for four years now. With Starbucks if you get your District Manager to sign off, you can go through a separate three month training to learn EVERYTHING about coffee, from the history, flavor profiles, processing methods, to how Starbucks ethically sources their coffee and gives back to the farmers that provide us with amazing coffee.
Follow Melina everywhere!
Blog: coffeefernweh.com
Instagram: @coffee_fernweh
Facebook: @coffeeandfernweh323
Twitter: @coffeefernweh
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Thank you Melina for sharing such fun facts about you, your travel and my extensive coffee knowledge! Since we’re both in SoCal, we really should get together sometime! I loved getting to know you and having you on my blog!
Want to read other Featured Friends? Click here.
Want to be the next Featured Friends? The next spot available is June, 2018! Due to overwhelming response on interviews, I now have a section dedicated to bloggers wanting to work with this blog. Click here to find out more.
I agree – the Featured Friends section on your blog really is a great idea! After following Melina on IG for so long I loved getting to know her a little better 🙂
This was so much fun to do! You asked some tough questions! Only 3 coffee shops for the rest of my life? XO #flyawayfriday
Loved reading a bit more about you and what inspired you to start a blog with a coffee focus. Keep up the good work! #flyawayfriday
Aww thanks! ??
Thank you!
I'll have to direct all of the SoCal Australian expats to your Starbucks! Everyone seems to complain about coffee in the US not being great. Maybe they're just not going to the right places. I'm a boring non-coffee drinker though, so I can't really judge. I do feel like I've been left out of some awesome experience though because of my dislike of coffee. #FlyAwayFriday
It's so fun learning more about all of these amazing travel bloggers! Finding good coffee is one of my favorite things to do when I'm in a new place, so I love the concept behind Melina's blog and I love following her adventures on Instagram! We share a love for mochas, too. 🙂 #flyawayfriday
I can give you recommendations if you want. I spend my weekends exploring coffee shops and trying to find all the good ones. When I first started working at Starbucks 12 years ago (wow) I hated coffee, now I’m a huge coffee snob but I get it, it’s an acquired taste.
Thanks Caity! LOVE a properly made mocha =) I love following your IG too ?
Love learning more about the people behind the blogs I read. I'd love to try out the 3 coffee spots that you recommended!
So happy to have you! Haha I know, the coffee shop is really hard, even for me!!! xo
I love the Featured Friends series … so nice getting to know some bloggers better and discovering brand new ones! I became a bit of a coffee snob when I lived in Melbourne – I've never known anywhere where they they take their coffee so seriously – and I've been missing it since being back in the UK. It's not the same! I will have to live vicariously through Melina's blog now… #FlyAwayFriday
What a fun way to enjoy discovering a new place by checking out their coffee offerings. I will be looking for Dripp Chino Hills CA if I am ever in that area for sure!
Now, this is a super interesting interview! I will check the coffee shops suggested in here for sure. My husband has been on the food industry in one way or another for the last 10 years. He has taken classes with different baristas and roasters and those experiences have been eye opening. We have friends with coffee farms in Central America. I think we are connected to coffee in many ways. #FlyAwayFriday
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You definitely should! Especially Aloha Roastery in Kaui it was AMAZING!
I’ve got you covered, Kat! I have a lot of coffee posts coming
Coffee and tattoo shops are great ways to discover a new city. Yes! Dripp is a local favorite of mine if you’re ever in the area you won’t regret checking it out.
Learning how to roast would be a dream come true for me! I’m hoping you’ve visited these friends with coffee farms!
I love your Featured Friends section, Kana! It's so fun to get to know other travel bloggers. I've followed Melina on Instagram for a while now so it's nice to learn more about her. #FlyAwayFriday
I am in love with Coffee too! Love when a coffee shop has some great vibes as well. I need to start checking out more coffee shops when I travel. My favorite coffee shop while traveling was in Boston. It is called The Thinking Cup. l loved it so much, we went there every morning to grab some coffee and eat breakfast. Hope you can visit there!
Thanks Allison! I love following your travels on IG!
I’ve heard of it! I wanted to check it out when my mom and I were there but it was raining so hard the two days we were in the city we didn’t get to explore much. It’s for sure on my list for next time.
Ok, now this is my kind of post!!! I love coffee! 😉 Love your perspective and all these interesting tidbits you have thrown in there. Great to meet you! 🙂
Great to meet you through Fly Away Friday 🙂 It is always awesome to meet another coffee NERD. I haven't had coffee in your top 3 choices, but I support local tourism where possible before choosing a starbucks. I too need packing cubes to travel as well! Hope to see you on Friday for Fly Away Friday 🙂
Coffee is LIFE! Thank you so much ? nice to meet you too, Tiffany!
It’s great to meet you too, Janine! Oh I’m a BIG time coffee nerd lol even though I work at a Starbucks, I prefer local shops as well. Packing cubes save so much space! Check out the ones on flight001.com
As a former Barista, this post gets me. Granted, we weren't really an artisanal shop, but coffee is universal. I'll try to keep my senses open next time I got to a shop abroad.
Yaay! Come to Scotland! I love this series #flyawayfriday
Coffee is universal! The only things that change are the roast and brew method. What coffee shop did you work at?
I would love to go to Scotland!