The Calm of Pinwheel
Owen F. - 7th Grade
I never thought that I would be wearing a mask on my first day of middle school, but COVID changed all that. I’ve spent the summer social distancing because sports and camps have all been canceled. My main friends are not allowed to socialize with me. Now, I am joining a community where half of the people already know each other, but I am in the other half. It’s hard to enter an existing group, and I can’t even see anyone’s face. I expected I would be joining a group of 30 students, but because of the pandemic, I’m really not. We are divided into three cohorts of ten students each, and twenty of the kids might as well be aliens. It's like we live in the same solar system, but on different planets. It is lonely, uncertain, and scary.
It’s time for my shop shift at Pinwheel. I leave the noise of the classroom behind and enter the quiet, peaceful cafe. Because of coronavirus restrictions, no one is there but Joe and me. It is a relaxing place where I don't have to struggle to focus, and I can do one thing at a time. Joe teaches me to pull an espresso shot. I pack coffee grounds into the filter and place them into the espresso machine. I then press the button, and water is forced through the grounds. The only sound in the room is the humming of water becoming coffee. I work with the machine to create a small, metal cup filled with two ounces of chocolate-colored liquid. I can see my success. Joe gives me a nod of approval.
We are in the classroom discussing global warming. Our group sits in a circle and there is a sense of despair. We are kids. How are we supposed to solve global warming? We know we have to do something, but this feels like stress without purpose. It is hot, and we have other work to do, but we have to be on this hamster wheel for at least another fifteen minutes.
“I have made myself a cup of lovely, foamy, steamed milk. My mind quiets. I have achieved success...”
It’s time for my shop shift at Pinwheel. I leave our classroom and enter the steady calm of the cafe. Today I'm working with Dot, and she has planned to teach me to steam milk. She walks me through the steps. I put the steam wand into the milk and turn on the steamer. It lets out a long sigh of relief as it releases pressure into the milk. The milk cup I am holding warms, and when it is too hot to touch I take my hand away and count to three before turning off the steam. I have made myself a cup of lovely, foamy, steamed milk. My mind quiets. I have achieved success, and I am able to move forward with my drink and my day.
I arrive at school with a busy mind. My brain feels like a washing machine, continuously turning one thought over the next. Another Black man has been killed by police. There are protests all over the country. Meanwhile, the former president is tweeting racist comments almost daily. His followers have organized themselves and are becoming stronger and more violent. I am frightened and confused.
It is time for my shop shift at Pinwheel. Both Dot and Joe are there, and the shift is slow. I start off by folding towels. They are sturdy, reliable rectangles. After I fold each one I put it in a neat stack. As I fold the towels, I am able to create order from the chaos. When my shop shift comes to an end, I ask if I can make myself a drink. Joe says, “Yes,” and so I make myself a chai latte. It is delicious, warm, and comforting. Drinking it is like sitting around a fire, simple and complex at the same time. I can almost taste the different colors: red, orange, and yellow.
And so my resilience cycle continues: stress, recovery, stress, recovery.
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.
The Great Pastry Fight
Eireann R. - 8th grade
What if the pastries inside pinwheel’s pastry case could talk? Have you ever wondered what conversations, or conflicts, might occur?
Well, Eireann did, with some pretty hilarious results.
The bell dinged, a new customer had arrived, interested in the shop she had found. She looked all around the shop. What drew her attention were the window panes hanging from the ceiling, dividing the shop into two, comfortable seats all around, and the menus hanging from the wall. Everything looked quite tasty and she had trouble deciding, so she stepped aside. Her top two choices were the croissant and the scone. While choosing something was a minuscule problem, a much bigger one was occurring inside the glass pastry case.
“Look,” said the croissant in a condescending tone, “all of you are decent pastries, but my buttery goodness provides the perfect pairing for any drink.”
The croissant side-eyed the scone, “Why would she pick you, you’re just a dry, crusty piece of bread.”
“At least my skin isn’t so flaky that it’s always on the brink of falling apart,” the scone said back heatedly. The other pastries stared at them in silence, not wanting to get in the middle of the fight.
“You’re one to talk, one bump of this case and you’d be gone. Actually, I’d be the only one in this stupid place to survive a fall.”
“Why are we always dragged into the argument?” mumbled the muffin.
“Look, why don’t we all just get along and be nice to each other?” All the pastries turned to the coffee cake. The cake was always the peacemaker in this scenario, at times too sweet for the others. It shuddered as it waited for the insults to come. The same argument often happened and it would always turn out the same way.
The scone and croissant both looked to each other, then back at the cake, and screamed, “SHUT IT!”
“Look,” said the croissant in a condescending tone, “all of you are decent pastries, but my buttery goodness provides the perfect pairing for any drink. And you can’t do anything about that.”
Outside the case, the new customer was now gravitating towards the coffee cake. She had decided on something sweet and chewy.
“Are you actually joking me right now!?” The croissant screamed out in anger at the unexpected turn of events.
“Literally what is she thinking?”
The coffee cake was surprised, this had never happened before. It would be able to see the world for the first time. As the barista packaged the slice, the cake was blissful, ignoring the other pastries’ scoffs of shock and envy.
“Thanks,” said the customer as she turned to leave.
The cake marveled at the outside world. There were now so many possibilities open to it. Suddenly the slice was brought back to reality as another person bumped into the customer, making her drop the pastry. It seemed as if everything slowed and it slid out of the bag. A tear ran down its face as it fell to hard, cold, concrete. The last thing the slice of cake heard was the croissant’s muffled manic laughter from inside the case, and then everything went black.
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.
The Student Experience In Pinwheel
Hayes T. - 7th
Hayes T. and Joe working in the shop.
Something that makes Pinwheel unique is that we make all of our own syrups and sauces, and making them is really fun! As of now, I’ve gotten to help make smooth caramel sauce and rich mocha. Both of these delicious sauces were made in a giant pot, which reminds me of the pot my mom uses to make warm soups in the winter. To make caramel, we combine water, sugar, tons of butter, and some milk. We let the caramel cook and melt in the giant pot, and then we let it cool and put it into containers. I got to try a little bit of the extra sauce, and the flavor was amazing!
I also got to help out with making mocha syrup! It’s a similar process to the caramel, but with more water, a little bit less sugar, and a lot of cocoa powder. We put some hot water in the giant pot to start off. Then, we slowly started to whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar. The mixture slowly started to get thicker, and the whole room started smelling like chocolate. For a final touch, we added in some vanilla, and then we let it cool. We poured the delicious sauce in containers, which got pretty messy. Before I left, I got to make my own Mocha drink with the leftover sauce, which was perfect for the cold day!
I love coming in every couple of days to make lattes, learn how to steam milk, watch all of the amazing baristas make cool coffee art, and talk to customers.
I’ve never even thought about working in a coffee shop, but after getting to work in Pinwheel for a little bit each week, I have changed my mind. I love coming in every couple of days to make lattes, learn how to steam milk, watch all of the amazing baristas make cool coffee art, and talk to customers.
One of my first and favorite days working at Pinwheel was when I got to sample some of our homemade recipes, including our delicious chai. I got to try the amazing blend of spicy and sweet, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, and more. I tried pieces of peppercorn and sweet but tangy pieces of candied ginger. Pinwheel’s chai is the perfect mix in a drink of creamy and comforting, tangy but refreshing. Getting to try a chai deconstructed was interesting and fun!
The Coffee Process From Plant To Mug
Lachlan F. - 7th Grade
Art made by: Athena L.
Coffee is an internationally loved drink that is brewed from roasted coffee beans. It is one of the three most popular drinks in the world, along with water and tea. But where does this wonder drink come from?
Coffee grows in a myriad of countries, but Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Indonesia grow the bulk of coffee in the world. Coffee beans aren’t really beans at all, because they are the seeds of a coffee tree. They are often called coffee cherries, and are small, red, and carry 1-2 seeds. When coffee cherries are harvested from the trees, they go through a process that allows them to be turned into what we know as coffee. Processing involves removing the seeds from the cherry and drying them. They can be processed wet, where shortly after harvest, the pulp and skin are removed and they are left to dry, or processed dry, where they are dried in the sun, and then the pulp and skin is removed. Coffee seeds have a thin membrane around them called the parchment. The last step in processing the seeds is called hulling, which is the removal of the parchment. Then the beans are sorted by weight, size, and other categories. They are then shipped to the coffee roasters, where they become the familiar dark brown beans. To be roasted, they are churned around in a large heated cylinder for 8-14 minutes. This results in the aromatic, delicious, and recognizable beans.
After learning this process, you might appreciate your morning coffee a bit more. Coffee is such a normal part of people’s lives, so it can be rewarding to find out how it got in your mug each morning. Starting out as seeds in the coffee cherry, to being removed and dried, to being roasted to their familiar bitter taste, coffee beans go a long way before grinded and brewed to a steaming hot cup of perfection.
I Gotta Get My CHAI!
Malachi S. - 7th Grade
It was a nice morning, and I was going on my daily bike ride to the nearest coffee shop. The shop’s name was Pinwheel Coffee and they had my favorite chai. I would always get an orange chai. Ever since Pinwheel opened two years ago, I had never missed my morning chai. Before leaving the house, I put in my AirPods to listen to the morning news.
I was on my bike and I felt a little shake in the ground. At first, I just ignored it, but then it kept getting worse and worse. As I was thrown from my bike, I heard the news reporter say, “The earthquake has reached a level 10.” I had lived in California my whole life so I was kinda used to the earthquakes. I was just focused on getting my orange chai. Then I lifted my bike up, hopped on, and got back on the road.
I got to the coffee shop and it was a disaster in there. There was coffee all over the floor and everyone was freaking out. I really wanted to get my chai and nowhere else had as good a chai. Pinwheel’s chai had the perfect mix of spices. Peppercorn, cinnamon, clove and just a hint of orange. Delicious! I went in and they said everything but the milk spilled because it was capped. So I didn’t get my chai because all the chai mix spilled and mixed with all the coffee and iced tea mix. Since everything spilled, there was no chai or coffee that I could get.
I biked to the next nearest coffee shop, and they said that they had just run out of their chai mix. I ended up deciding on a hot chocolate from the second shop. My day wasn’t that great because I didn’t get the usual drink that I get.