Zona Rosa Caffe

Zona Rosa Caffe is a Pasadena, California-based coffeehouse, owned and operated by Pure Bean Inc. The company was founded by Michael Moreno. Zona Rosa Caffe opened in the Pasadena Playhouse District of Pasadena in 1994. It is credited with being the first Latin oriented coffeehouse in the Southern California area and is home to many unique drinks not typically available in chain coffeehouse establishments.

Coffee

Zona Rosa Caffe distinguishes itself from other coffeehouses with their broad selection of Latin coffee’s, products, and tea drinks. It popularized a drink called the Zona Rosa Cappuccino, which is similar to the Mexican Mocha. Zona Rosa Caffe has been serving this delicious drink since 1994, that other coffeehouse’s have tried to emulate without success. The caffe is well known for its Zocalo con Platano (Mexican chocolate with blended banana), Zona Red Eye, Espresso, Mexican Smoothies, and other various drinks. Zona Rosa Caffe also has a line of superior coffee under the Zona Rosa Coffee label. Zona Rosa Coffee is Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified. The Zona Rosa Blend and the Azteca Blend are just two coffees that have received great reviews and are part of the Zona Rosa Caffe line of Latin coffee products.

Zona Rosa Caffe has been included on several local and national "best" lists since 1999.

Art

Zona Rosa Caffe has hosted many local artists over the years. Some notable exhibitors include: R. Kenton Nelson, Jose Ramirez, Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlain, Sandra Romero, Rich Raya, Erik Petri, Alexander Suriano, Maria Luisa Isenberg, and Karen Walker-Chamberlin, among others.

One notable exhibition takes place on and around the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, in late October, early November. This tradition has an emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, and celebrating the continuation of life; the belief is not that death is the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life. Many paintings, sculptures, alters and interactive displays are exhibited with this theme in mind.

Music

During the Spring and Summer months, Zona Rosa Caffe features a weekly event called “Thursday Music Night”. This weekly event includes live musical performances by a variety of music that encompasses Latin Jazz, Mariachi, Jazz, Trio of Guitars and other Latin musical genres. Most notable bands and musicians that have performed in the Lockwood Alley, adjacent to Zona Rosa Caffe include: Ozomatli, Quetzal, The Banda Brothers, Javier Vergara Quartet, Domingo Siete, Bernie Meisinger, Son del Sur, Francisco Torres Quintet, Cava, Son Candela, Jose Espinoza, Elliot Caine Quartet and DJ Zegon.

External links

* [http://www.zonarosacaffe.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/zonarosacaffe Zona Rosa Caffe on MySpace]
* [http://losangeles.citysearch.com/bestof/winners/coffee CitySearch Best of Los Angeles]
* [http://cityguide.aol.com/losangeles/bestcoffeehouses AOL cityguide Best of Los Angeles]
* [http://www.latinola.com/story.php?story=1926 latinoLA article]
* [http://www.calendarlive.com/dining/cl-fo-find25oct25,0,4384874.story?coll=cl-dining-features Los Angeles Times Article]
* [http://www.qai-inc.com/0_0_0_0.php Certified Organic]
* [http://transfairusa.org/ Fair Trade Certified]