JumpNJava

I enter to Bob Dylan, slow and low in the background. By the time I get my cup of Max’s Blend, Hendrix cries, “Well I stand up next to a mountain/ Chop it down with the edge of my hand.” An apt soundtrack for reading the headline, “Up for a climbing record,” which outlines LaFayette climber’s plan to stand up on the mountain of Yosemite’s El Capitan Nose route and chop down the 2900 foot climb in under 3 hours. If I started now I could be done before noon. Plenty of time to scale the heights held on the rest of the front page, where presidential candidates “pitch hard to win (the) coveted Latino vote,” film crews document “Abandoned kids with AIDS in China,” police arrest MS-13 family men, the California government starts a “war on (global) warming, and scientist reveal “Ancient Gator-like fish.” Too much to hold on my climb up the morning.

Luckily, Jump’N Java, waiting at 6606 Shattuck on the southern edge of Berkeley, knows how to brew a boost. The house coffee today is Max’s Blend, named after the much renowned Royal Coffee Bean founder’s son, and combining Indonesian and African coffees. On their chalkboard it says, “We brew our coffee to maximum strength – ask us to dilute it if it’s too strong for you!” and they aren’t kidding. Their coffee may be just what those scientists need to bring the gator-like fish back to help fight global warming or curb gang violence. The tables are small and mostly taken by solo sippers with laptops, newspapers, or books. I take my seat under a palm tree, one of many that grace the walls in a mural by local legend, Peter Lee. The vibe is silent and sparse, with people in and out without a word beyond their orders. The music like an Ipod on random, jumping from punk to opera to sixties rock without warning, somehow a perfect complement to today’s cover stories. Offering all manner of coffee drinks and the basics in pastries and bagels, this spot feels a bit like climbing a long, windy climbing pitch. In the end, it’s a good place to fuel up and take in the news or check your email, but not to discuss it. As Jimi’s front-page voodoo children push pins into the comfort zones of breakfast reading, my brain is safely belayed by Jump’N Java.

Enjoy your break slow, dear readers. If this front page sets our route, we’ll be saving the world, climbing its mountains, and demystifying evolution all before lunch.

Breakfast in the Bay: Making sense of waking up since Tuesday, 2008.