The kings of Tulsa coffee are Topéca and DoubleShot. All other coffee shops bow before these two. Both of these joints roast their own beans in a local facility which means that the coffee is very fresh and has only been roasted for a few days by the time it hits your lips. Compare this to Starbucks where there is no guarantee of when or where the beans were roasted.  This definitely makes a difference – the fresher the roast, the better the taste. Both of these companies sell their roasted beans to other local shops and ship to other locations.

• DoubleShot is located in the 18th & Boston district. If you like a stronger coffee/espresso taste in your drinks, then this is the place for you. Even the mochas only have subtle amounts of chocolate so that the coffee flavors are not overwhelmed.  Their signature drink is the Americano. They buy unroasted beans from various regions, combine them for a proprietary blend, and do the roasting in the store.  These guys are coffee fanatics! They are so fanatical, that one of the workers (Isaiah) told me that they no longer sell tea because people were ordering dirty chai, and to the owner of DoubleShot, this was undermining the taste and pleasure of the espresso.   As a side note, Starbucks tried to make DoubleShot change their name as they thought it infringed on their DoubleShot canned drink. Obviously, small business won.  (Note to the 2Shot owners — your website needs help.  Why does it try to load a QuickTime movie?  This isn’t 1998.  In fact, my company strongly encourages us not to load the QT player for security reasons.)
• Topeca is a larger operation than DoubleShot.  If you only drink Starbucks and want to dip your toe into “real” coffee, I suggest you start here. This place has the best iced mochas around. Topeca is one of the only coffee companies in the world that owns the complete supply chain from end to end – or as they call it, from seed to cup. Yes, Topeca actually owns the coffee plantation in El Salvador, employs the workers, picks, packs, ships, roasts, and sells coffee.   Topeca has two retail locations in Tulsa — one at 115 W. 5th St. and the other in the Hyatt on 2nd street downtown. One of the baristas told me they are going to start offering coffee classes to the public.  Sign me up now, please! I want to learn to make froth designs in my mochas.

From there, there are other good coffee shops. The hippy types seem to hang out at Shades of Brown and Coffee House on Cherry Street (CHoCS).  Mod’s Coffee, downtown on Boston Street is a cool retro looking shop that sells handmade crepes. All of these have good coffee.  CHoCS makes a really good dirty chai.  Stonewood Hills Coffee in Broken Arrow and Kaffe Bona in South Tulsa are also good for those in the suburbs. My least favorite is Gypsy Coffee on the north side of downtown.  The coffee is sufficient, but the dirty chai was bad bad bad.  The atmosphere reminds me of Jimmy Hendrix’s living room.

There are lots of other coffee shops around Tulsa.  Which is your favorite?

The Best Starbucks in Tulsa

If you’re simply looking for the coolest Starbucks in Tulsa, then head to the one in Utica Square.  It was just remodeled in June and is very comfortable.  It has lots of inside and outside seating and enough power outlets to share.  It has wood(ish) floors and a comfortable atmosphere.

Raymond has an MBA and is seeking employment as a Financial Analyst, Budget Analyst, Investor Relations Analyst or anything financial related.  Raymond’s geographic preferences are Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Stillwater, or any nearby city.  However, we will relocate as needed to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Kansas City, or other area.

By the way, does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

I can’t say that I enjoyed my time in real estate, but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it either – I simply didn’t do it long enough to form an opinion.  I did learn a few things to help people though. Here are some chunks of real estate knowledge you should know. Keep in mind that these are not set in stone rules, but general guidelines which you should use according to your comfort level. I’m not a lawyer, just some guy who let his real estate license expire.

• In Oklahoma, Realtor Associates are independent contractors — they are not agents. Even though state law requires a broker to hold an associate’s license, they actually work for themselves. So, don’t let one tell you their commission is fixed. Yes, it’s true that some Realtors are bound by their brokers, but most have the capability to lower their commission by a certain percentage. In fact, most Realtors will tell you their commission is 7% but they will lower it to 6%. Ask for 5% or 5.5% and see what happens.

• It’s true that the Realtor who lists your house has to split the commission with the Realtor who brings the buyer. During your listing meeting, it is perfectly acceptable to negotiate a variable rate commission. That means that you will pay the 6% (or whatever) if the Realtors split it, but you will pay a lower rate if your listing Realtor also brings the buyer.

• Don’t let your Realtor persuade you into accepting an offer if you’re not comfortable with it. Consider this example: Your bottom line is $110,000, but your Realtor is pushing a $105,000 offer. If you pay 6%, then the difference you pay in commission is only $300. This is negligible amount and the Realtor won’t want to do the extra paperwork or risk losing the deal for a measly $300 which has to be split anyway. However, this “negligible” amount to the Realtor would net you $4,700 dollars in your pocket.

• Consider selling your house yourself. Set a time limit that you will try to sell it, then if you’re not having much luck, call a Realtor. A good closing company can actually guide you through the process and let you know what to do every step of the way. You shouldn’t have to pay anything additional, but standard closing fees will still apply.  You can’t simply stick a sign in your yard and pray that it sells.  You must market your home inside and out.

  • Clean your house, de-clutter it, mow, paint, do whatever it takes to give it curb appeal and make it homey. It’s a good idea to invite a neutral advisor to walk through your home and point out the good and the bad. Don’t take the comments personally, they’re there to help. There are people who stage homes for a living. Check out http://www.simplystagedhomes.comfor one local professional stager.

  • Create an attractive flier and place copies in a flier tube in your yard. Create a website. List your home on www.craigslist.org every week and link to your website.  Consider fee based services like Yahoo Real Estate.

  • By the way, it’s not a good idea to show your house alone. Hide your medications and anything valuable.

• Finally, if you decide you want to use a Realtor, I recommend my aunt who got me into this business. Gloria Allred has been a Realtor in the Tulsa area for over 35 years. She has seen it all. She is a broker for Coldwell Banker and manages their South-Tulsa office. Give her a call at 918-521-3440 or email her at allredg@cbtulsa.com.