COFFEE TIDBITS
I'm in Arizona visiting my baby girl. One of the perks of the area is that I get to visit the place where I buy my coffee--Echo Espresso (http://www.echoespresso.com) and I can get high just walking in and smelling the roasting beans. i got to meet the new owners for the first time, and Cindy showed me a fabulous new coffee blend they'd created. It's called World Blend and it's a mixture of dark and light roasted beans from every country in the world that grows coffee. I'm guessing this means my wonderful Kona coffee is in that blend somewhere. But I digress. Just looking at the mixture of dark and light beans is a delight and I was about to rush to Kara's and try it.
That's where I learned something new about coffee that I've get to pass on to you. Did you know that coffee off-gasses? Dave would say it off-gasses every time I brew it since he doesn't even like the smell of coffee, but there's something wrong with that boy. LOL Anyway, when I said I was rushing home to try the new blend, she said, "Oh no, don't drink it today. Let it finish off-gassing. Coffee is at its best freshly ground and used from day 2 to day 14."
There's something that's supposed to be so great about anticipation, but I've got to tell you it's all I could do NOT to brew some of that coffee this afternoon. I always thought I had developed my patience pretty well since starting writing, but today showed me that when it comes to my coffee, I have none. I may dream about that coffee tonight. In fact, I'm pretty sure I will. LOL
I bought some Folger's premium blend the other day when I was about out of coffee because I knew I wanted to get some fresh stuff from Echo Espresso, and it was so stale tasting I could barely drink it. You may tell me I'm crazy to buy fresh roasted coffee when you can buy a pound of grocery store coffee for $3 but you get what you pay for. I challenge you to try truly fresh coffee for two weeks. Find an actual coffee roaster (I highly recommend Echo) and drink coffee that is totally fresh (Starbucks isn't that fresh). You will never go back. Make sure you get a good grinder. I just bought a Capresso Infinity and I swear the coffee tastes better than the one I had before. And THE best coffee maker is a Cuisinart. Bar none. It makes home coffee even better than Starbucks.
Then report back to me. Yes, this means you, Diann. No INSTANT coffee. I shudder just to think of what you drink every morning.
Delicious
22 Comments:
I bought Kevin a Cuisinart maker with a built in grinder for Father's Day a couple years ago. Since then, two people who've visited our house have gone out and bought their own.
I should buy him some of that Echo coffee. He likes his coffee strong like you.
And Di, please, if you're going to drink that brew (and I use the term loosely) please don't tell people. We might have to pretend we don't know you. :-)
I still love you Di! Does Jim complain that Taster's Choice is like smoker's breath? Just wondering.
I don't want to drink my coffee at home. For me, that's part of the fun, seeing my barista, getting them to know my weird order and ah...that first sip.
I go to Peet's. Something about Starbucks tastes cheap and unnatural to me. Too sweet maybe? Los Gatos is my favorite, but now that I don't have to drive for my coffee, I'm not going to. : ) KB
Fresh, smesh. My Taster's Choice is just fine, thank you very much. And just so you hoity-toity coffee drinkers understand, I add cocoa, cream, Splenda and whipped cream to my Nescafe brew so it's not exactly straight up.
Maybe if I were into regular coffee, I would care. But unless it's disguised as a dessert, I'm just not interested.
In fact, all this talk makes me want to start the water boiling now . . . . (to our readers--that probably just grated them like fingernails on chalkboard, don't you think?) ;-)
Di, for all your paying for those extras in your "coffee", you could be having the real thing.
Ok. This is a post that touches me deeply. It reaches the heart of my soul. My kids in my Sunday School class know to be ABSOLUTELY SILENT when I enter with my cup of coffee. They all wait as I take my first sip - "sacred moment" is what it's entitled now - and they all bust into cheers when I swallow the first gulp (i'm actually not exaggerating, isn't that terrible?!)
Colleen, you are SO right. Everything you said. I second. The only problem, is in our small town our "barista" is a high-school student in a clapboard shack in the parking lot of the local Mobile gas station. My husband is anti-caffiene and doesn't see the purpose in spending a lot on "drinkage". I'm lucky to have my Mr. Coffee cappuccino maker.
Diann. I weep for you.
Okay, Denise, if by "real thing" you mean dessert--well, having my coffee as my dessert doesn't count on my calorie intake for the day because everyone knows that coffee has zero calories.
On the other hand, if by "real thing" you mean coffee--well, that's the point. I don't WANT real coffee.
I forgot to tell you, K, regarding the Taster's Choice smoker's breath thing, Jim wouldn't know. He loves Taster's Choice, too! :-)
I admit that I don't drink fresh ground coffee regularly. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to. But my dad can brew a cup of coffee from the powdered stuff that tastes better than anything Starbucks can whip up. Plus it's strong. I don't know how he does it -- I think it's a gift -- but someday I'd like to learn.
Oh, dear. Are you really telling me that Di drinks INSTANT coffee?
Oooooookay. I'll refrain from commenting on that.
I truly love coffee, so I can imagine your euphoria at touring that place, Colleen. I love Kona coffee. The best is Lyon's. They make a macadamia nut Kona that's to die for.
But I didn't know about the number of days. But recently I learned form watchign Alton Brown that coffee is best brewed at 2 scoops per 8 oz cup of water.
I like strong coffee, but I havent' made it that far yet. I do 1 scoop per cup and 1 for the pot. :D Yum.
My favorite is Millstone's Chocolate Velvet.
Diann Hunt. You can have a dessert with REAL coffee. You don't need POWDERED coffee. Think how much better it would be with the real thing. It makes me gag to even think about what you're drinking.
And Gracie, let's observe a moment of silence for you. Poor thing. I'm sorry. Your father's powdered coffee is NOT the same as great coffee. You need to try it and find out. LOL
Jaime, I'm with you. I want no one disturbing me when I'm having my morning coffee. Especially that first sip!
Oh Di, I get it, it's like garlic. You two cancel each other out.
The coffee maker in our house is a Bunn. I like the fact that you get your coffee in 2 secs. (Maybe that's not good but it works for me.)
My husband likes his "Hair Bender". The barista asked me what we use it for and I told him for just a regular cup of joe. He said they use it for espresso. No wonder we're bouncing off the walls!
I still like my white choc. mocha from Starbucks. It evokes that warm feeling of my dad and I sitting on the front porch drinking (regular) coffee together. Aw, I sure miss him.
Hey, let Diann drink whatever she wants! Just keep those books comin!! :)
Aw man, all this coffee talk. It's almost 8 pm here. I would looooooove a cup right about now..........did I tell ya Hair Bender ain't exactly decaf?
LOL, Colleen. All right, all right. I can promise you next time I run to the cafe to order freshly ground coffee. And no doubt afterwards I'll be dashing out to get the latest coffee grinder. ; )
Anyone else out there strictly a tea drinker or am I alone in my love of chai?
In my opinion, coffee is good only in dessert. Like in the triple mocha brownies that I made today. Yummmm!
My parents love a Bunn but it doesn't extract the full flavor of the bean like I like. The Cuisinart is almost like espresso. My daughter got me one for Christmas a couple of years ago and I was a goner. LOL
I like tea okay but it doesn't evoke passion like my coffee. LOL
A Hair Bender sounds intriguing! LOL
I'm like you Diann. I thought was the only one who called my coffee a dessert. My cup of coffee isn't just a cup of coffee after I'm done with it. When My Mom found out about all the stuff I put in she said it was no wonder why it was so good.
I like Powered Coffee because I just want a little bit of coffee taste in the background and then the sweet and creamy. I make it like this because my stomach can't take strong coffee. I wish it could, it would be nice to get a boost from strong coffee when I slow down.
Oh Anna Marie, you don't understand. We wouldn't pick on Diann about this but she loves to go get coffee out. It's not that she doesn't like the taste of coffee at all. It's not like she doesn't know better. And she's one of us so this is just not acceptable. We need to make her see the error of her ways.
I'm sorry, sweetie, but powdered coffee is NOT coffee. LOL Get some real coffee and put it in there. Just put a teeny amount. At least it's REAL. You can't even call it coffee when it's powdered!
It's true, Anna Marie, I do like SOME coffee taste--but not much--just on the fringes. And the more chocolate, the better! Dessert, remember. Besides, I think peer pressure made me cave to the whole coffee thing.
But you, Anna Marie, stand your, um, ground(s).
Diann is my coffee-soul-sister. Coffee isn't good unless it tastes like Chocolate. Calling it your dessert is the funniest thing. I can't handle actual Joe. I need mine to be sweet.
For the record, though, you have to start with GOOD Joe, or the finished product is just so much dirt. I hadn't thought about instant coffee reminding me of Smoker's Breath. Funny and gross all at the same time.
Hmm, I can see that I need to get educated on coffee by Colleen, Kristin and Denise.
So, any recommendations for someone who is looking to get into coffee but doesn't really care for anything she's tasted yet? I sure could use the caffeine boost! :)
Malia, I was strictly a tea girl until my second colicky baby was born. Then, I doused in chocolate and drank mochas. I developed a taste for it after a while to the point, I am sort of sick now. I can tell the undertones -- and since I don't like wine, I guess that's my thing. LOL
But if you don't need it for energy, stay away. It's addictive and ridiculous to enjoy your coffee so much. LOL
That's the thing, Kristin. I really need extra energy from somewhere! I don't want all the calories or sugar from soda, so I need to learn to like coffee. I'll at least hold out until the school year is over. Maybe working one job instead of two will be easier...
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