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coffee |
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Tuesday, April 29
coffee cup design studio
please note nyc design shop based on delightful and appropriate coffee appreciation.
Labels: appreciation, coffee
i have noticed a new short cup. the design is different - the logo seems darker. is it the same size though? i need to know. further investigating is promised.
Labels: coffee, cup, starbucks
coffee history has been made.
where: 3rd ave betw 23 + 24
what called: push cafe
i was recently exposed to a new coffee phenomenon. at this israeli cafe, one is served a hot glass of milk with a huge dollop of nes, the instant coffee that i heart. it is then left to you to stir it until it reaches a stage of coffee goodness.
i have taken to re-creating this beautious thing in different ways.
the simplest and most direct way is to create a cup of hot milk and insert the dollop. if it is happening in a nice glass, then this should be seen as very authentic and good.
another way i've developed is to prepare a vintage ll bean thermos with a dent in it (from a very unfortunate coffee-related mishap that is likely described in another bulletin) of 1% organic milk and bring this with me to my internship at a very famous crazy hospital where i keep a small can of nes. i prepare a cup as needed in this way.
another way is the decaffeinated version which is not as good since it is not nes, but an organic decaf coffee product. same idea, but the taste is not the same and the same satisfaction and pleasure is not had when opening the product jar since it is not the small red can plastered with images of coffee beans. it is the same procedure, but the coffee material is different.
Labels: coffee, decaf, decaffeinated beverage, enjoyment, thermos
Sunday, January 13
clarification
i don't think percolation is the best way to make coffee, but i appreciate the beauty of the percolator and also its historical significance. a former friend of mine once spent many years trying to enjoy coffee made in a drip coffee maker or by other methods and only succeeded when she procured a vintage percolator. at that time, she discarded all of her fancy whole bean coffee and started buying coffee in a can. i respected this greatly at the time, and i respect it now. i do not share this view or this empirical experience, but i believe it is possible for many to obtain coffee enjoyment in this way.
Labels: coffee, enjoyment, percolator
i have come to respect oren's as a proprietor of coffee. it is positioned around the corner from my school and i have a coffee card with many marks on it. i have learned to put a lot of milk in the coffee from oren's because it is strong. i went through a sugar phase wherein i placed two ("2") packets of pure sugar in the attractive brown package in the coffee and stirred with the wooden, note, not plastic straw, type stirrer. so when i was in grand central station the other night after a long long work day and was preparing to celebrate or in other words par-tay, i sought out a decaffeinated coffee beverage from oren's. i said, 'may i have a small decaf' and was told by a young, ill-groomed, attitudinally impaired young man, 'we don't have any decaf.' i checked my watch so that when i make customer service contact with oren's, i can accurately report the time. it did not take me long to feel better, but still, this was a disappointment.
Labels: coffee, decaf, decaffeinated beverage, oren's, par-tay
Tuesday, November 27
small green machine
many years ago, my mother bought me a small, green coffee making machine. a drip machine, possibly braun or krups. i don't know where she got it -- maybe williams sonoma. anyway, it has been in and out of use since that time. i am guessing it was about 1991. one day the carafe broke. i bought a replacement, but the color of the plastic rim didn't match. it was white, and the machine is green. so, ok. in the last decade or so, this coffee maker has been stored somewhere in case there is company and i need to make an alternative coffee. a pot of decaf. in those days i was drinking caf all the time, any time. now - no way. i use a beautiful glass bodum given to me by my beloved. it creates about two cups, not official 8-oz cups, but two proper coffee cups. it's enough. i drink it in the morning, and that's it, usually.
we put on a thanksgiving feast this year, and i took out the green machine to entertain. things have changed! only two and a half takers for decaf; the rest herbal tea or black tea that has been "de-caffed." it was necessary to buy paper cone filters, which i am enjoying. long ago there was a gold filter, but i got rid of it. it seems rude and inauthentic, but i can't prove this.
so, the green machine is still out. i have been using it. but it makes too much coffee. it lasts all day long in my poor, dented llbean thermos. it is dented because one day in a stupor i thought i could use it as a hammer to hammer something. it is dented, and i am miserable about it. i can't find any on ebay. i think i'm going to put the green machine away tonight or tomorrow.
i'll take it when i next entertain, maybe. i think my mother is coming for dinner soon. she might want some decaf.
Labels: bodum, coffee, enjoyment, mother, thermos
Wednesday, July 25
another successful combination
i have discovered that carrot (raw) and coffee are an acceptable combination.
Labels: carrot, coffee, combination, enjoyment
Friday, March 30
turkey + coffee
sometimes having a snack conflicts with drinking coffee. for example, i wanted a grapefruit just now and rejected that as a snack idea because of the coffee conflict. grapefruits just don't go with a cup of coffee. many things go with coffee. cheese, bread, peanuts. those are not foods i care to eat at the moment. three slices of turkey were available to me, and that's what i ate. it was risky, but here is a guiding story i often think of when the combining of turkey and coffee is called into question.
it happens in an episode of abbot & costello.
lou (the thin, mean one, i think) is at a diner. a lunch counter. a luncheonette. something like this. he orders a turkey sandwich and a cup of coffee. there is something timeless and romantic about that scene, and there is something perfect about a turkey sandwich and a cup of coffee. so, for me, turkey and coffee coexist nicely as snacks.
Labels: abbot and costello, coffee, combination, enjoyment, turkey
Friday, February 23
cable guy + coffee
So, we finally got high speed internet access. it was a deal. first six months, $29.95 or something like that. we are so darn modern! cable guy was polite, smooth, and lovely. wiped off workboots prior to entering. explained everything clearly and with great enthusiasm and respect. offered him broken wings of aloe plant, packaged in snack size ziplock bag; discussed the healing properties of arnica gel (his shoulder was hurting). offered cup of coffee, he accepted. sugar, no milk. discussed health, eating habits, what he used to eat in jamaica, what he eats now. wound up doing a short therapy session - he has suffered many losses recently. he was luminous. it was lovely. the coffee i made turned out exceedingly well. it was half regular (nica) and half decaf (french roast). a nice mixture. i love coffee.
Labels: aloe vera, arnica, cable guy, coffee
Tuesday, January 9
not coffee, but on topic
roastaroma, my friends, is excellent. it is coffee-like, but is not coffee, and does not hold itself out as such. at first i was skeptical. now, i'm feeling a lot of positive emotions in connection with this beverage. i have lost interest in drinking coffee, or even decaf, after a certain hour because it not only saps my energy and wears on my nerves, but it is also dehydrating. tea is different. especially non-black tea.
i realize this is a topic devoted to coffee, but what i have to say presently is relevant. i am growing into another phase with coffee, one that is marked by decreased use but also with increased enjoyment. i enjoy my morning coffee immensely, and nothing can change that.
Labels: coffee, dehydration, enjoyment, roastaroma
Tuesday, November 28
transitions
i am transitioning into a new beverage era. i now enjoy nettle tea several times a day, and at times, actually prefer it to coffee. i don't understand how i don't prefer coffee at all times, but i have to be honest. nothing is better than my first strong cup in the morning - but after that, i'm not so sure. if i could afford to feed myself lattes all the time like in the day, maybe i'd feel differently.
also
am also into teecchino, a faux coffee beverage that has potassium and other healtful ingredients including figs.
implications
am not sure what this means. it is 4:33 and i should want a cup of coffee, and i kind of do, but moreso out of habit. a glass of nettle is infusing, and when it's ready, i am going to be psyched to drink it. go figure.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, June 27
love
i am so into this breakfast blend decaf from the co op. it's so yum. have i said this before? the taste makes me think of the kind of coffee i might drink on vacation - in the summer. it should therefore be subtitled, 'summer blend'.
combo
this morning i combined 'cafe nica' with 'cafe peru' - both are french roasts. it was smokin'. why did i do this? because there were small quantities remaining of both and i was in a consolidating kind of mood. freezer space must be released and re-assigned in the summer months to nuts and rice, after all.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, April 26
a first
iced coffee season is here, i think. this is the first iced coffee season of decaffeinated coffee. and this strange decaf-teechino mixture. on ice, it is very good. coffee is still very important to me, and i wonder if i am kidding myself when i think about not drinking it at all. for example, in the morning when i witness others drinking such beverages as peppermint tea or any other kind of tea for that matter (even black), i feel sad.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, April 25
happiness
i think i'd be happier if i had a milk steaming device at work.
Labels: coffee
Friday, April 21
conscience
i shouldn't. i shouldn't have any more coffee today, even if it is only decaf.
if i'm good i may have some for dessert. but i don't know how good i'm going to be.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, April 20
sad
it's sad that i made a french press pot of decaf and that there is only a tiny bit left, and that it is tepid. but i will drink it anyway.
change of season
had my first iced coffee beverage from starbucks yesterday. this year it is decaffeinated. iced decaf doppio in a grande cup. insert milk. enjoy.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, March 14
vacuum pot
in another life, someone convinvced me that the following method of coffee production is superior to all others.
vacuum technology is simple and old and creates a longing in me to own such a device. it also makes me want to have my own bean-roaster. i am clear, however, that this would never be tolerated.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, March 9
the latest
it's time to make a batch of my latest form of coffee.
this consists of decaffeinated french roast and "teecchino" - a natural, non-caffeinated beverage that has potassium, chicory, barley, other things that are good for you and does not have dry cleaning chemicals in it, like so many decaffeinated beverages tend to have. i discovered this beverage in the "fat flush plan" book by louise whatsername, and it's actually pretty good.
why?
caffeine, as it turns out, is very bad for my personality. the less i drink, the more insane i become when i drink even small amounts. it doesn't feel good.
is this insane? is this wrong?
i still enjoy my full-strength coffee in the morning, but after that, i have to avoid caffeine. this is the solution.
even cups of decaffeinated coffee set off the negative caf-effects. what can be done?
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, January 17
memories of israel
at a recent get-together thrown by a nice family in my synagogue, there was a can of elite coffee. the last time i had it was in 2000 when i was in israel. i loved that coffee. it reminds me of staying in the nice hotel in ramat gan for a month. going to the gym and looking out at the sky first thing in the morning. then eating israeli breakfast in the dining room. and skipping over to work with my laptop on my shoulder and no socks on in some snappy ass outfit.
i should apologize for liking instant coffee, and i have done so repeatedly in the past. but this coffee is truly great. if you can help me get a can, i will be grateful and will bless you.
Labels: coffee
Friday, January 6
wow.
i wish i had a cup of coffee now. no, actually, a fresh shot of espresso would be good.
Labels: coffee
it's always a bad idea to buy coffee cart coffee after enjoying the organic blend i drink at home in the morning. this morning, it was not only bitter and bad, but cost .65. why isn't coffee cart coffee .50? when did this happen?
Labels: coffee
Friday, December 16
nice!
i was just given a coffee gift. i feel the love.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, November 29
cafe con leche
in the kitchen at work i crafted, by hand, the most amazing cafe con leche. just now. i used a personal blend of sumatra and french roast decaf and dripped it through my bright red plastic cone using a large coffee filter properly used by the corporate drip pots. i then, or actually simultaneously, prepared hot milk and combined them in a double paper cup. i can't believe how tasty it is.
i had another really good one at andrew and martin's house recently. they use lavazzo. they have a fancy espresso maker that prepares everything by itself. and you drink it.
coffee continues to be so, so important to me, though i drink far less of it than ever before. it enhances my personality, this lack of caffeine. i think it's true.
Labels: coffee
Monday, October 10
4:30pm - no coffee.
not a lot to say, my friends. there is no coffee. it is too late in the day for caffeination, and even for decaffeination. there is some caffeine in decaf, and we all know it. what is wrong with me? even a tiny bit makes me buzz these days. and we can't have that. or, rather, i can't have that. am trying to be level, cool, clean, serene, mellow, even. besides, my face is half numb from my failed first installment of the latest root canal procedure. so sipping is next to impossible. still. and why did i buy the crap i bought? a "trail mix" balance "energy" bar (another way of saying "candy" bar); bag of plaintain strips; orange juice with vitamin d and calcium with some pulp.
still, i can dream. tomorrow morning will soon be here. and i will have more fully caffeinated coffee then. there is something about having so little coffee that makes it even more holy.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, June 23
coffee emergency
i had only a tiny bit of the high quality allegro bean left this morning so i finally accessed the coffee emergency packet. this is a one-pot packet of chock full o'nuts i had stashed in my freezer for such an occasion. it was very tasty and i now wonder if i might like to actually buy some. there is something so wonderfully...generic about it. it's so new york, too.
Labels: coffee
Friday, June 17
drip
lately i've been loading my drip coffee pot and enjoying the coffee therefrom. i like how it takes a certain amount of time to brew, you can hear its progress, and it doesn't creep up on you like the stovetop espresso technology i had grown accustomed to. it makes more coffee, too, which i'm enjoying. i can have a full cup while dressing and then load up my portable coffee vessel with a whole lot more coffee than before. it's less intense than the stovetop, but i like it. i think i want to get some paper filters though - organic, unbleached ones.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, April 21
drastic change
while on vacation in miami with my beloved, it was suggested that it would be "interesting" to see what my personality is like without, or with drastically reduced levels of, caffeine. at first i had a moderately explosive reaction, but then, i considered the notion.
i have consciously undertaken this work.
i enjoy one or two cups of strong, excellent coffee at home and then drink herbal tea the rest of the day and evening. it was challenging at first, but i am liking it. i fall asleep at night at a reasonable hour. i feel more even-tempered.
i fear that i have become boring.
Labels: coffee
Friday, March 4
originally written 3/4/05
starbucks coffee card extravaganza
i have received several starbucks cards. one, from my dear friend reverend tom, for christmas. one, from starbucks: i took an online survey and got a card worth five ("5") dollars. then, my dentist sent me one. i've just submitted another survey (in my cat's name) to starbucks and hope to receive another card. i enjoy having a starbucks card in my wallet. i enjoy having a starbucks card in my wallet that someone else has purchased. it's such a nice treat for me to enjoy a short coffee during lunch while reading one of many books.
sahadi's coffee sucks
either i let the coffee get stale, or it just sucks. i got some ground up decaf french roast from sahadi's a while ago and when i first had a cup it tasted pretty good. now, over a month later, it tastes like dirt. i should just throw it out, but each time i make some i think it will be different. i think it's because i had it ground for a drip coffee machine and i've been making it in my new bodum, and it isn't ground for that method of coffee technology.
the bodum
i like the bodum. i am tempted to take it to work. it is unbreakable and would look nice next to my red pyrex bowl and blue 1960s thermos, both placed next to my modern dictaphone.
i am partying
i had a pot of coffee this morning. when i got to my work hood,
this is where it ended on 3/4/05
Labels: coffee
Thursday, February 3
complaint
from a reader of this coffee journal, the following:
your coffee blog is in need of updating, please. If you'd like, I can provide you with a list of my own:My favorite brand coffees, in order of preference:
1) Maxwell House Original Blend
2) Chock Full O' Nuts
3) Eight O'Clock Coffee
4) Martinson's
Labels: coffee
Sunday, January 9
it's too late baby
it's 7:43 p.m. on a sunday night. it is not time for coffee, though i long for some. this is so wrong, that i can't simply cook up a cup of coffee any time i want. true, i could make decaf. perhaps i will. later.
coffee hygiene
my coffee technology at home is, once again, failing. why? it's nobody else's fault but mine. the buddhist psychology i am focusing on would not care to see me assigning blame but in order to cure this situation i must first own and identify the problem, and not necessarily in that order.
the problem is: my small, traditional stovetop espresso machine needs to be thoroughly cleaned. inside and out. with some soap and steel wool. it has a tinny smell and the taste is compromised. why is it to hard for me to do this?
it isn't. i'm just not in the mood to spend my limited resources on brillo pads when it's time for one of my tarot/hair sessions. and i want pure steel wool, not toxic brillo pads though i adore the logo and box design.
so, i get tangled mercilessly in this dilemma. buy the brillo pads? try to hunt down plain steel wool? it's tough. but something must be done. it's NOT funny.
Labels: coffee
Monday, November 22
thai iced coffee
i had some thai iced coffee this weekend. it was good. note to self: find recipe for thai iced coffee.
vietnam
an old sort-of friend who was of the male gender and an attorney who spent a lot of energy being a bluegrass guitarist prepared vietnamese bean for me once. he brought many beans back with him from vietnam, a place i suggested he visit and for which he prepared for many weeks by reading articles and other appropriate sources of data. he brought back the coffee mechanism as well, and i remember enjoying it quite a lot. my friend tom's friend bill is currently in vietnam. i have been sending him psychic messages which say
please bring back some fine vietnamese bean and also the righteous vietnamese coffee technology.
Labels: coffee
Friday, November 19
considering the cart
why is cart coffee so good? i know this has happened before, where i am attracted to strange brew, then lose interest with no warning. i crave the cart. cart, o cart, yesterday it was .65. the other day it was only .50. i wish i could remember which cart costs what. i actually got a large coffee the other day for 1.00. i hardly ever get a large because they get cold before i can finish them. i sip slowly, and that is just how it is.
i have often expressed my wish to the mail guys, who drag the mail cart along the floor a million times each day, that they append an urn to their sturdy cart and provide refreshment to us -- me specifically -- each time they make their rounds. it seems only right. mail. coffee. mail. coffee. right?
wishing
i am not a help-rejecting complainer. i have offered to help my employer seek out alternative purveyors of bean by including such an offer in my fearless self evaluation. yet, there remains the persistent issue of: the bad, bad office coffee.
i wonder, lord? why is this coffee so bad? how can coffee be so bad? it seems like it would take a lot of effort to make something so naturally good, so appallingly bad. i just don't know.
this fact costs me money, friends. yet, i observe many co-employees enjoying this coffee. well, i don't know if they are actually enjoying, but they are drinking. sometimes the coffee even smells good when it's brewing, or after it has just completed the brewing cycle. then, i am tempted and my denial is engaged. it says
this time it will be different.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, November 11
dying
i feel like i am literally dying for another cup of coffee.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, November 10
remembering
i was remembering my first cup of coffee just now, with my friend julie, in the (new) starbucks near my office. it was suddenly teeming with adolescent children and their chaperones, from the suburbs most likely, and they were all there looking somewhat well-to-do and ordering coffee-related beverages. julie and i wondered what on earth children were doing drinking such beverages, and realized they were most likely ordering hot chocolate. we agreed that hot chocolate should really be gotten somewhere else where it costs less and where the children would be present in such a way as to not be present in the starbucks we were in, then.
my first cup of coffee took place in a coffee shop on mill road in the hellish village of valley stream. it was during lunch, and i somehow wound up there with maxine trager who played the saxophone in jazz ensemble and whose mother was, at that time, mentally ill and almost blind but persisted in her post as mother and citizen, and also automobile pilot and navigator.
the coffee was so good.
yet, the coffee my mother made never tasted as good. i quickly realized it was because the coffee shop used whole milk whereas my mother used skim milk. i tried putting vanilla ice cream in the coffee, but that didn't work either, because it was diet ice cream. it took a while to figure this out.
julie's mother gave her some of her taster's choice with milk and called it "coffee milk." this happened at about the age of four or five.
not cool
ok. it's not cool that the holiday cups and christmas music is already playing. it is unnecessary. i am going to write a letter because discussing christmas and not chanukah and kwaanza on their cups is discriminatory. aside from this oversight (i'm sure it's anything but an oversight. they have meetings about these things and hire cultural consultants), they should have to wait until thanksgiving passes to start piping in the creepy christmas tunes and pouring bean into the tacky holiday cups. i may begin to insist on a non-christmas cup.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, October 6
lost machinery
it is necessary to contact an old friend who lives on the periphery of park slope, or at least used to when we last spoke over a year ago, in order to reclaim (o how i hate that word) my coffee machinery. i left a small, one-cup espresso pot with him as well as a coffee grinder. there are other things, but this is the coffee section. i keep saying i'm going to do this but i don't.
there are other options, my friends.
i have strange coffee ideas sometimes. which conflict with what you know of me. with what i know of me. as previously noted i sometimes wish instant coffee. why is that? instead of seeking the source of this desire, i will simply note it. like the clouds that pass in meditation. note the cloud. see it pass. say goodbye when it dissolves.
another strange coffee idea is that those teabag style coffee technologies are somehow acceptable. well, they are. if i am a visitor at someone's house, they are acceptable.
i wonder, are they also acceptable in my own home? maybe. it may be a good idea to get some. you know, just in case.
i have a judgment about not preferring freshly ground bean. that i should always prefer that. well, i usually do; but i don't always. so shoot me.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, September 21
what's going on?
i'm not drinking that much coffee anymore. i seem to be limiting my caffeination to the morning. this can be seen as a positive in that caffeine is supposedly bad for my health, but i don't know if i really believe that. lots of people thought fat and filet mignon were bad for us, but now we know this isn't true. frankly, i think people who spend their days thinking of ways to deny themselves bacon, t-bones and other such things and instead prefer to eat styrofoam and drink faux coffee beverages wind up not contributing to world peace in so many ways. coffee is social. i almost want to propose that a person who orders a cheeseburger and fries is more likely to be capable of love than a person who eats only twigs, shoots and pods.
coffee isn't like it used to be -- now it can be obtained from places that encourage and nurture "fair" trade and more pleasing work conditions. we can find (expensive) quality organic bean. what's better than that?
there is something about not drinking that much coffee that makes me think i am slipping into that zone which resembles the donut without its hole: who am i?
the coffee at work is bad
meanwhile, the coffee at work is bad.
i know i've said this before, but i realized how grave this is yesterday when i had not caffeinated in the morning prior to arriving at my place of work that i would rather drink cart coffee, or even tea, than drink the coffee that is so generously provided at work.
i have questions.
how much are they paying for this nasty brew?
i have a feeling that for what they are paying they could have much better bean. yet, i feel it would not be in my best interest to present this issue. were i to present it, however, i would begin with basic research and then craft a fantastic powerpoint presentation. i would ask the decision-makers to join me in a learning session devoted to exploring: the bean at work.
my goal would be to (1) provide a superior tasting bean that is (2) less toxic and (3) saves the firm money.
this will be my new research project.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, September 1
two things
1. this morning i purchased a to-go cup of generic coffee from a place around the corner from me. i am enjoying this vague coffee flavor but am not thrilled about the cup. while it is paper, which i applaud, the design is inappropriate. it is a festive purple and teal scribble, which imparts a frantic feeling, and which -- against a stark white background -- reminds me of 1980s fashion and pop music (which is good). leg warmers. metallic headbands. mauve eye shadow.
2. a link provided by a guest about the history of coffee. some christians thought of coffee as the "devil's brew". i also learned in college that a certain chord in jazz was considered evil by (probably) those same christians and it, like the bean, was accused of being the "devil's chord". i can't remember which chord - a large diminished one probably.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, August 31
the verdict: nay
the trader joe's extra dark bargain can is no bargain. it is bitter and unremarkable. still, there are questions. should i try other trader joe's coffee beans or simply conclude that this is not the proper place for procuring bean?
i think i am spoiled, having become accustomed to the freshly roasted organic allegro beans from whole foods.
instead of thinking of my coffee beans as a place i can conserve income, i should instead focus on generating more. i tried this with shampoo once and it was a wicked disaster. i almost had to leave work because the smell and feel of a certain shampoo was so distractingly negative that it was hard to concentrate.
sorry, trader joe's. you will not be my official provider of bean.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, August 19
why does it seem like people aren't drinking coffee?
Labels: coffee
i have not been finishing my morning coffee. i take it in my traveling cup but find it gets cold sitting on my desk. is this a good thing? perhaps. i am tempted to warm some milk and create a milk-and-coffee beverage but it requires effort.
strange new brew
bought trader joe's very dark blend. like that it comes in a can with a lid. it's pretty good. and cheap!
Labels: coffee
Thursday, July 1
thursday night festival of coffee
on thursday nights i allow myself to have a cup of coffee at night. because it's my rock n' roll party night. i party down on thursday nights with my coffee with milk, late, and i will read as late as i want to.
reflections
it's hard to believe that some twenty ("20") years ago my idea of fun on a thursday night would have been very different. it would not have involved coffee and reading, although...i did spend a lot of time studying late at that time. so never mind.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, June 8
burned again
through my own negligence, the gasket of my stovetop espresso pot has melted and as such the technology has been suspended until further notice. in its stead the electronic coffee maker is currently serving.
must i shlep down to porto rico imports to find another gasket?
i suppose i must.
i really do want a french press though, a glass one.
peanuts
i was sick on sunday, and my coffee wasn't tasting good. so i thought if i ate some peanuts, since the peanut and coffee combination is one of my very favorites, the coffee would taste better. it kind of worked. i feel this is a bribe. peanut bribery.
Labels: coffee, combination, peanuts
Monday, May 17
plugged in
because my stove isn't set up, i've plugged in my space-age electric drip coffee pot and have enjoyed its fruits over the past two days.
question
where is my adorable coffee scoop? i can't possibly go all the way to san francisco to get another one. i got it at a great hardware store in the castro. i don't like san francisco anymore. i kind of do, but it's way too PC for me. i would kill someone if i spent an extended amount of time there.
Labels: coffee
Monday, May 3
problem
my coffee isn't tasting so good lately, and it's not because i've had a cold. i think my coffee technology requires some cleansing. i need to get some steel wool without the toxic soap product and scour my coffee technology.
yesterday i burned my coffee and drank it anyway. is that any way to honor the self? no, i maintain. no.
i'm just not feeling it today. maybe i will feel it: later.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, March 3
look at some of these percolators. sexy!
Labels: coffee
Monday, March 1
my new afternoon drink
doppio macchiato.
am exploring the cappuccino. breaking out of the old skool cappuccino consciousness that i've been projecting onto modern, post-starbuckian caffeination.
the old model: in a glass held by a metal cup holding device, the old skool cappuccino is made from anonymous bean, of vague origins, of unknown age which is known to deliver the taste of dirt. foam is on top, but also cinnammon (sp?) and nutmeg. gross!
the new: clean starbucks shot with whole (read: fat) milk foam. maybe a touch of steamed milk, but this is mostly about the mixture of foam and espresso.
i enjoy swirling the wooden stick around.
it's a new era for me. it's the post-latte era. welcome.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, February 24
coffee problem
i want more coffee, and i'm too lazy to go out and get some. unlike the docom era when frequent, nonlunch trips to starbucks were not only accepted and understood but expected and encouraged, lunch time is lunch time. you can't just go out for a shot of espresso any old time. one must choose wisely.
i'll wait.
i am planning to bring a bodum to work, however, to remedy this heinous problem. the question is: which size? should i also bring a grinder? should i share with others?
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, December 23
my new coffee routine
i have not yet mastered my morning routine.
so, in the morning i brew a pot of espresso and enjoy a single demitasse cup while dressing, then carry the remainder to work with me and drink it from one of the nice cups from the pantry, here.
it will soon be time to obtain more bean from whole foods. when will i go?
Labels: coffee
Monday, October 20
small coffee gift of love
on saturday, my friend marcia treated me to a coffee. i ordered a short coffee. it's so intense when someone buys me a cup of coffee.
coffee violation
so many of the coffee flavors out there are morally wrong, but i think the worst has to be the one whose announcement was made in my email box today.
pumpkin spice coffee: "The spicy flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie warm the heart and bring the joys of the Holiday Season to mind."
see it and gasp:
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, October 7
pushing it
tonight i went into the s'bucks on seventh avenue and (approximately) thirtieth street. this s'bucks is typically busy, has a wretched bathroom and snotty baristas. there is usually a rotund homeless man in front with a huge, raspy, defective voice bellowing on top of a subway grate, guilting latte-drinkers into contributing to his cause. out of principle, i will not give him money. he interferes with my peaceful enjoyment, and i will not support that.
anyway, the store claims to be open until nine. at ten of, i went in, but there was a mopping alert cone ("m.a.c.") and i almost expected to be expelled. i was served, but the milk canisters had been withdrawn. the barista was going to add my milk for me but i refused, citing my right to milk my own coffee up. the smell of strong and toxic cleaners upset me, reminding me of my own toxic cleaning issues, not to be discussed in this forum.
i was, in a way, hoping to challenge the manager if he refused my entry.
my coffee was good, but i could not fully enjoy it due to unpleasant sights, sounds and smells that conspired outside the shop. i am thinking of wearing an oxygen tank in the city. it's unbearable out there.
Labels: coffee
Labels: coffee
today i was thinking about altaf's apartment in gramercy park. i had these coffee-related thoughts because it was yom kippur and i was fasting and as such had not had any coffee, none at all. so i was remembering all the kinds of espresso coffee he had in his house. he had instant medaglia d'oro crystals and also actual espresso. he had several jars of this instant coffee in his refrigerator. during the day i was wishing i could have a nice cup of instant espresso. in fact, the first thing i had when i broke my fast was a sip of diner coffee. and it was good.
it is important to know that i was friends with altaf in 1986. i haven't seen him or his apartment in a long, long time.
Labels: 1986, coffee, espresso, yom kippur
Monday, September 8
my coffee was good this morning. i should go to whole foods to buy more bean, but i am also thinking i should drink the can of fairway coffee i felt so compelled to buy. we'll see.
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, September 2
the coffee at my internship isn't bad.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, August 28
discover ayurveda
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, August 6
fairway, $2.99
fairways' canned coffee is actually pretty good. i had some last weekend at my friends' home in narrowsburg, n.y. i might buy some next time i shop, or when my good, organic (i.e. expensive) bean runs out.
Labels: coffee
Saturday, July 19
porto rico importing co.
i used to buy all my coffee there before starbucks came into existence. pete's blend was a favorite. am considering developing an ongoing awareness of their weekly coffee sales so as to conserve funds while enjoying reasonably good, fresh coffee.
one of the things i enjoy about porto rico is that it is all about coffee and tea and not about so-called "lunch" nor is it about stuffed animals, pencil puppets or coffee drinks that should be scooped and put into a sugar cone, not a cup. coffee is now served at porto rico, which is different than in the late 80s or pre-starbucks 90s.
i purchased a replacement gasket for my stovetop espresso pot there and had trouble executing its installment. on the telephone i was guided, gently, by a person who worked there. we reviewed all aspects of the gasket's installment before terminating our conversation.
Labels: coffee
Saturday, May 24
pretentious coffee incident
at cafe orlin, i asked for a cup of regular coffee.
"we don't serve regular coffee. would you like a cappucino?"
what bullshit. i'm a coffee snob, but this is out of control.
waiter suggests "long shot" of espresso. ok.
i'm looking forward to a clean, rich taste and i get bitter, hot, liquid dirt.
supermarket grade slop in a cup. i am furious. $1.95.
food was good, but coffee wasn't.
no excuse. porto rico imports was across the street. maybe the orlin crowd can't tell a decent cup of coffee from the swill they buy at the bodega in cans as they pretend to blend into the cultural fabric of the nabe - i can. if i wasn't so exhausted, i'd write some hate mail.
Labels: coffee
Saturday, May 17
this isn't all about coffee, but it is about cafes.
it used to be that in a cafe, it was quiet and clean. contemplative. people would go there to read, write.
now, starbucks has replaced the cafe.
it's full of laptops and mobile phones and people who can not sit quietly.
there is nowhere to escape to. seriously.
i have to map out quiet cafe locations that also serve decent coffee.
you see, in new york, it isn't like in austin where non-starbucks establishments sell good bean.
i have a mission.
it's important. i need a place to study and drink coffee. starbucks is noisy and energetically unfit.
but this could depend also on the location.
Labels: coffee
Friday, May 9
today is like a holiday.
i'm drinking out of my prissy china cup, a lovely shade of organic french roast from whole foods.
whole foods no longer dates their bean, which is a good idea for them, as it removes pressure from the coffee workers to properly roast each day. the thing is, they roast all the time anyway; but like newspapers, there is something about buying yesterday's news. even though it is just fine and perfectly fresh, people want it today.
i am told that trader joe's has very good bean, and cheap.
i am considering a trial.
there isn't a trader joe's in the city, but there is one near where my mother and sister live.
also, there is one in connecticut near where my girlfriend works sometimes.
i had instant coffee two days in a row.
when i'm going through something heavy, i like instant coffee. why?
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, May 7
i can't take how badly some of starbucks' bathrooms smell. there is no place to hang your purse or coat. the music is cloying. the heat-protection "sleeve" doesn't help much.
Labels: coffee
Friday, April 18
wishing
i wish there was a starbucks in riverdale.
they are building one in marble hill, i think. what are they thinking?
it's so weird to live in a place that doesn't have one, single place to go have coffee. well, that isn't true. there are places, but it's really...generic coffee in the truest sense of the word.
Labels: coffee
Labels: coffee
Sunday, April 6
coffee update
1. i was given a $100 starbucks card for my birthday. it's all gone. i have a new card.
2. i have been enjoying "drip" coffee for several weeks now, at starbucks.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, November 13
i had instant coffee while staying with a friend in san francisco. it was actually kind of good. so, i bought a jar of nescafe classic for when i am too much of a rush to make real coffee, or for weird days in which i just want some. i can not explain this.
i've been buying regular cups of coffee from starbucks and drinking them black. sometimes at night i'll get a decaf and put milk in it. i even buy these cups of decaf from random vendors such as those found in grand central terminal - junior's, for example. i like the cups. styrofoam, which is morally and aesthetically wrong, but the junior's logo is very nice.
i like the starbucks on prince street in soho.
most other starbucks i visit are dirty. the furniture is grimy and the bathrooms are not clean. as the stores age, i surmise the situation will escalate. when is illy opening up shop? i am sick of the trinkets and ice cream-flavored coffee floats. it is insulting.
Labels: coffee
Monday, September 30
back to the bean
today is my first day back to the bean after being sick. i drank some very nice tea during my illness, but it just isn't the same. i had "calm" tea, i had peppermint tea, i had roasted green tea. roasted green tea has a coffee-like feeling to it, the roastedness i guess.
french press
i'm thinking i need a shiny, french press. sometimes i want regular coffee but i don't need to make a huge pot of it. and the taste of the french press is lovely.
Labels: coffee
Labels: coffee
Saturday, September 7
i had some really, really good decaf last night in my very own home.
i mixed some sumatra decaf (organic, from whole foods) with some dunkin donuts (dd) decaf -- only because i was low on the sumatra and i needed to make a complete pot for my rosh hashanah company. it was good.
also
i brought my ihop cup to benjamin's house in brooklyn and have been enjoying some not-that-good french roast (organic at least) from perelandra in a baby-sized espresso maker. i'll need to bring a larger one over there, and a thermos. i make my coffee with poland spring water while there because we don't have a brita. i prefer evian.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, August 28
got some organic san francisco altura at the co op. it's not fresh-roasted like at whole foods, but it is good. i'm into this full city roast thing lately, the medium-body thing, it's interesting. i'm digging it.
had a great latte at henry's end tonight. i'm always so pleased to have a very good cup of coffee at any given restaurant in new york. unlike san francisco, high end restaurant coffee is unpredictable.
coffee is good.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, August 21
just heard about the baby being delivered in a starbucks. it's kind of cute. i wouldn't want to have a baby there, only because it's so unsanitary, but the benefit of having a latte standing by to enjoy postpartum is a big turn-on.
it's too late for a coffee beverage now, unless i make a batch of decaf. however, i am feeling dehydrated, having drunk hardly any water today. considering i sweated *and* cried today, i've probably spent more water than i've taken in. this means i am at a water deficit.
tomorrow, though. tomorrow is another coffee day. i'm drinking this ethiopian some-such from whole foods, and it is medium-strength and woody and different than the french roast i usually drink. a medium-bodied coffee is a whole different thing, so many interesting notes i don't usually observe.
Labels: coffee
Sunday, August 11
my big decision lately: should i have an iced grande americano or an iced doppio in a grande cup?
i'm opting for the creamy flavor of the milk-infused iced doppio.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, July 25
summer, a time for coffee.
i'm less interested in putting milk in my coffee beverages these days. i've been ordering grande iced americanos in starbucks, and black iced coffees at dds (dunkin donuts).
i feel a lot of love for coffee. at night, i know i'm going to wake up the next day and have some. in the morning, i know a full day of coffee consumption is unfolding.
if i had to choose which i love more, my cats or coffee, i would say i love my cats more, but that's really a dumb thing to think of, anyway.
interesting new bean
at the fancy food show at the javits center a few weeks back, i met a man who had a fancy, new bean. some had interesting names. i bought some and am currently enjoying it. it is called kickinghorse and it is organic. at the show, the man was friendly in the beginning of the show, then by the end he was standoffish and kind of not nice.
yet, the coffee is quite good. smooth and tasty. three sisters blend is my current coffee interest.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, June 26
the times...they are a'changin'
dunkin donuts. i've always liked their bean. but now, i am seriously sliding into a new summer coffee pattern involving dunkin donuts, their bean, and ice.
the iced coffee is strong and stands up to ice beautifully. i am pleased that for $1.39 nobody gives me shit about what size cup i want, or how much milk goes into it. the coffee is seriously good, too.
i also had a nice iced coffee at garden of eden yesterday, the one on third avenue and twenty-third street.
not that i don't love my iced doppios from starbucks, but this is a welcome change.
Labels: coffee
Sunday, June 23
since i had coffee so late this evening, i'm not yet longing for my morning cup. although the morning cup is served hot, which is so very nice. certain aesthetic problems in this apartment interfere with my coffee enjoyment. they must be corrected immediately.
Labels: coffee
on the same day, or possibly on consecutive days, i experienced an old starbucks problem that seemed to have vanished about two years ago. i speak of the iced-doppio-in-a-grande-cup problem.
in bronxville, a hampton-like little town near my new nabe in westchester, a large african-american fellow refused to place my two shots in a grande cup. said he, "we aren't allowed to do that. some people will go over there and make a latte."
naturally, that is what i planned to do. so, i asked a co-worker for a grande cup and then right in front of our self-righteous barista, transferred the beverage into the grande cup. boy was he pissed!
then, in the starbucks on seventh avenue in park slope, a snotty blonde hipster-bitch said after providing the shots in the grande cup, "now you're gonna go over there and make yourself a latte, right?"
i said, "yes. exactly."
gentle reader, i've said this before. starbucks allows customers to insert their own milk and other condiments. since that is part of the service offered, the cost of which is priced into each beverage, i don't think it should matter how much milk i use. i could, in theory, drain a whole gallon of milk if it pleased me.
furthermore, starbucks does not withold cups. they gladly give them out per request.
this being the case, it follows that starbucks intends to provide access to (1) cups and (2) milk when purchasing a coffee beverage. as such, witholding the grande cup is wrong and comes from another psychological place on the part of the barista.
revenge
i returned to the bronxville starbucks this evening and questioned another barista about this so-called managerial policy. she said no such policy was in place. i told her my story and she said the fellow sometimes copped an attitude, that he thinks people are stealing when they do "that," "that" being purchasing the two shots and asking for their insertion in the grande cup. she was quite pleasant, and i was satisfied.
then i went to obtain milk and the manager was sitting nearby and asked if everything was ok. i relayed the story to her and it is my impression, dear ones, that mister tude will be receiving a large spanking. oh!
memories
so i'm sitting down, enjoying my grande cup with two shots over ice, when who do i notice nearby? none other than the first boy with whom i engaged in underage sex with as a freshman in college. he wore a beeper and had the same laugh. he was enjoying a coffee beverage and was speaking to his friends with authority about the medical profession. it all happened at starbucks. really.
Labels: coffee
Thursday, June 13
fairway
usually i get a lovely double shot of espresso to sip while strolling the aisles at uptown fairway. this morning, i received a single shot with attitude and no crema. since i was trying to stay calm, i didn't say anything when the chick let my crema spill all over the tray after pulling my cup away. then, i had to wait for my lousy .35 change for several minutes. usually this mode of espresso enjoyment is quite positive. today, it wasn't.
thrifty!
i saved a grande sized plastic iced beverage cup from my last trip to starbucks. i washed it thoroughly and loaded it up with an iced latte for my trip to therapy and then karate. o joy.
Labels: coffee
Labels: coffee
Tuesday, June 11
coffee thoughts
i'm so looking forward to my first cup in only a few hours. it's bumming me out that the sink is full of dishes and as such my day will begin at a deficit, but it will be ok. coffee will be made, and brought to me, in a stylish and nice cup and saucer.
tonight, i thought about making some decaf. i was lazy. i could have brewed it in my space-age drip brewing machine, but it did not occur to me. or, i could have used the smaller stovetop espresso machine. but i did not think of that. i am fixated on the three-cup espresso stovetop unit. would i even _want_ coffee now? i might actually like some tea. regular tea. iced, regular tea with some lime.
tea
i feel that tea is coffee, but on a very far-away place on the spectrum.
Labels: coffee
Wednesday, June 5
i love coffee.
Labels: coffee
