I have no earthly idea who first thought of filtering hot water through coffee beans, but whoever did certainly deserves a place in the history books.
The past few months have wrought some changes in life. No big deal, really, but adjustments needed to be made. The reason I mention this is, on one occasion, the doctor was listing all things now forbidden. The nano-instant he paused for a breath, I jumped in with "What about coffee?"
He asked what kind. "Regular, nothing added." He shrugged and said, "Knock yourself out." (Which I thought was kind of odd, as coffee is supposed to keep one awake, but that's just the way my mind works sometimes.) But that was my first and most major concern at the moment:
you cannot take away my coffee!
(He then went on with The List, which ended up rather substantial; months later, a friend cracked, "That leaves you Air, Water, Ice, and Broccoli!" Sad to say, Peter kind of nailed that one.)
Moving along....
I'm not real sure when my obsession with the Java Bean and the Nectar it delivers began, but I do clearly remember the first time I ever tasted coffee. It was an immediate bond, a necessity to get through the day, and I've never looked back. Lots of little placards are showing up these days, like the one at the top of the page, and it got me wondering about this obsession we have with coffee.
Personally, if I have a choice, I stick with the fresh-ground slow dripped magic that comes from my Capresso. This poor coffee maker has been used and abused for almost fifteen years now, and it chugs along like a little train, delivering cup after cup of coffee just the way I like it. I'll admit there have been occasions, especially when working and/or traveling, when I drank stuff that didn't belong in a Tennessee pickup truck crankcase, but it got the job done, delivering that much needed jolt to clear the mind and help me focus.
Just for the fun of it, in no particular order, here are some responses from friends. (If you click on the authors' names, you'll go to their web sites where you'll find some of the best Summer Reads going on today. I promise you that.)
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My
husband is the coffee drinker; he's a reporter for the Tribune papers
in Florida.
He uses store bought Gevalia coffee and a Krupps coffee
maker.
I like the smell of coffee and have been known to snort the bags
of ground coffee, but I drink hot tea -- Dragon Well Green. I like loose
tea and need at least two cups to jumpstart in the morning. Around 11 I
take a tea break with more green tea, or flavored green -- strawberry
green with real chunks of dried strawberries, or white tea with
lavender. At bedtime, I may have a cup of chamomile -- plain old Bigelow
bags.
Avoid energy drinks. Just cold water from the fridge in a pint
beer glass with a bendy straw.
We buy coffee beans and grind them at the shop using their self-serve grinder. We buy our coffee at Trader Joe's. On the other hand, I do enjoy going into Starbucks and buying a fresh-brewed cuppa. We use a drip Melitta maker.
As long as it doesn't taste like shit, I'll drink it. I do doctor my coffee with milk and sugar.
I'll drink hot tea if I'm sick. No energy drinks.
I have a 4 cup drip Mr. Coffee machine.
I was on an Only-Italian-Ground-Coffee-From-Harrods-Dept-Store-in-London kick for years but last year my husband didn't travel as much so I buy ground Folgers 'Black Silk' (we own a bunch of stock in P&G.)
I am not picky about my coffee- I will buy and drink a cup anywhere (if you want the junkyard-in-TN taste try the coffee at Becks Prime at Memorial Park, my every Sat morning beverage, yikes!)
I drink one large mug of coffee a day, then water the remaining hours.
No beverage gets my fingers to fly across the keyboard or the creative juices flowing unfortunately. But if one is ever invented, I'll buy it and guzzle it!
I'm a big Starbucks guy but I get my coffee at their local store. Don't grind beans or brew them myself. But my local store has a Clover single serving brew system which is great.
I use Starbucks Via for instant coffee and pretty much just boil water.
I wouldn't say I'm overly picky but I like to avoid the overly acidic lines and prefer full-bodies flavor.
Caffeine sure helps!
Don't drink coffee. Yuck! (
Ed. Note: Jenn and I are still friends, despite this.)
I drink *gasp* energy drinks, preferably Sugar Free Rock Star.
Drinking the energy drink is part of my writing process. Don't know
why. It's like when smokers drink alcohol. They will invariably have a
cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. That's me only with
pen, paper, and Rock Stars.
We grind our own beans--well, our Cuisinart coffeemaker does.Until a few years ago, I didn't drink coffee at all, preferring Coke Classic to get me going in the morning. But now that I drink coffee, I'm pretty picky. When we travel, I drink my coffee at Starbucks or Caribou Coffee. Never just plain coffee, black--always have lots of creamer and favorings! my current favorite is peppermint mocha or white chocolate peppermint mocha. In the fall/winter it's pumpkin spice or gingerbread lattes. I also drink decaf tea, peach and mango tea as well. Energy drinks? They'll kill you.
Store-bought beans - I love hazelnut creme - and we grind the beans ourselves. (Well, actually, we use a coffee grinder - its much easier than using the thumb and forefinger.) and
Mr. Coffee. You know, the dumbed-down version. A child could use it.
I don't like bad coffee--spent most of my life drinking bad coffee. So I try to go to a place that at least has a decent cup of coffee, but I always put nonfat half 'n half in it anyway. Won't drink bad coffee--like percolator coffee or Folgers coffee from a can. I mean that literally. I will not tip up the grounds in the can and pour them into my mouth--I tried that once and I nearly choked to death. Don't like soda, don't like energy drinks, don't like bow-hunting, either. I know that's not relevant, but that's how I feel.
Pre-ground. We used to grind, but I realized that was a whole lot of time I'm never going to get back. Drip machine (with ILLY) for weekends, Keurig (with Double Black Diamond) for weekdays.
Very very very very picky. Meaning: it has to be coffee. I adore (and of course prefer) great coffee--really appreciate it. I have rejected some, I guess…but it would have to be pretty darn awful. Love tea. I've never had an energy drink.
STACEY PURCELL
Well, as we all know, I don't do coffee. I'm the tea sipper. Spent too many
years in colonial British countries. I used to drink Earl Grey, but have
developed an aversion to it. Now I prefer English, Irish Breakfast,
Darjeeling or most any other nice straight forward black tea.
I grind them myself, but not daily. Whenever I run out. So I'm not a true purist. I'm half pure and half . . . well, bean slut, I guess. I have a ridiculously pricey machine called the Moccamaster, but I admit, I truly love it. It's not even fancy, just expensive. Unless I'm having withdrawal headaches, I can't stand anything that's been sitting around too long. But I've been known to drink cold coffee in the afternoon that's leftover from breakfast. Does that make sense? If it's hot, it must be fresh. Cold, I'll drink anything. I drink everything. And let's not forget chocolate.
LAURIE FRASER
Grind the beans ourselves. Lately Independence Coffee from
Brenham (so many flavors to choose from! Jet fuel, Vintage Bin #007
(Ed. Note: Laurie said "007"....heh....) ,
and EarlyWine Breakfast Blends are our favorites). Mr. Coffee, Keurig, 2 separate French Presses
(single and multi-serving - until we discovered French Press raises
cholesterol levels - really??? so sad), single drip for a single cup,
espresso
machine we haven't figured out still (we got it for our wedding - 5
years ago!). I think that's all..... We're pretty picky. Skyler carries small bags on the road
since the hotels don't always stock enough (and decaf just doesn't work -
ask any pilot!). I used to drink it all - especially in my flight
instructing days when free was all I could afford. That stuff had been
made at 4 am usually and we were still drinking it at 5pm. That stuff
will eat holes in your stomach, but we drank it happily! I do drink tea first thing in the morning. Until the first pot of
coffee gets made and I can't refuse that smell! I am half Canadian and I
do appreciate a good cup of tea.
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For the final word, someone sent me this clip a few years back. Cannot imagine why!
Best Coffee in the city of Houston? That's an easy one!
