Coffee is the Elixir of Life.
I like my first cup of coffee to be like a sledgehammer to the head....like a Marine drill sergeant in my face screaming "WAKE UP MAGGOT" while I flip him the bird...
I like my first cup of coffee the way I like my men--strong, no-nonsense and to the point. With a purpose. Has to remind me that I'm alive.
A good, heavy Sumatra usually does the trick.
Sometimes though my nerves need a break and I like a nice warm mellow Columbian. That's kind of like getting a wake-up call from Antonio Banderas.
Usually, around mid-morning, I like a cup of french roast. A nice french roast is like taking a break for a good, hard...well, you know what I mean ;-)
It mellows me out and I can concentrate on what I've got to finish.
Sometimes I like to brew another cup late in the afternoon--not as strong as the morning, but just enough to get me over that afternoon slump. It's usually an attenuated version of my morning coffee....usually it's the coffee I can get at the ice cream shop downstairs when it's open.
Tonight when I went to get coffee, my usual brand was close to $4 more at one particular grocery store than it is at another grocery store (that to drive to would have been a serious pain in the ass.) But I needed coffee....
So I started to look at the store's own brand, which costs what my usual used to cost at the other grocery story--because it takes up an entire end cap. There's all kinds of blends--Moka Java, "Fog Lifter" "Donut Shop" Kona Blend, French Roast, Breakfast Blend, and the flavors--but nothing explaining what those blends are about. I can't believe it--absolutely nothing to give me even a hint what any of them could taste like.
I have to rely on what I associate with those coffee names.
When I think of "Donut Shop" I think of Dunkin' Donuts, and then I'm not impressed. I don't know what it is, but I've never had a good cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee up here in Mass (which is, actually, the home of Dunkin' Donuts.) Still, "Donut Shop" reminds me of a boring brew that has no taste unless loaded with cream and sugar.
I've got mixed feelings about their French Roast. I've had French Roasts from all sorts of brands, and so many never seem to live up to their legend. Makes me think that the French Roast some places make (I get my cup from the bakery downstairs)isn't the French Road I've got from the grocery store...
No idea what "Fog Lifter" could be. It's got a picture of Big Ben on it ("fog" and "London fog", get it?) But I never associate London with coffee, so I have no clue what that could taste like.
Moka Java makes me think of chocolate...
Breadfast Blend, like French Roast, varies from company to company. For some, Breakfast Blend is strong, for others it's weaker than dishwater no matter how much gets put in the coffee maker.
Instinctively, I want to go for the Kona. Sumatra's a Pacific place, and I'm thinking that Kona could be strong, too--nurtured in that volcanic-rich soil of Hawaii. But I don't know anything about Hawaiian coffee. So I can't tell for sure if it's going to have the proper effect on me in the morning.
There is a difference between whacked with a sledgehammer vs. getting beaned with a coconut. Unless it's one heck of a coconut, I'm a bit concerned that it might not be strong enough.
So, I bite the bullet and buy my usual brand. I can't deal with spending money on a coffee of indeterminant strength. It means too much to me and I don't like being disappointed....
I like my first cup of coffee the way I like my men--strong, no-nonsense and to the point. With a purpose. Has to remind me that I'm alive.
A good, heavy Sumatra usually does the trick.
Sometimes though my nerves need a break and I like a nice warm mellow Columbian. That's kind of like getting a wake-up call from Antonio Banderas.
Usually, around mid-morning, I like a cup of french roast. A nice french roast is like taking a break for a good, hard...well, you know what I mean ;-)
It mellows me out and I can concentrate on what I've got to finish.
Sometimes I like to brew another cup late in the afternoon--not as strong as the morning, but just enough to get me over that afternoon slump. It's usually an attenuated version of my morning coffee....usually it's the coffee I can get at the ice cream shop downstairs when it's open.
Tonight when I went to get coffee, my usual brand was close to $4 more at one particular grocery store than it is at another grocery store (that to drive to would have been a serious pain in the ass.) But I needed coffee....
So I started to look at the store's own brand, which costs what my usual used to cost at the other grocery story--because it takes up an entire end cap. There's all kinds of blends--Moka Java, "Fog Lifter" "Donut Shop" Kona Blend, French Roast, Breakfast Blend, and the flavors--but nothing explaining what those blends are about. I can't believe it--absolutely nothing to give me even a hint what any of them could taste like.
I have to rely on what I associate with those coffee names.
When I think of "Donut Shop" I think of Dunkin' Donuts, and then I'm not impressed. I don't know what it is, but I've never had a good cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee up here in Mass (which is, actually, the home of Dunkin' Donuts.) Still, "Donut Shop" reminds me of a boring brew that has no taste unless loaded with cream and sugar.
I've got mixed feelings about their French Roast. I've had French Roasts from all sorts of brands, and so many never seem to live up to their legend. Makes me think that the French Roast some places make (I get my cup from the bakery downstairs)isn't the French Road I've got from the grocery store...
No idea what "Fog Lifter" could be. It's got a picture of Big Ben on it ("fog" and "London fog", get it?) But I never associate London with coffee, so I have no clue what that could taste like.
Moka Java makes me think of chocolate...
Breadfast Blend, like French Roast, varies from company to company. For some, Breakfast Blend is strong, for others it's weaker than dishwater no matter how much gets put in the coffee maker.
Instinctively, I want to go for the Kona. Sumatra's a Pacific place, and I'm thinking that Kona could be strong, too--nurtured in that volcanic-rich soil of Hawaii. But I don't know anything about Hawaiian coffee. So I can't tell for sure if it's going to have the proper effect on me in the morning.
There is a difference between whacked with a sledgehammer vs. getting beaned with a coconut. Unless it's one heck of a coconut, I'm a bit concerned that it might not be strong enough.
So, I bite the bullet and buy my usual brand. I can't deal with spending money on a coffee of indeterminant strength. It means too much to me and I don't like being disappointed....
posted by Tish Grier at 9:00 PM
4 Comments:
If you want strong, don't get Kona. It's very mild, though high in acid, which kicks me in the stomach. If you're talking about Millstone, Fog Lifter is pretty good - it's got some oomph to it.
oh great--that would give me a headache (lack of caffiene) *and* a stomach ache! I'm so glad I didn't get the Kona then. I'd have been seriously peeved. If I'm stuck, maybe I'll try the Fog Lifter--right now I'm counting every single penny (freelancing sucks!) so I'm not wasting any on a long shot. (BTW, the pic on you'r blog's really nice :-) )
It's unbelievable how much trouble a men can have finding the things he likes. I have exact the same problem, only not with Coffee. Don't ask me why, but I wrote almost an essay on my "hang to music, and what it needs", a minute ago. When I closed that page, I was left with some quotations page, where your quote "There is no joy in a life that is all information. There is no 'juice' to that kind of life. No sweetness, no color. Like trading a beautiful golden-ripe orange for a stalk of whithered broccoli." was found, with the name of your book (love and sex and dreams, 04-15-06) underneath it. Googeling it made me came here, Reading something similar to what I've just wrote.
It's odd to see that other people also have problems with really normal things. Things from what other people might say "Moah, it's easy, just take a coffee.. doesn't matter, it all comes from one place, just different names."
anyway, I just had to say this :)
I'm fussy about my coffee, too. Once a year I splurge on some Blue Mountain. Maybe someday the price will come down ....
Re the pic: thanks. :)
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