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Thursday, June 30, 2005

Coffee Mornings

Okay, to kick things off, I'm going to write about something near and dear to the hearts of many people worldwide, a beverage that keeps the American workforce in an almost permanent state of caffeine-enhanced productivity: coffee.

I'm what most people would call a regular coffee drinker. I drink it three to five mornings a week, though I usually limit myself to about a cup a day. I also enjoy coffee on Saturday nights because it's nice after dinner and it doesn't matter if I stay up until 2:00 in the morning. That said, I'm not a "pot a day" kind of guy. Any more than two decent-sized cups in my system and I start talking even faster than usual (which, for the Homestar Runner fans out there, makes me like Strong Sad on a caffeine bender) and become unintelligible.

One memorable coffee experience occurred when I was in college. I went into a Peet's one morning. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet so, being 19 with a young person's circulatory system, bought a small mocha-flavored Scharffen-Berger chocolate bar to go with my cafe mocha (though I asked the barista put a double-shot of espresso in it). About 15 minutes into my coffee, with the chocolate eaten, I thought I was going to have a stroke. I decided I'd made a mistake by not eating and figured I'd head back to my apartment, eat something or...well, crawl into bed and wait until my blood pressure dropped to non-tremor-inducing levels.

On the way back, a weird sort of caffeine high/paranoia set in, and to my coffee-addled senses, every irregular automotive sound on the road heralded an oncoming accident. I felt like Adam Sandler's character at the beginning of Punch Drunk Love, wherein he flees into the warehouse he works in after watching an SUV sail through the air, spin a couple of times and crash into the ground at about 40 miles an hour. I made it home and right after walking through the door I ate a bowl of cereral to hopefully dull the effects of the caffeine with digestion. Eventually, after two classes and dinner, my chemical balance returned to normal. The whole coffee/chocolate/no food experience was pretty surreal in retrospect, and I try to avoid caffeine in large doses. Back in those days I never needed No Doze to pull an all-nighter; three cups of coffee worked just fine. So, that anecdote out of way, let me get to the (hopefully) "educational-yet-entertaining" part of this entry.

I still go to Peet's (and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, occasionally Starbucks-though I usually avoid it, Diedrich's and Seattle's Best once in a great while) and enjoy buying coffee. The more coffee I've had, though, the more I've noticed pronounced differences in the flavors of different coffees. I mean, I'd heard people in food mags and online articles talk about coffee being "like fine wine." I didn't really believe it before, and I still don't take coffee as seriously as wine connoisseurs take their beverage of choice, but there is a big difference between a good cup and a bad cup of coffee as well as between different varieties of good coffee.

First, some specifics about the coffee-brewing devices I use. At home, my girlfriend and I have a Bosh 12-cup drip coffee maker. We use a Swiss gold mesh filter to save trees and get better flavor (no paper flavors) in our coffee. At work, I use unbleached Miletta #2 filters in a plastic, Melitta one-cup drip coffee maker ($2.99, top of the page from the link) so I can make my own coffee and avoid scorched office drek.

Most coffees (if not all) I drink are of the Arabica type as opposed to Robusta. There's an entertaining explanation on Chez Pim, one of many great food blogs out there, about the differences between the coffee bean types. Now on to seven coffees I've tried along with my opinion of each.

Coffee Bean's Chocolate Flavored Coffee: Overall, Coffee Bean usually produces a decent cup of coffee. Their chocolate coffee is decent, but you have to be in the mood for a flavored coffee. You can smell a chocolate-like aroma from the grounds, and the flavor usually ends up being sort of mocha-like. I wouldn't say it's anything like actually putting chocolate in coffee, but it's a decent imitation and the coffee has a good, very sweet for coffee, flavor. It's a pretty light and smooth coffee, not too dark a roast. I'm not sure what the coffee origins are, and the company website and packaging aren't helpful either. I'll ask about coffee origins of flavored coffees next time I'm in a Coffee Bean store.

Coffee Bean's La Minita Tarrazu: Very good coffee. I couldn't get enough of this stuff a few weeks agom when I still had it. According to this site for Hacienda La Minita, the coffee is produced at elevations between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. To me, the coffee has a fairly sweet (coffee sweet, not candy or sugar sweet) flavor, moderate acidity and a pretty clean aftertaste. The coffee has a great aroma freshly ground, too. I recommend the stuff, although I think Coffee Bean is only selling it in limited quantities. By now they're probably on to some other blend. The coffee producer sells the blend worldwide, though, so it's worth checking out if you can get your hands on some.

Coffee Bean's Hazelnut Flavored Coffee: Another flavored coffee, the hazelnut notes are definitely noticeable in the grounds and when you take a sip. This coffee is pretty mild, but if you like a nutty, light coffee, this is a decent choice. Again, not sure what the country of origin is for this coffee.

Peet's new Las Hermanas Organic: Whoa. Strong coffee. It's made by a co-op of women growers in Nicaragua who have helped improve living conditions and education in the communities the women live in. Check out Peet's site for more info. I found the aroma of the fresh grounds somewhat unappealing, but on the whole the coffee tastes pretty good. It seems to be about a medium roast, but it has a very "bright," somewhat sweet flavor and a high level of acidity (well, to me at least). If you have a problem with acid levels, you probably want to mix this coffee with another, smoother kind...or just choose another coffee. It has a bit of an aftertaste but nothing that ruins the cup.

Peet's Colombian Blend: Much smoother than Las Hermanas, the Colombian blend is a medium roast and I noticed a smoother, more subtle flavor. It has a fuller body, though I have to admit I'm still trying to quantify that term in my head.

Segafredo's Espresso Mocha: Good, full-bodied (still working on it) dark roast coffee, though not as dark and burnt as French Roast, with a bit of a nutty flavor. Although I've heard people say that this coffee is good after dinner because it's a dark roast, I like it on Sunday mornings with a light breakfast.

Don Francisco's Colombian Decaf: Although not as good as some of the other blends, it's still way better than Yuban or Folgers instant. It's another smooth, medium roast coffee that doesn't have too much of an aftertaste. My girlfriend and I like this coffee with dessert because it won't keep us up all night.

Well, that's it for my first entry. Next time I blog it'll probably be about a restaurant. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Okay, this is just placeholder text. I'll actually write something more exciting when I get a chance.