Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The coffee saga continues

After a bitter cup of coffee tonight, I decided that it was finally time to take the plunge and go for a better grinder. You see, the coffee that I was drinking had been ground to a fine grind...basically an espresso grind. It was very bitter from the over-extraction.

I placed my order tonight. The grinder (Solis Maestro Conical Burr Grinder) is my dream rig, I've been looking at it for a little over a year now. I almost talking Andria into getting me a Starbucks Barista Grinder (almost the same as the Solis..but different...vague, I know) around Christmas, but it didn't work out. With my birthday just past I decided to buy myself a present (Thanks Grandma/Grandpa!).

As an added bonus to myself -- like the grinder wasn't good enough -- I also sprung for a pretty cool coffee maker (Bodum Kona). It's just fun to watch it make me coffee and the coarse ground required should be easy enough with the new grinder.

Now I just have to wait for the next days till it arrives (14th Mar)...

Fingers Crossed !

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

One day at a time

Long time, no write (does that even make sense...meh, screw it)

So it's been a while since I made the time to type a little something out to the folks in cyberspace. So here goes:

The Big 27
So, I'm 27 now folks... "so what", you say? Well, it's weird, but I fully but a ton of pressure on my 27th birthday; it was one of those milestone years. What were my plans? Working: Check, Married: Almost Check, Kids: None that I know of, almost everything is perfect. So I'm super happy -- thanks everyone!

Coffee
I continue to prod along roasting and drinking tiny batches of coffee...and I think that I just may be getting the hang of it. I've been talking to other amateur roasters, I've been looking into new and exciting roasting and brewing techniques, and I've been pouring over literature on the subject. I'm currently trying to locate a reliable source of green coffee, so I'll add something soon to give you more background.


Moral: Hobby's are completely unique...and a hobby about something that you drink that isn't booze is weird to most people


Food Crisis
It turns out that I'm basically sick of processed food...which is pretty terrifying actually. I mean, how do I find meat that isn't factory-farmed, corn-fed, brutalized, etc; how do I find veggies that are pesticide free, herbicide free, and not Genetically Modified?
Farmers markets help....but do they really? Maybe....
In any case, I'll keep you up to date on the process.


Moral: Eating "right" means a lot more than following the diet-du-jour, it means research, time and effort to do this RIGHT!


Wedding Planning
So as most of you should be aware, Andria and I are currently planning a wedding. Everything is on track, mostly due to Andria. But I thought that it might be fun to tell you one pretty funny issue that's been facing us. Now I would consider Andria and I to be somewhat intelligent, so you can imagine our confusion when we have noticed that most of our wedding providers have numerous spelling and grammar errors throughout their documentation. Are we just being really sticky or should people follow basic English rules if they are looking to have our business. I mean, nothing is worse than reading something and getting stuck on a "than" which should be a "then" or words like "ceramony" or "piiano". I feel like it is very difficult to get past.

Moral: Learn to friggen spell if you want my business