Coffee

I've gotta get organized and get more green beans.  Anyone know where to get some in Kingston/Ottawa area?

EDIT: Hell, at this point I'll settle for free roasted in Kingston...

Something New

What's you favourite blend?  I'm in the market to try something new, any suggestions?

A great cup of coffee!

A few Links

Here are some links to my favourite coffee sites & a quick explanation of why I like/use them:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/

This is usually the first and last site that I consult for product reviews and how-to’s. Great community!

http://www.sweetmarias.com/

Great knowledge, great lots & a great selection of unroasted and roasted coffee

http://www.greenbeanery.ca/

Is my Canadian site of choice for coffee beans & equipment. Their storefront is located in Toronto, but I get to avoid expensive US-Canada shipping this way. I bought my Solis Grinder and green coffee from them. Prompt service, good deals.

Coffee as a part of my life.

So I've been thinking over the past few weeks about how important coffee is to my life. It is among the most important substances in my life! I realized that I've reached a critical point in that java affair.

Recently, I accompanied my family to my local Denny's (hey, it was a Sunday and everything else was closed!) Now, it was around noon and I had just recently woken up (it was Sunday, stop judging me). I ordered a coffee (as per my routine, in life). I received and prepared my coffee (1 sugar, 1 cream); this is when I had my revelation:

This coffee tasted horrible! Devastating and undrinkable – I had two sips and left it…

Ya, not really a surprise to most of you; but to me this was a game changer! Because from this point on, there may be situations where I actively avoid my favourite beverage… Again, this is pretty obvious to most.

Let me try explaining this a different way: No matter where, no matter when, I’m game to try a cup of chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. It’s 2 am at a pub and they have CN soup, I’m in! Because I love it, and more importantly, I’ve never been burned (pardon the pun) by CN soup and GC sandwiches! They are my favourites, period.

Now back to coffee: I have no had coffee that disgusted me and I’ll have to be careful and selective in the future. Dennys’ coffee is now on my ‘no’ list. I’ve prepared a no list…

NO LIST
-Dennys
-My Workplace (it’s coffee from a machine…and it’s really quite horrible…free, but horrible)
-Instant (except at my Mother-in-laws, cheers Carole)
-Tim Hortons (unless I’m traveling or doing something with the Navy – it’s just not that good)
-Starbucks (I’m talking drip coffee, not espresso here. Although Starbucks espresso also leaves me wanting…)

And this logically brings me back to the Yes list:

YES LIST
-Anything that I make (hey, I’ve gotta support myself, right)
-My Mother-in-laws Instant Coffee
-Starbucks Vanilla Latte (sooo sugary…which is part of the charm)
-Tim Hortons when I’m traveling or with the Navy (it’s familiar)

It also means a subtle change to my routine, more coffee prep. If I don’t want the coffee at work, Starbucks or Timmies, then I suppose that I must prepare it myself. First, I might need to upgrade my aging Nissan Thermos (for one similar: http://tinyurl.com/dk3b2r). I’m thinking that I like the Stainless Steel, but that maybe a handle would be nice… I really like the look of the Element 5 Vacuum Insulated Hydration Bottle E40600!

Another solution could be workplace acceptable coffee makers; I already had a couple:
- Bodum Bistro Nouveau French Press Coffee Maker - 3 Cup
- 1 cup drip with built-in filter
- 1 cup automatic drip

The main challenge there is that noise, heat and aroma can be mixed blessings. Sure, I find the smell of good coffee intoxicating, but do my co-workers? Our office is also usually a good 5 degrees hotter than I would like it to be…a hot coffee pot wouldn’t help this situation. And finally, I can’t have steaming kettles or noisy drip makers at my desk disturbing my neighbors.

There is also another concern: what if someone else wants a cup? Sure this seems like an academic issue, but, none-the-less, I actually have work to do…I’m not a barista; I can’t be going around providing co-workers with delicious coffee (I’ll give away roasted coffee, but I won’t brew it for them).

Ok, so thermos to work – no big deal right…

What do I do about my home? That is a question for next time…

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 !

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