LOVE coffee. love the smell, love the taste, love the experi
Although I love vintage Pyrex glass percolators, my Grandmother Esther was the only person I ever knew who could produce delicious coffee using a percolator. My other Grandmother, Shnorhig("Grace" in Armenian, yes, I know, hard to believe, was the family expert in making "Soorge" or Turkish coffee. Her coffee had lots of "Keff" or the foam that's supposed to float on top of Turkish joe)
I use coffee from a local roaster here in Southern Connecticut called "Willoughby's", so the beans are extremely fresh and freshly roasted (by a buddy of mine who is a painter when not making money as a coffee roaster). I tend to like Brazilian beans, but I am always trying different beans from different places. I generally like to blend 25% dark roast with 75% normal roast and I grind the beans at home every night before the next day as a coffee expert I once knew told me that it's better to use beans that were ground several hours before brewing. I use a Melita-style drip filter pot, although a friend of mine is convincing me to go with the Chemex system. He makes awesome coffee with another Connecticut company's beans "Omar's Coffee".
My next experiment will be to try the "Filtron" cold brewing system, where you make a coffee concentrate out of cold water and then dose that with boiling water to produce a cuppa.
For any of you who like to read science fiction there's a wonderful old book called, "The Mote in God's Eye" that has a cute section in it on aliens who become expert coffee makers.
Do any of you remember when my beloved Margaret Hamilton hawked "Yuban" coffee on TV? I got emotional recently over Mrs. Meserve; coincidentally Miss Hamilton, as she was known, spent her last years in the same "assisted living" facility called "Noble Horizons" in Northern Connecticut, where my own Mother lives. Her son, Hamilton Meserve lived nearby and must have overseen her care. Not surprisingly, she was very well liked by the staff and other residents as I've found many memorials and pictures dedicated to her. When I was visiting the Chapel there I noticed her name listed in an obituarium. I had forgotten that she had passed as long ago as in 1985. She was a great lady whose work will never be forgotten and whose kindness and spirit were also legendary. When I was taken, finally, to see "Wicked" on Broadway last year I couldn't help but be impressed that this humble character actress' portrayal has taken on a life beyond what anyone could have expected from "7 weeks worth of work" and 11 minutes ( 11 minutes!!!!!) screen time.
How the hell did I get here from talking about coffee??!?!?
