The World of Coffee
Have you ever wondered about all those different kinds of coffee? What caught my eye on this sign was the coffee from Kenya, which reminded me of the fact that I got an award today from my Blogger friend Karen in Botswana, who enjoys reading Blogs with her morning coffee.
As with my one other award, I was somewhat dumbfounded to be recognized in this way. Lately I have felt like I was pulling at straws to find something to write about. A lot of my recent posts seems to be whiny and negative, when I actually much prefer to focus on the positive things in life.
Another revelation today: I am so energized by other people. This morning I shared a beautiful cup of cappuccino with a friend at Peregrine, the Capitol Hill coffee shop that replaced the defunct Murky Coffee. It’s brighter and cleaner inside than Murky Coffee ever was, and today the outdoor seats were an extra bonus because of the beautiful weather. This friend and I always get into philosophical discussions about things like time management and setting priorities in life. We actually see things quite differently but are very tolerant of each other’s position.
This afternoon I had another chance to hang out with friends, this time in the Virginia suburbs. We ended up at another coffee shop, where I opted for a delicious cup of Chai. We’re all of a similar generation, with children who continue to make our lives interesting and challenging. One has grandchildren. The other friend and I would like to think we will someday have another generation to entertain.
So back to the question of coffee – What do you think distinguishes the coffee grown in Colombia from that of Kenya from that of Indonesia? Is it the air, the altitude, the water, or the type of beans? And why do we never hear of coffee grown in China or India or even the US? I have a love/hate affair with coffee, periodically swearing it off, but always coming back to the smell and taste that I find so alluring.
posted by Barbara at 1:50 PM
5 Comments:
Hi Barbara,
I think that most coffee is grown in equatorial places, which is why we don't grow alot of it. I think that there are many differences to individual coffees, just like wines. Soil, weather, water, altitude; all of that figures into the final product. Even curing and roasting and finally preparation can play a big part. I have a really cool cappuccino machine that pumps two pumps of hot water into the ground and waits a few seconds before adding the rest of the steam. This insures a luxurious crema on top of the coffee. My ex-mother-in-law used to make the world's worst coffee (in my humble opinion). Once I watched while she added egg shells and salt to the grounds. Personally, I like Italian roast and not pure french roast. My first cup has milk and fake sugar, but it's black after that. I also believe that cups with saucers are best thing to hold one's coffee. There you go, like Macs v. PC's, it's a religious issue.
One of the reasons I enjoy reading your blog, is because you are so real and down to earth, and usually at morning coffee time I find a new post there, as you do write quite often! what a lovely coffee photo! x
I think it has more to do with what variety of plant the beans came from. there are abnout a dozen, as i recall. you can google it and it will tell you asll about it.
I used to drink it black when I was a Chef, and I drank about a gallon a day easy. I drank it black mainly because i didn't have time to Doctor it up. Then one day I went into a 7-11 and had one of those Cappucino things...MAN, i was hooked!
Now I drink it with sinful amounts of sugar(fake)and cream...i like it thick, like a candy bar.
Coffee is my "natural" anti-depressant. :-)
F.
Friends are very important. We always learn from them.
I'm happy that the people I've gotten truly close to, I'm still friends with and probably always will be. I tend to be cautious with those "my way or the highway' folks who claim to want to be friends. My heart knows who is the real deal.
plain old black espresso for me, sometimes with a little lemon peel. I'm leaving town again today for a week, so I will try to find wifi on the road and pop in.
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