Tag Archives: coffee

0527 Cold Brew Coffee OMG

This is good stuff, you guys. I’ve wanted to try cold brewing coffee for a long time, and now that I think about it, I can think of no good reason why it’s taken me this long to try it, especially considering how much time and energy we’ve spent tweaking our coffee set up.

There seem to be two approaches to cold brewing – concentrate vs full strength batch – and even then, the only real difference is the ratio of water to coffee. We’ve been using the concentrate approach, brewing a double batch, and then diluting or fancying it up in the morning to suit our tastes. It’s soooo nice to be able to roll out of bed, fill up a Mason jar, and go – at least in this weather.

Nothing too ground-breaking here – just some really solid morning coffee with absolutely minimal work. Like I said: good stuff.

Recipes:
Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee from Smitten Kitchen
Cold Brew Coffee from Food in Jars
Home Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee from I Need Coffee

0304 A Coffee Interlude

Today was mostly all about leftovers, so I thought instead that I’d revisit an old topic from this here blog: coffee. Where DC was an independent coffee desert, Ann Arbor is replete with coffee options. In addition to a terrible coffee machine in my office, there are at least 4-5 coffee establishments within the same number of blocks from my office – a far cry from the days of Starbucks and the Coffee Man. At the same time, though, we’ve been ramping up our home coffee production in an attempt to save money. So, here’s what we’re loving:

At home: beans from Comet Coffee or Zingerman’s, as close to the roast date as possible, ground in our Burr grinder (now powered by a hand drill!) and brewed in the Chemex, then carried to work in our JoEmos. This week we’ve had an Ethiopian Sidamo from Zing, and before that a Kenyan Wamuguma from 49th Parallel Roasters, picked up at Comet. Expensive, but cheaper than buying coffee every morning, even at the $2 latte price.

Out: Comet Coffee. There’s no competition, no comparison. Tucked away in Nickels Arcade, it’s enough out of my way that I can’t get there often – except those mornings when I get off the bus early so that I can make the stop. Love the space, love the knowledgeable baristas, love love love the coffee. If only there were more seating – but that’s probably part of what makes it so dear.

Of course, if Comet’s not in the cards, there’s always Zingerman’s (Deli, Next Door, Coffee Company, or in our neighborhood grocery store), Mighty Good, Espresso Royale, Revive + Replenish, Cafe Verde, Sweetwaters, that place in the Undergrad, that place in the lobby of the Executive Residences, or a handful of Starbuckses – and that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head. Oh, and beans from Roos Roast.

JOEmo Love

Let me tell you something about this beauty on the left here. His name is JOEmo (or JoEmo, if you’re Soy), and he is the best travel mug I have ever owned.

Finding a truly leak-proof travel mug has been one of my quests for a long time. I’ve tried Shane’s trusty Starbucks mug with the sealing top, which was then tossed in a Ziploc bag to avoid backpack spillage. We’ve owned mugs from each of our workplaces, and a mug from Espresso Royale, all three of which have dribbled on both of us at various times. Shane’s been really happy with his I am Not a Paper Cup mug, which has while aesthetically pleasing and spill proof in non-mobile situations, but is still not bag-safe or spill proof for my commute.

See, I take the Metro in to work every morning. On the Metro, you are not allowed to eat or drink. This means that if I make coffee at home in the morning, I can drink it in the car on the way to the train, but not on the train itself, so by the time I get to work, my coffee is cold, and I’m tempted to go next door and buy coffee, thus negating the time and money savings created by making coffee at home.

Enter JOEmo (JoEmo).

When I was in Illinois two weeks ago, I found myself killing some time at Art Mart while waiting to meet a friend for dinner. And then I found JOEmo, which is billed as a totally spill proof thermal mug. You can turn it upside down! It will keep your stuff warm for up to 6 hours! Sucked in by the hype, I picked it up, and had a long discussion with the clerk about it. Is it really spill and dribble proof? Yes, she said, unless you over fill it. Have people been bringing them back? No, she said. The only complaint is that it’s a little hard to clean.

And you know what? It works. For two weeks I’ve been carrying the thing around in my bag, full of coffee, half full of coffee, with the dregs of coffee sloshing around in it. The only spills have occurred when either I overfilled the mug – didn’t she warn me? – or when I’ve left it on the ground with the top popped and someone kicked it over. In both of those cases, the spill was a result of human error, not of JOEmo error. My coffee is hot, and my clothes are free of spills. Thank you, JOEmo.

Coffee Advice

So, guys, I need some advice.

We have our Chemex, and we loooove our Chemex, but first thing in the morning when I’m half awake and it’s a little chilly – I really just want coffee to wake me up. But having had our Chemex for a while, I want it to be good coffee – not burnt from sitting on the heating element coffee. Also, SB wants a Burr grinder.

So, does anyone have a fabulous grinding and brewing coffee device that they love? Or that they hate? I think this is really the next step in our coffee evolution.

Chemex

Let me talk for two minutes about my new coffeemaker.

After having really excellent coffee in Iowa City and at Sasha and Stef’s, I’ve spent several months lusting after the Chemex coffee maker at the Walnut Street Tea Company (which is also where I get chocolate, tea, spices, coffee, and snacks, but those are all subjects for other posts). This weekend, knowing we were going to have a small brunch today, I bit the bullet and bought the 8 cup coffee maker. I’ve been trying to make more coffee at home to save money (and the embarrassment of going to Espresso more than once a day), so investing in good beans and a good coffee maker always seems worthwhile. I’ve been using our small French press, but it’s really too small to make more than one cup – or coffee for more than one person.

I digress.

We made our third pot with the Chemex this morning, and it was fantastic. It takes longer than the French press or the regular drip coffeemaker, but the coffee was also more flavorful and rich – plus the aesthetic value of the coffee pot is really high, which somewhat makes up for the time you have to stand over it pouring in the hot water. It seems like we’ve had to use a little more coffee than in the drip coffeemaker, but the coffee has been just wildly better, so it’s worth it. It is also worth noting that when I got up from my nap this afternoon, I poured the last of the coffee (made around 11am) over ice, and it was every bit as flavorful as the hot coffee was four hours previously.

Long story short: I’m quite pleased with this purchase, and if you come over for breakfast, I’ll make you some excellent coffee to prove it.

The more I read for this paper, the less clear my ideas are, and the more I feel like I need to keep reading to know what I’m supposed to say in class tomorrow. It’s an interesting quandary.

Also, I lost my phone. So don’t try calling me, as I won’t answer.

Also, I really can’t drink coffee right now. Even decaf makes me sick-ish. This is not good.

Also, if you celebrate Christmas, you might enjoy this online advent calendar made by my friend Leslie. The last few years’ calendars have been really charming, and I look forward to clicking on the new link each day. It’s festive AND won’t rot your teeth.

Starbucks

So last night I was talking to a few former barista coworker friends, and the subject of Starbucks came up – I believe in the context of discussing the neglectful management of our former place of employment. If you know me even moderately well, you know that I’ve maintained a long-standing ban on Starbucks. I worked at an independent coffeeshop for two years, and have many friends who work and/or manage independents. With Starbucks planning to open 250 more Chicagoland locations (to add to the 330 existing ones), you can understand my vehemence. By the numbers, independent coffee shops have lost 11% of the market in the last four years. For those of us who rely on our indie for income, variety, and good coffee, that’s alarming.

One of the most touted things about Starbucks (notably more touted than the quality of their drinks) is their treatment of employees, who are eligible for health insurance, stock options, and a 401K – as well as advancement possibilities simply not available in your average mom-and-pop shop. A Starbucks employee union exists, though it seems that it has a contentious relationship with Starbucks itself. Starbucks has also, in the last few years, agreed to sell Fair Trade coffees, though it sounds like that decision only happened under some protest.

Last night, my coffeestore friends slightly revised our ban. We’re OK with people working for Starbucks – like our former manager, who routinely works 40+ hour weeks for no vacation, no benefits, and no chance of ever having any real authority due to the ongoing mismanagement by the owners – we’re just not OK with people buying coffee there.

new goals

New goal: no spending money on coffee and/or going out to eat for one week, beginning this morning and ending next Friday, 10 March. This will be challenging because (1) I have things going on every night between now and next Thursday, (2) I’m in the habit of buying coffee every day, and (3) I don’t have much food at my house. This will be addressed by (1) going grocery shopping on Sunday, (2) redeeming free coffee cards (I have at least three stockpiled), and (3) planning meals.

Today is Unofficial St Pat’s, and good god, the undergrads have a gorgeous day for it. I haven’t the first clue how this tradition got so entrenched into student life here, but there are hundreds of drunk kids out on Daniel and Green Streets, and I’m somewhat dreading the ride home – but glad I have my bike and so don’t have to wait for the bus at Sixth and Green, within projectile vomiting distance of Murphy’s, Brothers, and Legends.

It seems like there’s a lot of peripheral stress these days, and I’m not sure what to do about that. I’m mainly just stressed about my seeming state of inertia – I need to be moving forward on projects on which I’m just doing – nothing. Things will sort themselves out. They always do. In the meantime I have sunshine, fresh air, and Gjetost cheese to keep me happy.

moving, aroma, whatevs

I’m seriously thinking about moving this thing again – for a couple of years I’ve maintained multiple blogs, switching back and forth based on whoever I wanted to talk to more, and I’m tired of doing that. A couple of my friends have made the switch to WordPress, and I just might do that – I already have a domain, etc etc. So, yeah.

I’m at Aroma, nominally reading Literacy in the Information Age, drinking Mexican coffee (goddamn, is the Columbia Street Mexican roast good), and trying not to stress out about the IRB form (due tomorrow) and leading class (later today). I think I’m going to miss Brokeback Mountain in the theater because of school responsibilities, needing to work out, and possibly sushi with Missy later. I am busy-so-busy these days, and it feels like the semester’s hardly started when it’s actually been weeks and weeks.

Sonya and I have hit on a money-making scheme that will significantly help towards the Camino as long as I can legitimately make it happen. We’ve decided it’ll be an interest experience financially, personally, and sociologically. All of these are good things, especially the financially, as I’m leaving in three months and am sorely behind on my savings plan. I need to get everything in gear – research, reading, training, saving – and soon. In the interim, though, I’m going to drink coffee.

Also: It’s been a couple of years since I watched the Daily Show, so I’m not sure if this is a regular segment, but last night we happened to be watching at Kim’s after Project Runway, and the Trendspotting segment was on social networking. It was hilarious – and at the same time had me hiding behind my hands a bit because, well, I research that stuff. Siva Vaidhyanathan was interviewed, which was hilarious because he rolled with it, and also because it’s fun to see academics that you’ve had to read for class on the Daily Show!

hardcore workitude

A few things I’ve learned at and about work:

My health insurance is shit. I can only go to doctors that are “owned” by our hospital. I can only fill prescriptions written by doctors “owned” by our hospital. I can’t get in to see a specialist until I have a primary doctor (again, “owned” by our hospital), and even then it will take months. Oh, and my birth control isn’t covered.

Each day I have approximately one hour in which I want to throw things at the wall and just walk out. So far I’ve restrained myself and have instead gone for coffee. This will work out as long as I have $1.63 to spend on stress relief.

We park in the fairgrounds behind the hospital complex. Next week is the fair, so instead of parking near work and walking four blocks, we have to park at the mall – and not the one that’s close by, the one that is 5-10 minutes in the opposite direction for me. I will be taking the bus.

My coworker is really nice, but really, really, really fucking loud. Loud to the point where I can hear her laughing in the lobby. Loud to the point where automated voice-response numbers will pick up her voice rather than mine when the mouthpiece is against my face. I like her, but for fuck’s sake, it’s like she never learned about the “indoor voice”.

I feel bad checking my email at work, but for the amount of time that other people spend just fucking around, talking on the phone, repeating the same inane stories – really, I’m much more productive.

I can not do this for more than a year.OK, enough whinging. The couple of days have been decent – avoiding the heat whenever possible, reading a lot, spending quiet time with Shawn and girl time with Sarah and Hannah today at lunch. I thought about a rush trip home this weekend to see Diva Kate and to return the errant cat, but I’ve heard nothing from Kate, so Gambit will have to wait another few days. Mainly I’m just hoping for peace.