Brewing in Shame on Lavender Ave 2.28.09
It’s cold and rainy today and while there’s much work to be done, with the quickly approaching deadline of this project, I’ve opted for coffee at home.
If any of the experts that I’ve met and talked about coffee were in my kitchen with me in the morning, they would likely bury their head in their hands, watching the rinky-dink manner in which I brew my morning cup.
Once upon a time we had a coffee maker and it was alright, it made a decent cup of coffee. But there are just two of us, and we don’t often entertain before noon. A friend in MN turned us on to the art of French Press. And while, we aren’t the type to have swanky appliances, the coffee was just so good. Our taste buds were beginning to refine to the art of making coffee. I found a discount Boden brand French Press at my favorite store in the South, Ross Dress for Less. Likewise, in preparation for a long Canadian camping trip, Phil found a mini-press made of plastic, perfect for toting your fru-fru coffee needs with you into the wilderness.
For a good year our French Press brewed daily for us. We learned that chopsticks made a fine tool for “breaking” the crust, sort of like the spoon for Creme Brule. However, sadly, a few months back, the glass canister within our press, met its fate. A crack had developed over time and now, well, it was ineveitablly broken.
So, this leaves an economically stretched, young couple like ourselves with few options. Replacements cost a good $40, and while I’ve scanned the shelves of RDL, I have the sneaking suspicion that the discount version of this product may have lead to its unfortunately early death.
So, here we are, left with our mini camping press and some coffee beans sent home with us from the holidays, which we’ve kept in our freezer for months. While the coffee gets the trick done, it’s pretty inconsistent when it comes to quality andd flavor. Anything that we brew at home likely needs a good doctoring with some honey, soy and even whiskey, depending on the day.
Since, recently confessing to our shameful practice, our friends and colleagues have started to enlighten us on a few other ways of brewing coffee. The main one we keep hearing is a Chemex. It’s another glass brewing method, which has me wary, but from the sounds of things…it could mean for a lot less additives in my morning. These puppies do cost a good $40 each, but judging by its following, it may be worth it.
For today, I’m stuck sipping my way to consciousness a light brown sludge that somewhat resembles coffee. But at the very least, I’m drinking it from the finest mug money can buy.
