"Tomorrow is promised to no man."
-My paternal grandfather
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I use a manual 'Spong' vintage grinder (pictured) and a stove top 1 cup Mocca Pot. I like the fact the grinder just uses me as energy; and that it's vintage. I wake the family up with it every morning grinding my beans; 13 - 15 turns of the handle and it's enough for a cup.
I much prefer the Mocca pot over a French press (plunger), the taste difference with the same beans is remarkable.
I always drink from a vintage French coffee bowl; a coffee bowl is so nice...
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Ah so....Grasshopper. But did the sun not yet again rise and give you another day to live? And what shall you make of this day? For today shall becomes tomorrow's past and the past shall beget your future. Choose wisely, for your future, if any, will depend on it. So sayeth the WhiteLion.
Randy
The sun didn't "rise" over Earth any more than I won the Kentucky Derby. Are you one of those geocentric flat-earthers? :rofl2:
Tomorrow (11-19-2012) is still not promised to anyone.
And don't call me grasshopper. And if you can't resist the impulse to do so, SMILE when you say that!
Seriously - I have tried so many different kinds of brewers lol... I got excited about each and every one of them, but in the end... it's always me and my press. I don't grind my own beans anymore. I probably should...
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Earcutter !.........Don't be alarmed,but.....you have a wee blonde elves head sitting atop your French Press !?
Grasshopper (";"),
The Sun rose, the Sun set, another day has become our past. I was not promised today but I was granted it anyways. I expect no promises and would not trust them if they were made. But then, that is the joy of life. We never know when our allotted time will end so we better use the time we are given while we can. The victor is not he lives the longest but he who lives the best. So sayeth the WhiteLion.
Randy
P.S. :)
I almost forgot about coffee "bowls" which I encountered when back-packing through Europe many years ago. I don't recall ever seeing a "regular" coffee cup such as we use here in America. Either it was the tiny espresso shot cups which people stood in line to purchase for $2.00 a pop (about $7.50 in today's currency) or a medium size soup bowl as we may describe it here in the U.S.. Wow, talk about a blast from the past!
Randy
Yeah, normally I use my vintage French bowl, but sometimes I embrace my Germanic heritage rather than my French and English and reach for a little tiny German coffee cup (which is actually made in England). Of course, as we all know, the English don't drink coffee, only tea...hence the tea thread...This Sunday I'm going to take cucumber sandwiches with my tea on the front lawn. I also need a broadsheet newspaper (The Times would be nice, or 'Punch' magazine) a white towelling hat, sandals (with socks) a white singlet, big baggy shorts and large amounts of arrogance and pomp.
How on earth am I going to divide my time between SOTD, The Tea Thread and here AND keep up my duties of perplexing (I mean welcoming) newbies?
DAMN you interesting thread posters, damn you to hell and back!
Hello Carl..this is hell er..the tea thread calling. Love the coffe bowl mate.;)
Ta. Actually I've been missing the tea thread, I need to make time...
Yer welcome anytime of course....but I really do like the coffee bowl all teasing aside. I knew about coffee bowls and it's nice to see someone else does as well. Just an FYI though...remember,before Britain was a tea Nation,Coffee was quite popular and there were many coffee houses in Merry old London way back in the day.
I'lltellyawadI'lldo. I'll give you the French coffee bowl's brother, they're a pair. I've been keeping the other for 'companion' coffee drinking, but as I have a one cup mocca pot and I really only have coffee in the morning the other never gets used. It's a little stained on the inside; but to you I make of it on this day a gift. And one day, in maybe about, oh, maybe three weeks from now? we'll share a coffee over the net in a 'companion' coffee drinking session; each drinking from a 'brother' cup, how cool would THAT be?!?
I appreciate your thread on tea and your conversation, so this is my may of showing my appreciation, please.
I'll tell you something, over the last few weeks I have got to know a man from Lebanon. His English language skills are poor, which makes him hard to understand, but I love some of the cultural niceties that are starting to shine through. Even though I have a really slow life, by many accounts, I feel that I'm STILL living life too fast...
...Am I supposed to be taking about coffee?
Little quiet here on the coffee front. I tried for a while to get fresh local beans (was repeatedly disappointed) and finally settled on a mail-order place. He roasts fresh for each order so no risk of stale coffee.
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe #1 Wote Konga, full of blueberry goodness. Not from added flavoring, just straight beans at the perfect roast.
I do 95% of my brewing in an aeropress.
Yirg is my go-to coffee, be it espresso, pour-over, press, or some geek method. Right on with the blueberry, and I usually get some lemongrass out of espresso/pour-over and some deeper vegetable notes from the presses. It's a great coffee if you're looking for something a bit different. You can't really go wrong with Sidamo either, it's usually similar :D Doma has a wonderful organic Sidamo lot roasting right now that's probably worth the shipping cost.
Thanks for reviving the thread too!
I've not read the rest of the posts as this caught my attention. I feel a little old fashioned compared to some of my freinds/colleagues.
I like to write with a founain pen, I was taught cursive writing at school, as well as decent coffee and a good shave (my wife calls the latter MAN PAMPERING),
It runs to the use of tools too. I'd rahter use my inherited wood planes over an electic modern plane as you get more of a feel for what you're doing.
I think what leads me to these things are the sense of satisfaction and the need to slow down a little in a hectic modern world. They worked fine for 10's if not 1000's years before advertising and convenience, why would they stop working now.
I also have a set of 1960's wilson augusta golf blades. I'm often asked at the course why I don't go for cutting edge technlogy and weight distribution etc. My answer is always the same 'THESE WERE CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY AND MANY A PROFESSIONAL TOURNAMENT WON WITH THEM. BESIDES I JUST BEAT YOU BY 5 STROKES'
For coffee I get Whittards of Chelsea Guatamala Elephant. A cup of that first thing is as good as a slap in the face to get you going :D
Sounds like something like this would fit right in at your home.
Zassenhaus*Manual Coffee Grinder
http://i.imgur.com/44s9U.jpg
I'm always tempted, but I don't have the space for a manual and electric grinder. I've been using fountain pens exclusively, but sadly did not learn proper cursive. It's not bad, just not very good.
Right along with one of these:
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Woah, that looks like it belongs in high school chemistry class or in a glass display with a bunch of other pipes and bongs! Maybe someone could put a hooka hose on the top to huff the percolation fumes while waiting for the brew? I've read that smelling fresh brewed coffee reduces the risks of cancer, but I don't recall where.
It certainly does have an interesting appearance, especially sitting in my dorm :D
They were popular late 1800's-1950's.
Interesting thought on the coffee aroma, I hope that's true... the air in my room is fairly saturated with fresh brewed coffee scent. I wonder what the response to a "coffee hookah" would be :hmmm:
This is awesome, I think I just found where all the people on the internet who are like me are. I mostly drink single origin espresso from my la pavoni manual espresso machine, but I like to play around with other brewing methods and latte art. On a good day I can do a swan, but it has to be a very good day. I have a vacuum pot, french press and turkish ibrik as well and a rocky and an old style hand grinder. I'm not so keen on electric filter machines, but I'm thinking about adding a hario pour over thing to my collection. Might get an aeropress first though. Hooray for coffee!
I've got the Hario Grinder.
Would love to add more of their products to my kitchen.
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I've done electric drip and French press with it. Really easy to set the grind.
It is great for fresh grind, and isn't all that loud, at home. Might be a bit loud in an office environment, and isn't something I'd leave in the community kitchen area if you want the ceramic teeth to last.
I bet it's just about twice as loud as a pepper grinder.
I have a rancilio rocky. It's not the best grinder ever but for the price very decent. My only complaint is that it's really clumpy when you grind for espresso. I keep thinking about upgrading to something stepless, but usually i find I can adjust the tamp and ythe pressure on the lever enough to compensate for not having a completely accurate grind size. I enjoy the process of finding the right balance too, so it suits me quite well. I had a nice ethiopian espresso from tim wendelboe recently and found the flavour dominated by either jasmine or bergamot depending which setting I had on the grinder. Good times. What machine do you use?
I've got a Silvia with a PID, certainly not as classy as yours. I'd love to try out a lever machine sometime.
That's a nice sounding Ethiopia as well! I'm putting an order for some Sidama/Sidamo next week and can't wait to give it a try :D Last year's lot was memorable, so I hope this year is the same.
I have always loved the smell of coffee but it just tasted like bitter water to me. Until I had occasion to visit a coffee plantation on the island of Kuaia last year. Suddenly, coffee had TASTE. Since then I have been researching and learning.
My current set up includes a vintage hand grinder I picked up at a local antique store, a French press and the discovery of a local roaster.
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Most of his coffee is from El Salvador and other Central American countries. He also has been getting some pretty good Sumarian coffee lately.
www.headlandcoffeeroaster.com
Just ordered my first roaster. An SR500 that I hope gets here pretty quick.
Thanked for providing me yet another outlet for another passion!
Any of you other coffee geeks and home roasters doing what I'm doing at the moment - roasting like mad to get some gifts ready? :)
Man, does my place ever smell great tonight!
How's this for a flea market find today ..... A Silex siphon coffee maker! All parts are there including a glass filter.
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OMG i am super jealous.
Have a cup for me!
Nice one! In honour of your find, I shall make use of my siphon tomorrow morning. :)
Enjoy it! Those things can make a wicked cup of coffee.