Sunday, September 03, 2006

Coffee




I love coffee. Not in a coffee press, slow-roasted, organic coffee bean sort of way, although I appreciate all of those things. No, I love coffee in such a way that is more about the caffeine content than the flavor. Don’t get me wrong; I won’t tolerate bad coffee. Instant coffee is useless (unless using it for baking) and most cheap brands earn a nose crinkle from me on a taste test.


I was raised using a coffee press. My mom maintained the coffee was better. I think she was right, but I’m not that much of a coffee connoisseur. I don’t use one; it’s too much work for me. I use a cheap-o, regular automatic, drip coffee maker. Why? I can set a timer. I wake up in the morning to that sweet, pungent smell of freshly brewed coffee and in those wee hours of the dawn that smell, coupled with the quiet of the house before it awakens, is sheer heaven on earth.

All coffee lovers need this, a milk frother.





Adding about a third to a half of a cup of foamy milk, after it’s been heated in the microwave, is as close to Starbucks as you’ll get at home. The milk ends up quite stiff and frothy and it mixes with the coffee so perfectly that the first sip is always a reminder of how perfect, or close to perfect, an excellent cup of coffee can taste.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you ever tried cold-brew coffee? I like it as much or better than French-press, and it's even more convenient than the drip coffeemaker.

Anonymous said...

mmmmmmmmm.

I hadn't been having morning coffee until this summer, while my mom was here making it every morning.

I forgot about the frother. I'd used one until it broke in the mic one day... I think I have a new thing on my wishlist!

And have you read the latest about the health benefits of coffee?!? Phew. I knew they'd come up with something!

Anonymous said...

I am not telling you anything that you don't already know - I LOVE COFFEE, the stronger the better and it has to be with frothy milk. . . there is nothing better and I cannot function until I have at least two cups in the A.M.

Frothers are FABULOUS!! FAB CHAOS, you have got to get a new one, but for some strange reason they are hard to find. The last two frothers I purchased were from Marshall's. Check them out when you (or husband or friend or mother) look for a new one. I have a spare just in case I break mine. Life without a frother (and COFFEE) would be unacceptable!

Coffee made in a French press is great coffee, and when I am alone in the afternoon sometimes I make it that way, but the drip coffee maker in our house is a must in the morning (and when supermom or supermom's sister) come for a visit.

sixty-five said...

I introduced your mom to the French press on that trip we all took together to the Outer Banks. In fact mine BROKE on the way home and I had to replace it. She gave me one of those frothers for Christmas a few years ago, and I've never used it because I drink my coffee black. But now I'm tempted to fool around with it...