I must have my COFFEE
Well, my world's continued to be rather white lately, and very pleasantly unhurried and uninteresting (hense the lack of posts). However, last night, my mom, my sister, and I went to a "Coffee Class" at our local coffee shop (the same one we go to for our writers' group).
It was really neat. The owner (our neighbor) showed us a video all about how coffee is grown, harvested, and roasted--I didn't realize quite how much work it is! Since good coffee has to be grown at high elevation--which usually equals uneven terrain--they can't even use machines to harvest it. The weather is also hot all year-round in the places where coffee is grown, so, even on the same tree, the berries ripen at different times. That being the case, it has to be done manually in order to differentiate... Oye, but it looks like mundane work (I don't think I'll ever throw the dregs away again :).
She also talked some about the history of coffee. As legend has it, it was first discovered in Ethiopia, when a shepherd noticed how hyper his sheep got after eating the "berries" off a certain (to him, unknown) bush. (LOL, sheep on a caffeine-high--that is something I wish I could see.) Eventually, the shepherd had to try the this out for himself, of course...
This part, on a flyer she handed out, amused me too: "Coffee was believed by some Christians to be the devil's drink. Pope Vincent III heard this and decided to taste it before he banished it. He enjoyed it so much he baptized it, saying 'coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.' " *g*
Heh, and how about this one: " [In 1732] Johann Sebastian Bach composes his Kaffee-Kantate... The cantata includes the aria, 'Ah! How sweet coffee taste! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far then muscatel wine! I must have my coffee.' " *bg* Now we know Bach's secret.
We also discussed the different kinds of coffee, and specialty coffee versus generic. Interestingly enough, Espresso, despite it's reputation, likely has less caffeine than your average cup of coffee. She said, if you're looking for a caffeine boost, your best bet is probably Folgers, believe it or not... (Yay for affordable caffeine!)
At the end, we also got to watch them make some different kinds of coffee drinks with the professional machines, and taste test them. I hadn't tried a straight Espresso before, so I did then, and...woah. *puckers* I can see why people would think there's a lot of caffeine in one of those. That is seriously strong stuff--and talk about an aftertaste. I think I'll stick to my black coffee and occasional latte. :)
That was a yummy, yummy evening, though I did end up having to take Tylenol PM in order to get to sleep, hehe... It didn't help, either, that we found out late last night that one of our cats was loose, and Cami and I had to venture the freezing cold to lure her back in. :P (We probably should have just left her out there to experience a freezing-cold Minnesota night--that'd teach her.) But...it's good to have an excuse to drink lots 'n lots of coffee today--bring on the Folgers! :D
This'll probably be a perfect time to be slightly sleep-deprived, and totally caffeinated, since my Muse isn't being quite so flighty of late. *hugs Muse* I guess it likes coffee too... *pours a Muse-sized cup*
Anyways, I'm fully wound-up, and off to my busy Wednesday. Ta! :)
It was really neat. The owner (our neighbor) showed us a video all about how coffee is grown, harvested, and roasted--I didn't realize quite how much work it is! Since good coffee has to be grown at high elevation--which usually equals uneven terrain--they can't even use machines to harvest it. The weather is also hot all year-round in the places where coffee is grown, so, even on the same tree, the berries ripen at different times. That being the case, it has to be done manually in order to differentiate... Oye, but it looks like mundane work (I don't think I'll ever throw the dregs away again :).
She also talked some about the history of coffee. As legend has it, it was first discovered in Ethiopia, when a shepherd noticed how hyper his sheep got after eating the "berries" off a certain (to him, unknown) bush. (LOL, sheep on a caffeine-high--that is something I wish I could see.) Eventually, the shepherd had to try the this out for himself, of course...
This part, on a flyer she handed out, amused me too: "Coffee was believed by some Christians to be the devil's drink. Pope Vincent III heard this and decided to taste it before he banished it. He enjoyed it so much he baptized it, saying 'coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.' " *g*
Heh, and how about this one: " [In 1732] Johann Sebastian Bach composes his Kaffee-Kantate... The cantata includes the aria, 'Ah! How sweet coffee taste! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far then muscatel wine! I must have my coffee.' " *bg* Now we know Bach's secret.
We also discussed the different kinds of coffee, and specialty coffee versus generic. Interestingly enough, Espresso, despite it's reputation, likely has less caffeine than your average cup of coffee. She said, if you're looking for a caffeine boost, your best bet is probably Folgers, believe it or not... (Yay for affordable caffeine!)
At the end, we also got to watch them make some different kinds of coffee drinks with the professional machines, and taste test them. I hadn't tried a straight Espresso before, so I did then, and...woah. *puckers* I can see why people would think there's a lot of caffeine in one of those. That is seriously strong stuff--and talk about an aftertaste. I think I'll stick to my black coffee and occasional latte. :)
That was a yummy, yummy evening, though I did end up having to take Tylenol PM in order to get to sleep, hehe... It didn't help, either, that we found out late last night that one of our cats was loose, and Cami and I had to venture the freezing cold to lure her back in. :P (We probably should have just left her out there to experience a freezing-cold Minnesota night--that'd teach her.) But...it's good to have an excuse to drink lots 'n lots of coffee today--bring on the Folgers! :D
This'll probably be a perfect time to be slightly sleep-deprived, and totally caffeinated, since my Muse isn't being quite so flighty of late. *hugs Muse* I guess it likes coffee too... *pours a Muse-sized cup*
Anyways, I'm fully wound-up, and off to my busy Wednesday. Ta! :)