Caffeine

[teheteha]

A series of events has occurred that has recently gotten me drinking more coffee than I usually do. And now I find myself needing a bit of a caffeine fix ... I've been trying to avoid this because fancy coffee drinks are expensive and fattening. Right now I'm settling for a Coke Zero, though. Agh. Anyway, I don't know if I'm "addicted" yet, but

Comments

[roobensandwich]

if you want the best coffee... grind your own. If you're looking to splurge, i suggest a burr-mill grinder, it grinds the beans evenly (meaning everything brews at the same time), rather than those blade-type grinders.

If you want to be even more pretentious, get yourself a french press (about $20). The grinds brew loosely which allow for more room for the flavor to fully develop. Although it's a little more prep work, you avoid the scaling which you can get using a conventional drip coffeemaker. But, the coffee doesn't always come out as hot...

then again, if you're only interested in making fresh coffee every morning, a simple drip coffee maker will do. but if you do, you have to remember to descale your coffee maker every once in a while. Tap water has minerals that leave deposits in the coffee maker (which changes the taste of the coffee), so you have to get rid of them every once in a while. Also, gold coffee filters (again, a little more work) preserve the flavor of the coffee a bit more than paper filters because they don't absorb as much liquid from the coffee. This means that certain things... like oils contained in the coffee are imparted into the coffee, rather than being kept in the paper filter..... in turn, meaning more flavor.

those are my two cents. yes, i'm a nerd. :P

[teheteha]

Wow, I didn't know you knew so much about coffee (or anything ... ha ha). I will now have to consider a french press over a traditional coffee maker. I don't know how they work tho. And what does "descale" mean?

Also ... My Vegas trip fell thru (was going w/ Jeanine and now she is sick), so I'm going to Disneyland w/ my mom. Weird, huh? Anyway, we're leaving Livermore sometime btwn 12-1 p.m. Thursday and leaving Anaheim midday Saturday. Gimme a call if you have any time to meet up ... especially for, like, dinner Thursday night or something. If not, it's OK-doe-kay.

[roobensandwich]

"descale" means to get rid of mineral deposits that have built up on the insides of your coffee maker... "Tap water has minerals that leave deposits in the coffee maker (which changes the taste of the coffee), so you have to get rid of them every once in a while." Although... you could always use distilled water and you won't suffer the mineral deposits (just like with an iron).

I agree w/ dan that the french press is cheaper and smaller, but an automatic drip coffee maker is easier to use... you put the water in, push a button, and when the coffee comes out, you just throw out the filter. The coffee tastes better in a french press, but you need to prep everything if you want to maintain the temperature of the coffee.... and, since there's no filter, you have to scoop out whatever grinds are left at the bottom. But... seeing as I do own a french press, I can definitely say that you have much more control in terms of brewing and taste...

As for my weekend... around what time are you leaving on Saturday and where are you staying? Maybe Saturday for breakfast or early lunch? ;) it seems I'm pretty busy these days... but let me know your schedule and we'll set something up.

[teheteha]

OK, we'll just see how the day's going. My guess is we'll probably try to get up early and go into the park and then be hitting the road early afternoon. it might be difficult to coordinate a meeting ... but I'll let you know if anything changes. I guess Jesse and I will just have to visit you in LA sometime! It's been a while since we did the whole LA thing.

[kidconcept]

naw, una french press es mas facíl. pon la agua y la cafe, empuje, llava con agua. quien quiere un mas electrodoméstico, y además puedes usar una french press para té.