Confessions of a Would-be Gourmand and Jetsetter

I’d like to take a minute – just sit right there – and tell you how… much I love coffee.

First, let me tell you about my home set-up. As an avid (and somewhat crazed) coffee drinker, I have multiple options available to me. I buy only whole-bean coffee, and while I have yet to go the route of roasting my own I do tend to buy high-quality pre-roasted beans. Of course, my vendor of choice is Central Market, and for the past month or so, I’ve been buying Nicaraguan Organic Medium Roast. It’s really good, a bit with a tart undertone and a bit of a mineral tang. With cream and sweetener it has a very warm, drinkable flavor profile.

So I start with the whole beans, and dump them in to my cuisinart burr grinder (though I think the next step is a Zassenhaus crank-driven conical burr grinder, I have yet to get to that level of obsession – though I will) and grind enough for a few days worth of coffee if it is for the week, or enough for a couple of cups of coffee if it is the weekend.

For weekdays, I use my standard Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker, on a timer, and prep it the night before. For the weekend, I either use my espresso machine or my french press, depending on my mood.

On the weekdays, my coffee is good. It is certainly better than anything I can buy on my way to work. On the weekend, my coffee is amazing. It is the type of coffee that makes me sit down, watch the news, and actually enjoy consuming this hot beverage that I created.

As of today, I’ve been thinking about Turkish coffee. I’m often drawn to things that work better because one is forced to take one’s time in doing them, thus the attraction of rituals. I shave with a classic safety razor, which requires a bit more care and attention than the latest 8 bladed monstrosity from Schick, or whomever.

Turkish coffee requires more effort, and perhaps a bit more precision, than even getting ready for press-style coffee or espresso does. According to what I’ve read, it has to be exceptionally finely ground. It’s added to a pot of water with the appropriate amount of sugar to taste, is boiled, slightly cooled, then brought to a second boil, slightly cooled, brought to a third boil, slightly cooled, and then served.

I must admit that I am curious, but as both former Lebanese and Turkish co-workers attest, and wikipedia states as well, the coffee culture of the near-east is amazingly well developed, and culture tells me a lot about a product.

So that’s how much I love coffee; at home I can grind it myself, and looking at better ways of grinding it, then I can prepare it at least three different ways, with a fourth to come soon, I hope. I wonder, when I grow up, if I don’t end up as a brewer, vintner, restaurant owner, or travel writer, I could become a coffee taster and buyer…