Cuttin' the Cost o' Coffee.......

Cindy Made This Picture Of The Box Our New Percolator Came In

Cindy and I love our coffee in the morning.  It's pretty hard to fully awaken without its magical, soothing, creeping warmth in our innards.

So it has been with considerable concern that we have observed the steady escalation of its price over the past year.  Something had to be done---but we could not bear to imagine life without our mornin' joe.

We tried buying cheaper brands.  We didn't like them.  We tried mixing the coffee with inexpensive additives like chickory or espresso.  That was ok, but didn't really save us much.

Then Cindy had the idea of dropping our modern coffee maker in favor of a percolator.  With a percolator, she reasoned, we could cut down on the amount of coffee we use because the action of the percolator recycles the brewed coffee for a stronger taste.

Our "Modern" Coffee Maker Uses A Single-Pass Brewing System And Requires Twice As Much Coffee As Our New Percolator

Problem---we couldn't find a percolator we liked.  We found a lot of old ones in thrift stores, but they all had shortcomings.  We googled to see where we could get a new one, but there aren't many companies making them any more---at least, not ones we liked.

Finally, last week, Cindy's sister, Patti, found one in a hardware store that looked just right for us.  It brews 32 ounces of coffee and works on the stovetop eye of our range. 

The First Time We Brewed Coffee in Our New Percolator, We Made a Mess of the Stovetop.  Sigh.

It works great!  We have used it about six times now, and we have cut our coffee usage in half.  We use 32 ounces of water, three scoops of Folger's Dark Roast Blend and one scoop of Pilon espresso.  We have experimented and found that letting it perk about 15 minutes produces the taste and strength we like.

It does something else, too---it fills the house up with the richest aroma of coffee I ever smelled.  That's something you just don't get from a modern, single-pass coffee maker. 

We're saving money and enjoying our mornin' joe more than ever.

Another Day Has Begun.......

It happens most mornings.  I begin to stir from sleep around 5ish.  The room is dark and cool.  The bed feels gooood.  I change positions, bringing the pillows closer to me.  I thrust one between my legs.  The coolness of the bed linens feels wonderful.

I can't go back to sleep, no matter how hard I try.  My consciousness begins to talk to me.  Things I need to do that day....worries over this or that....unrelated, semi-conscious concerns.  I seem to have no control over my thoughts.

I force myself to arise.  My second stop is the coffee pot.  Soon, my thoughts and consciousness will once again be under my control.  Another day has begun.

Coffee, Java, Joe, Mud, Mocha, Espresso, Cafe....

It all started when I was a little kid. My mom and dad drank coffee in the mornings before their day started. And, they often drank it in the evenings after dinner. They took their joe in pure black form, never polluting it with cream and sugar like most other folks. They drank their "mud", as dad called it, accompanied by several cigarettes. I guess the combination of caffeine and nicotine got 'em started in a big way.

But, I digress. Even at an early age I asked why I, too, could not partake of coffee along with them. My dad's standard answer to this query was always "It'll stunt your growth". He also utilized this same response when I asked about cigarettes and beer. But, I digress again.

So I muddied (pun intended) through life without coffee until I was sent packing to college. There, at dear old Furman University, I was initiated into manhood on my first trip to the dining hall for breakfast.

Full of trepidation and uncertainty over the prospects of my classes, I entered the dining hall early on my first day of studies. The beckoning appeal of brewing coffee was strong. I got my first mug of the stuff and sat down with my bacon and eggs. I washed the protein down with the java, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Over the years I have always taken my mud pure. Let others screw around with sugar and honey and whipped cream and God knows what all---I'm a man and I drink like one.

I went through about a 20 year period in my life when I chain-drank the stuff---all day long---until I came home from work at the end of the day wired higher than a high-tension line.

I finally settled into my current habit of about two mugs in the morning and that's it for the day.

In Germany a few years ago, I observed the European method of downing the stuff and I adopted it as my own...strong, baby, and black. I love the way they make their coffee---the strong smell and the strong flavor of the roasted bean. That's the way, uh huh uh huh I like it now.

Americans in general have lots to learn about coffee. Most coffee made in homes in this country has no flavor. It is merely black, hot water. I can't stand to look at it, much less drink it.

Went to Starbucks the other day --- haven't been there in a couple of years --- and I saw a long line of folks waiting to order. Most of them ordered some kind of a latte or other bastardized version of the good drink. I suppose this is considered an indulgence worth $4.00 a pop, but I call it a waste of perfectly good caffeine. Hells bells, why don't they just go down to Baskin Robbins and get what they really want---an ice cream sundae?

I notice there are lots and lots of different kinds of legitimate coffees to choose from. I counted about fifty of them at our local import market. When I go to The Corner Bakery for my morning mud, I always order the "Europa Blend". It is advertised as "Rich & Sophisticated". Yep, thass me!