Tag: coffee

February 28, 2023 – A History of the World in 6 Glasses

February 28, 2023 /

Sometimes I get lazy and put up books that I have read because it is convenient not necessarily because I thought that it was interesting. This is not one of those times, I was fascinated with the concept from the title through the end.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage proposes a world view of history through six different drinks. I don’t think I am giving away too much by listing them as beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. It isn’t a long or difficult read by any means. The book is 250 pages and takes the position of reader as a novice.

If you were looking for an anti-racist approach, you will be sorely disappointed. This really takes the approach of history through the drink. For instance, I think that tea gets a little short shrift. The book is the western perspective about the tea trade and proliferation of tea through the British Empire with only a handful of pages before that. So, it is not totally ignored but what a fascinating perspective that the British Empire was fueled on tea.

I think part of the fascination of this book for me is the transition of one drink to another. This is the explanation of how one drink overtook the other. A lot of it had to do with rise and fall of empires but what a unique take to frame them through drink. I thought that it was particularly interesting about how the political decisions drove economic activity and made or broke empires.

Another wildcard for me was how a brand came to represent an empire. I don’t know if I totally buy the premise however I certainly understand how the brand represented a philosophy and the philosophy symbolized a way of thinking and a way of doing. It was that thinking and doing that was novel and therefore the empire grew as a result of a better idea.

Since the book is short and the it is all about history which of course is already known, I don’t want to spoil the remaining secrets that are within. I definitely had no problems keeping up and reading the book. I didn’t find it dry in the least. For that, I would say that if you run across a copy, it is definitely worth reading.

End Your Programming Routine: It isn’t that often that someone gives you a book that they haven’t read that actually turns out to be good. From that standpoint, I wouldn’t have taken it if I didn’t think that it looked interesting from reading the jacket. For me, the programming is looking at things the same way, over and over. This is not that. This is looking at history by aggregating events through the perspective of a drink. What a novel concept.

December 7, 2022 – Are Two Things Worth It?

December 7, 2022 /

It is not everyday that I actually learn something. Most of the non-fiction type entertainment ends up being a perspective rather than actually something new. I can’t say that I actually know everything, that would be ridiculous but I do get surprised when I come across something that is new.

As I continue to evaluate the Backwoods Home universe, I keep getting surprised on what I learn. Since this issue was dubbed the ‘potato issue’ I knew that it was going to be pretty spud heavy. My dad quit growing potatoes in the early 1980s as a result of blight in the soil. To be frank, potatoes were cheap and readily available.

I guess in my head, I thought that growing potatoes was really impossible as a result of my upbringing. But, from this issue I learned that there are many (possibly 1000’s) of different varieties, some much more resistant than others. Unless I move somewhere more rural, I doubt that I will dedicate space to grow potatoes, so this was interesting but didn’t really change my perspective.

The first thing that I really learned was that there are two types of potatoes waxy and starchy. I guess I always knew that there was such a thing as boiling potatoes but I had never considered that there were two distinct categories. From this I also learned that there are some in-betweens like Yukon Gold that share properties of both (must be why it is so popular).

Of course, I have cooked with both but to me a potato was a potato. It is 95% likely that we would have a Russet (or starchy) potato on hand rather than a waxy variety. Now that distinction is clearly made, it is much more likely that I will consider the variety for the recipe. It would seem like the in-between varieties would be the best to keep in the pantry.

The second article in this issue that really opened my eyes was about coffee. I have always prided myself on not being a coffee snob. I don’t like cream or sugar and am not big on ‘mixed’ drinks. The fanciest I usually go is Americano – black.

But, the truth is that I think a fresh cup of Folgers can be quite good. I have ran a pot of Folgers after a Starbucks French Roast and found it just as appealing. I am not a rube when it comes to coffee, but I would say that I am ignorant. Let us get a little technical.

Green coffee beans need to be roasted to be brewed. The amount of roasting determine the darkness of the bean and therefore the coffee. Green beans hold freshness for a long time (I would say years, but I don’t know for sure). It is oxidation that effects the flavor. Apparently, oxidation doesn’t occur until after roasting and is significantly increased after grinding because of the exponential increase of surface area.

Long story short, for the best coffee leave your beans green until ready to be used. Here is my ignorance kicking in. I thought roasting coffee was an exotic process requiring expensive equipment. It turns out that this can be done on a skillet over the stove or even in a hot air popcorn popper. This is where my revelation began.

I just did a quick check at it seems like 3 lbs of raw coffee can be purchased for $21 from Amazon. I have no idea whether this is a good price or not, but it definitely seems like a price that can justify trying it. I can’t speak to quality of outcome but generally speaking, it is a pretty inexpensive experiment.

End Your Programming Routine: It does seem like I am getting value out of these magazines. I am leaning more strongly each episode to subscribing. It is nice to be pleasantly surprised. I think what else makes a difference is that I can see myself doing these things. Don’t get me wrong I love Fine Woodworking, but most of those projects I will never attempt. It is mostly inspiration (and desire) when I read it. Hence, I stopped subscribing years ago (but I do read it at the library every time I go).

March 22, 2022- Making Coffees

March 22, 2022 /

There are probably some people reading this that don’t remember this skit or were not even born when this aired (Jan 1991). I was only sixteen and I barely remember it myself. It was a big thing in school to emulate the name rhyming when you ran into a friend. But, this was just a cute intro to what I am talking about today.

It is probably no secret that I like making fine food. I enjoy the complexity of Pinot Noir with food and generally like quality of food and drink. My wife thought that my next step should be coffee (and tea). For Christmas, she gave me an expensive drip coffee maker along with an electric kettle.

My relationship with coffee is a little complicated. When I was working at my previous job, I was drinking tons of it. I think it was a way to get out of my chair and avoid working. On the weekends, I could easily drink a 12 cup pot. My wife asked me to switch to tea which I now drink during the week. I only make coffee on the weekend.

To unlock the world of home coffee making, you need to be able to grind your own beans. When we buy coffee at Costco, nine out of ten choices are whole bean. At the grocery store it is more like fifty-fifty. Whole bean is preferred because oxygen degrades the bean, so when it is ground, it occurs much quicker because there is so much more surface area.

Truthfully, I am not a snob. The first pot we made with the new coffee maker was Folgers and I have to say that I liked it. This maker has an insulated carafe rather than a glass one. So, it doesn’t continue to cook after it is poured through. I think that makes a huge difference in quality.

I didn’t have a grinder (officially). The last one that bought has become a spice grinder. It was a mini blender kind of device. It was small and messy. It was a hassle to use so I gave up on grinding 20 years ago. Doing some research lately, I found that there was a whole new world (and the internet) of videos and reviews and comparisons between different models. I made my choice, the Baratza Encore.

In the reviews that I watched, this model consistently produced the most consistent grind. I have come to understand that this will yield the best results when making coffee. I have also learned that different types of coffee making require different types of grinds. So, not only are whole beans fresher, but likely the grind can be controlled for better results.

I am still playing around with it since I have only used it twice at this point. In the picture above, the grind is significantly more coarse than I have been using with pre-ground. This was supposedly the optimum setting for drip. I think it needs to be a little finer personally because the overall coffee was weak. But, I will keep working at it.

End Your Programming Routine: There are many ways to make coffee. It would seem as though the grinder is more important than the way of making it. I guess that is why the prices range from $20 – $10,000 for grinders. I will probably do a more formal review after I get some time with it in a few months.