a new brew

I would begin this post with the standard, "Hey, it's been a while, sorry I haven't blogged for so long....". However, it seems to be a repetitive introduction in my posts as of late, so I'm going to skip it altogether.

This morning I'm hankering for some freshly brewed Stumptown coffee. Now, for a month solid I've been more than content with my little canister of Trader Joe's coffee (Harmony Bay Decaf Hazelnut). But on Friday I sampled some fresh Stumptown at New Seasons, and it was so good I went back this morning after driving Job to work, only to see that the store doesn't open until 8:00 am. Darn. Nothing's open in the early morning except Starbucks. And I'm starting to get tired of Starbucks being my only immediate option. Oh, what a demanding metropolitan I am...

So, not wanting to linger for 40 minutes with my baby just so I could be the first crazed customer of the day, I drove home. And I remembered Aaron's most recent comment to me, which simply said, "Please post." Or vice versa. Either way, it was a polite reminder to get in touch with my blog self. So here I am! I'm glad to be here, even though I would rather be here, sipping a cup of Stumptown.

Actually, my pre-ground Trader Joe's coffee taught me a huge lesson in coffee-making. For some reason I could NEVER EVER make good joe. Ever. (Maybe you remember some previous blogging rants about this malady of mine?) Not with a French press, not with a coffee maker. I tried cleaning my coffeemaker a special way. I tried purified water. I attempted to disguise the grossness of my coffee with sugar and creamer. To no avail. I was convinced that I was hopeless. Then I bought this little cutie with the remnants of our wedding giftcard money. And I bought said coffee, which was the first pre-ground java I bought in 2 or 3 years. The results? Nearly perfect! I was thrilled.

Turns out, all this time I was buying whole bean and attempting to grind it myself. Well, the instructions manual on my new coffee maker explained that if you grind the beans too finely, it results in bitter coffee. Whamo! There it was! That was my problem. I had been making the bitterest coffee for years on end, and I was so frustrated.

So now I'm ready to try my hand at grinding once more. Now I know that a powder-like consistency is NOT DESIRABLE. Here's hoping for many happy mugs of java to come.

Oh and speaking of mugs... Since I do indulge in Starbucks (for lack of better local options here in super-duper-suburbia), the consumer in me snatched up a new coffee mug, which was on clearance. It's a big ceramic mug with a stainless steel bottom (wish I had one of those) and a LID! Perfect! Now I can drink from a mug without having to worry about spilling hot liquid on Froggie. Very useful.

Well since Froggie is sleeping still, I figure I should get a few winks in myself before we start our day. I hope you all are doing well! To my Orthodox brethren, I hope you're enjoying and participating in the Dormition fast! What a blessing.