Coffee Love

Is this considered hoarding?

That's 8 weeks of Coffee right there. Think it's enough? 

I've been ordering my coffee with a bunch of "Mama Friends" (Ring of Fire's a big hit with this crowd, I think the name has something to do with it).  We place an order every month, but the organizing Mama is having a baby soon, so the co-op is going on a brief hiatus.  I never seem to order enough-even for just one month, so I wanted to be absolutely sure that I would last until her "baby-moon" concluded.  I put in a big order. Twelve pounds big.  I'm starting to think I may have over bought. 

We get the coffee from Dean's Beans.  It really is good coffee.  I also like that it's 100% organic and fair trade. Ever since Tom had cancer, I've been trying to be more careful about what type of pesticide exposure we get.  Sure, we were pretty concerned even before the cancer, but we are more so now. Especially with things that we consume a lot of.

We like good coffee, and end up paying a bit for it anyway- so going organic was not that big of a cost increase.  In fact, we are getting a great deal by ordering in a big group and are paying less.  Even if you order directly, on your own, it's less than ordering Starbucks from their website.  A pound of coffee at Dean's is $8.95 lb, but Starbucks cheapest pound (per their website) is $11.95- and that's not even organic. 

I am pretty sensitive to caffeine. If I have any after, say 12 noon, I won't sleep that night.  This is a problem since I love to drink coffee all day long.  The answer is obviously decaf, but I'm particular about that.  I only drink Swiss Water decaf coffee, which is the kind Dean's has.   At this point, you are probably wondering  "What's that" and "Who Cares".

Two reasons I only drink decaf if it's Swiss Process.

1) 99.9 % of caffeine is removed

2) Scary chemicals are used with other processes

The company that developed the process explains it pretty well:

"Decaffeinated coffee has come a long way since its invention in 1903. Unfortunately though, some of us are still drinking in the dark ages. You see, most decaffeination processes employ chemical solvents such as methylene chloride or ethyl acetate to strip caffeine molecules from the green coffee bean.

At Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company, we use water from the coast mountains of British Columbia to gently remove the caffeine until the coffee beans are 99.9% caffeine-free, while maintaining the bean's distinctive origin and flavor characteristics. If the decaf you’re consuming has our logo on it, you can be sure that no chemicals were used to remove the caffeine from the coffee."

I am sounding like an infomercial, so I'll move along.

Perk Up

At home, I use an electric coffee maker.  We never jumped on the whole pod thing.  We drink too much and are too picky about what coffee we drink.  We also prefer whole bean, so the pod thing just seems like a huge pain to us.

We do have a slightly fancy electric maker though.  We have one that you put whole beans in, the machine grinds them and brews the coffee. It's one of the Cuisinart Grind-n-Brew makers. 

It's got it's faults, but we are satisfied with it.

Tom makes coffee at work.  He has access to super hot water, so he bought a French Press.  He bought this one because it won't break. He says he is very happy with it. All of my friends use a french press at home, so I am thinking of getting one for the house too.

Cream or Sugar?

Tom takes his black, but I add some skim milk or almond breeze.  I used to pour in tons of those sugary, chemical creamers, but have weaned myself.  Every now and then I'll add some Stevia, but I don't need it.  Now the thought kind of turns my stomach.

Sometimes I mix my protein powder with coffee. Yum.

Coffee Heaven

I absolutely have a favorite mug. My friend Leah gave it to me three years ago and I think I use it every day.  It's big, sturdy and reminds me of her.  It got a chip in it about a year ago, but I have no plans on tossing it. 

I love how the light reflects off of my crappy 80's fake wood counter top and looks like my coffee has a halo.  Of is emitting sunshine. Both just might be true.

Solo or Sidekick? 

I'm usually alone when I drink coffee(I get up very early in the morning most days), but if there is one person that I drink it with more than anyone else, it's my friend Krista.  If you happen to be enjoying a cup of java right now, you should hop over to her blog, Thar She Sews (you know, like thar she blows, but it's sews...ha!) She is super crafty and is probably the single funniest person I know, so you are sure to find it a good read. She is celebrating her one year blogging anniversary and even mentioned me and Cook,Craft or Cardio in her most recent post!  Thanks Krista and congrats on accepting your status as a "blogger". 

Here's me (sans make up), gulping down what's left in my mug before I hit the door for work. Photo courtesy of TJ. (not great, but at least my head is in this one-unlike the first one he took).

So, tell me about what you drink.  

Coffee? Tea? 

How do you make it and how do you take it? 

Favorite mug? 

Favorite friend?