It's been awhile since I blogged, so some quick thoughts before my subject for the day:
1. Can someone please remind the Republican Party they lost the election? Obama has a mandate and is actually trying to work with you, the more you fight the worse you look. McCain even had the gall to propose his own stimulus plan. John, I know you're old, but did you forget so soon that you lost, and lost BIG? And tax cuts? Really? How do you even say this bullshit with a straight face?
2. A-rod lied, the Yanks died. Seriously, I don't really care much about this story but since I am a Yankees fan, I thought I should comment briefly. I've been listening to Joe Torre's new book via Audible lately, and am not far in, but am being reminded of why the Yanks were such a magical team from '96-2001. The big reason? Everyone played to win and didn't give a damn about individual stats. No one on those teams was ever a huge offensive star, they won because they played the right way. I hated the A-Rod trade from day dot. I loved Soriano and hated that we gave him up. No matter what you think about A-Rod, this steroids thing, along with Giambi's steroids probelms, is something of further a validation of the 96-01 teams--until Jeter admits using steroids that is. (I'm sure he didn't but, Jesus is anyone safe anymore?)
3. The NBA - its FAAAANTASTIC. Seriously. I am a huge fan of the NBA and grew up on Bird, Magic, and of course MJ. It took a long time for the game to recover from losing MJ, but I think we can finally say things are back on track. With five legitimate title contenders (four if Jameer Nelson's injury torpedoes the Magic season) - the game is back to a terrific excitement level. If you're not watching, you best start.
4. Got myself a Wii, and its is awesome, even if my Wii Fit Age is like 82.
Now on to the subject at hand.
Anyone who knows me at all knows I love coffee. I've been repeatedly called a coffee snob by Janessa, my friends, and just about everyone in my life. That's ok with me, in fact I kind of like it.
The truth is though, I wasn't really a coffee snob. At least not a serious one. Fortunately, that's changing.
A few years ago, a friend at work introduced me to three key ideas which awakened a love affair with coffee. First, he explained the importance of fresh grinding beans for each pot, probably still the #1 most important factor in obtaining quality coffee. Second, he introduced me to the French Press, or Plunger Pot, which I've used to this day to produce thicker coffee with more body and character. Third, he introduced me to Peets Coffee, a wonderful company from Berkeley that is credited as the "Godfather" of the Specialty Coffee Movement.
Peets is famous for extremely dark roasts of coffee. I soon discovered that I loved their coffee and became a "Peetnik" which meant I had a recurring order. All that I ordered were their French and Italian Roasts, pretty much every two weeks for the past few years. The coffee was always sent fresh from the roaster and since I ground it fresh and prepared it well the cup quality was always outstanding. I was so happy with this coffee that I stopped giving coffee much thought other than getting a quality burr grinder and a stainless steel french press (both of which are HIGHLY recommended!).
All this until, ironically, I happened to be at a Peets up in Berkeley in December. We were visiting the Bay Area to see Janessa's family for Christmas and spent some time up there visiting friends. We happened upon a Peet's coffee tasting on the street. Three french presses, three varieties of coffee and a whole new experience. I was entranced by the Major Dickasen's Blend, and ordered it for my next recurring order. It was fantastic. This got me thinking, what else was out there? My next order was a limited edition roast of Sumatra Blue Batak.
This was sublime coffee. I was blown away. The texture of this coffee was thick like the others, but the body was so much more complex. I could literally feel my tongue encased in the coffee, experienced the multiple sensations that the brew produced on my palate, and had a bit of an epiphany.
I had no idea just how sophisticated, subtle and savory coffee could be. What had I been missing by limiting myself to a "roast" and not exploring specialty beans and other roasts? As it turns out, a hell of a lot. I bought two wonderful books on Coffee from Amazon: The Joy of Coffee by Corby Kummer, and Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying by Kenneth Davids. From these books I learned fascinating things about the history of the coffee bean, about all stages of the coffee process from growing to roasting, about the many varieties of coffee worldwide and about the qualities that typified certain regions.
Intrigued, I made a beeline to Terrior Coffees, a company run by George Howell, the owner and operator of Coffee Connection, a sort of East-Coast Peet's, who was extensively profiled in The Joy of Coffee. Howell was personal friends with the owner of a Costa Rican coffee estate called "La Minita" reputed to be one of the world's best coffees. I ordered 12 ounces of that coffee and paid as much for second day shipping as for the coffee itself (the better to be closer to roast date as possible!) - but it was worth it.
Unlike Peets, the roast was much more mild. The beans were smaller and were visibly different than the Peets beans I'd seen. The coffee itself was to date the best coffee I have ever had. Pure, light, sparkling but with body, an incredibly well-balanced drink that I cannot recommend enough to anyone who loves coffee.
Suffice it to say, I am presently in something of a "tasting tour," ordering coffees from all the world's major regions that are highly rated to establish a baseline for my palate. Yesterday I ordered Kona Coffee from Hawaii, from a company called Hula Daddy for a premium ($60 a pound!), and I'm targeting lots of other coffees for the months ahead.
I did receive one more order from Peets recently - a hugely expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain ($40 for a half pound). It is an incredible cup of coffee, but I was put off for the first few cups. The reason, I suspect, is the roast. Having never experienced the benefits of a quality roast other than Peets I did not know what I was missing. I finally understood some peoples' reactions to my coffee preferences. That said, after a mild adjustment period, it was back to tasting wonderful, and I am sure I will continue to order from Peets, though not on a Peetnik Recurring basis.
All of this has led me down some interesting paths. Obsessed with the purity of coffee fresh out of the roaster (the taste difference is astonishing) - I am shopping around for home roasters, and am planning on trying to roast some green coffee of my own soon. Even if I don't do it often, I feel that seeing the process will be fascinating and that I will learn a lot from it, so I'm excited.
So that's the first part of the title. What about the second part? The Joy of Inconvenience?
Simply put, the taste difference between freshly roasted, freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee from quality beans and the vast majority of coffee consumed in this country is almost immeasurable. Despite this fact, nearly everyone I talk to who enjoys coffee insists that grinding beans before brewing or using a french press is too time consuming to be worthwhile.
To be clear - I understand their perspective. I know that some people really are too busy to regularly go through the ritual I do prior to enjoying my morning coffee. Nevertheless, I feel confident that if more people took the time to find out what they are missing, they would somehow find time to get it done. I guess that's where the "snob" thing happens. The simple truth is, once you taste a cup of real coffee, you can't go back to the swill served in most establishments in this country, its really not an option, if the quality matters to you.
In any event, I strongly believe that my "lengthy" coffee ritual (start to finish maybe 7 minutes, tops, with another 3-5 to clean the pot) is well worth it because, as I have said, the flavor and character of the coffee is fundmentally superior to other methods. It's not even close. Another benefit of the ritual is that it makes the coffee drinking feel more important to my day, it helps me to appreciate the coffee and gives me a sense of order that I welcome.
Here's my main point. Things are too easy in this Country. Modern conveniences are amazing and I am by no means a luddite. Starbucks sets a floor for coffee quality, that while low compared to my standards, is still high compared to much of the country. The problem isn't the conveniences, its our attitude towards these conveniences. Things being easy means we don't have to think about them, they just are the way they are. There is a fundamental disconnect between process and product that benefits consumerism but hurts our critical thinking skills.
As long as we accept the way things are as right, we have neither the will nor momentum to make positive change, both in the world and in our individual lives. That deadening of our minds is certainly the intent of advertising and mass consumer culture, and while it is fantastic for business I fear that it is awful for democracy. Just because something is easy, doesn't mean it is right. Conversely, just because something is hard, doesn't mean it is right. The trick is to look at things critically and determine what's best for you. My contention is that people generally just accept what's easy for them to accept because they're lazy, whether it be bad coffee, beef (how many people who eat beef would do so if they had to kill every cow themselves? how many if they knew what was actually involved in the fucked-up beef industry, the torture and mistreatment of animals and intense contribution to climate change?), bad entertainment and shitty politics.
People are willfully ignorant, and their ignorance costs them their ability to enjoy the pleasures of life on a daily basis. It's sad. So, as a very small step in working out this problem I propose the joy of inconvenience: try the long way of doing something now and again, it might be better, it might not, but you'll never know until you investigate for yourself. Who knows, you may discover a whole new world of pleasure and sophistication you didn't even know existed, like I did. Or, at the very least, you will wake your mind up from its constant slumber for just a few minutes, which is better than nothing.
--Rob
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