How I Like My Coffee
Black.
I’m definitely a black coffee gal.
As a rule, I use a french press or a snazzy machine (these machines are much cheaper and more available in Europe than the US. Alas!), but I’m okay with a decent drip coffee or stove-top espresso.
But then it gets complicated because in the end, I’m a total coffee SNOB. Don’t serve me any of your over-roasted Starbucks beans or utterly tasteless Tchibo. I want the “good stuff”–the earth-friendly, farmer-friendly, expertly-roasted, costs-way-too-much coffee.
::blushes::
Yeah, I enjoy coffee. And yeah, I probably spend a lot more than the average person does on getting just the right beans. (The ones currently in my grinder are a Brazilian yellow bourbon).
BUT, I will drink that vat of Waffle House coffee–no sugar or cream, thanks.
And from time to time, I’ll drink one of those over-sweetened yet delicious pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks.
At the end of the day, I love coffee–no, I need coffee–no matter the quality.
And ultimately, it’s not so different from my reading tastes. I prefer “good” books–books with a unique story and thoughtful writing. As a rule, my standards are high and my tastes are picky (or cultured, some might say ;)). The way I see it is if I’m going to spend money, I want it money well-spent.
BUT, I can enjoy a penny dreadful as much as the next guy.
And I’ll even indulge in some purple prosey fan fiction from time to time.
At the end of the day, I love books–no, I need books–no matter the story within.
What about you? How do you drink your coffee? And what about your reading tastes?
♥
October 24, 2011 @ 9:32 am
French press. Two teaspoons sugar. One tablespoon milk. (Nonfat.)
DELICIOUS.
Right now I’m rocking an unknown Colombian bean, but there’s a fab coffee shop in Nagasaki that I’ll be constantly at in a couple of weeks. I may go a little crazy.
October 24, 2011 @ 6:17 pm
Oooh, Colombian beans. NIIICE. I’m trying to decide what bean to buy next. I just tried a Kenya one, but I wasn’t so impressed…
October 24, 2011 @ 12:41 pm
Mmmm. Coffee. I’m currently sitting here waiting for my daughter to wake up so I can make the blasted coffee. I really really really need to buy a french press already. I like good, strong coffee with a splash of cream. No sugar. Sugar in coffee makes me wince. And then spit it out. 😉
My reading tastes are similar to yours. I like the good stuff, but every now and then I want something light and cliched and fun with no higher purpose.
October 24, 2011 @ 6:17 pm
HAHAHA. You and your poor coffee-making-in-the-bathroom!!
And here here to strong coffee!
October 24, 2011 @ 2:24 pm
Confession: I love nasty coffee. Gas station tar with the cheap creamer and I’m happy. Reminds me of roadtrips or something.
October 24, 2011 @ 6:18 pm
Oh Sav, I love you for being honest!! Gas station tar has it’s place too! <3
October 24, 2011 @ 3:04 pm
K, so I don’t drink coffee, but I might just get that gorgeous coffee maker you have there — I’m a sucker for chrome-y new-age appliances. 😀 (Do you seriously call it R2 D2??)
And I totally get what you’re saying with the reading tastes. Most of the time, I have my favourite genres and publishing imprints that are definitely going to be quality, but then I’ll pick up a romance just for a little fun. 🙂
October 24, 2011 @ 6:19 pm
Hey now–don’t hate on romance! Contrary to what the hateful stereotypes suggest, it takes just as much skill to write romance as any other book. 😉
And I DO call it R2-D2–or more often than not, just “R2”. 😉
October 24, 2011 @ 6:40 pm
Whoa, that was not me hating on romance. 😛 I totally believe that it takes skill to write romance. I just meant I look at it as fun, light reading.
October 24, 2011 @ 6:42 pm
Oh! My mistake, Yahong. I totally get bull-doggish about romance because people can be such haters, you know?
But you’re right: romance (or chick lit or contemporary YA) is a good genre to go to for fun, light reading. 😀
October 24, 2011 @ 4:23 pm
*Blush* I like my cream with a hint of coffee. Yeah, cafe au lait. Or something with hazelnut in it.
I’m a tea girl. I’d love to be a high-quality, loose-leaf tea snob (because it is SOOOO much better), but I can’t afford it, so I do my best with the expensive tea bags. And I drink a lot.
Or used to…now I drink water. 😛 Because I’m pregnant and limiting caffeine. And yes, I know some people say a cup a day is fine, but I figure it DOES go to the baby, and I’m not going to hand a cup of coffee to a two-year-old, so why give some to something that’s only three pounds?
But it’s hard….*weep*
October 24, 2011 @ 6:21 pm
Oh, Amity. I can’t imagine the horror of no tea or coffee with the baby. I DREAD the day I’m in your shoes–not because I don’t want a baby (I do!), but because I honestly can’t imagine my day without coffee. I’m getting heart palpitations just imagining it…
And mmmm, hazelnut….
October 24, 2011 @ 5:01 pm
I’m a french press kind of girl myself (and hellz yeah to the expensive coffee, I’m the same way), but I do like a hint of sugar and a dollop of cream. 🙂 I guess that’s how I like my books too, actually. Strong story and deep characters, but with a sweet and creamy aftertaste.
October 24, 2011 @ 6:21 pm
HA! Love the metaphor, Holly. LOVE IT. Perfect way to describe your tastes (and I gotta say, it sounds yuuuummmmy!).
October 24, 2011 @ 5:05 pm
I don’t drink coffee, like, at all. Except for when I’m at an anime convention. My boyfriend always gets a cup of coffee from whatever place we find and I always steal it and take a drink. Then I hand it back and say “Interesting”. Which is why a few weeks ago when we were discussing coffee and I said “ew” he went “How much do you want to bet that when we go to Youmacon, and I get coffee…” Of course that will happen.
But I still don’t like coffee. I’m just fascinated by it.
October 24, 2011 @ 6:22 pm
Fascinated–you’re like a scientist. 😉 I used to hate it, and then I gradually acquired a taste…which developed into a love…and then into an obsession/addiction. It’s probably a GOOD thing you don’t drink it! 😀
October 24, 2011 @ 8:12 pm
I dig the moka pot–espresso stove-top style like the everyday Italian. Sometimes with a little cream, con panna. My beans right now are from a local roaster in Bend, OR: Lone Pine Coffee, Heartwood Blend (their cafe is located on Tin Pan Alley, for serious, that’s the real street name). But my book tastes can definitely swing a bit more pedestrian, ie a blend of part Christopher Pike, part V.C. Andrews, part Dragonlance Chronicles, part Zane Grey, part Choose Your Own Adventure. Mmmm, delicious.
October 25, 2011 @ 8:02 am
You know, I have an espresso stove-top pot, and I downright FAIL every time I try to use it. You’ll have to train me, April. I really want to be *that* cosmopolitan person who can make a delicious stove-top espresso…
As for your reading tastes, you had me Dragonlance Chronicles. Awesome.
October 25, 2011 @ 3:32 am
Um, I like tea. I like the smell of coffee but I can’t drink it. I’m know. I’m odd. I do like the good stuff as you do, but sometimes an easy read is fun too.
October 25, 2011 @ 8:04 am
Ah, the smell of coffee! I was the same as you for most of my life. My English teacher in 5th grade used to make coffee in her room everyday, and the smell–oh the smell! I loved it! Imagine my surprise when I actually tasted it and wanted to gag… Definitely not for everyone!
October 25, 2011 @ 2:17 pm
Thankfully, I chose the one city in Holland with it’s own coffee roasting company! It’s called ”Maison Blanche Dael”, and all of their blends are to die for! Bonus: they have a shop inside the Selexyz Dominicanen bookshop, which was voted one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world by Lonely Planet! Right now I’m addicted to their Guatemala Antigua Panchoy. I just use a Bialetti stove top espresso thingie to make it, as my boyfriend doesn’t like coffee (if only that came out on the first date, haha…j/k) and I can’t justify the cost of a fancy R2-D2 machine for one person! I think the secret to the stove-top espresso machine is that you have to make sure the water covers the little pressure nob on the side, and you have to pack the coffee in tight! Also, it helps to have a really fine grind.
October 26, 2011 @ 8:57 am
OMG, look at that STORE. I think a little part of me just melted at those photos…
As for the Bialetti, thanks for the tip! I have that one, and now that you mention it, I’m guessing my problem is 2-fold: 1) I’m not grinding it fine enough. I should probably just buy pre-ground espresso because I’m not sure my little grinder can get fine enough… 2) I’m not packing it in enough.
Mission: go buy some Illy and MAKE A CAPPUCCINO. 😀