E Gads! Tom D/dirt Common ground! (pun not intended!)
I managed to avoid instant coffee in France for the most part, but I was surprised that it was around at all. Basically all cafes have an espresso machine, so you can always specifically order an espresso or cafe au lait and be sure you aren't getting instant.
(but I can't stop myself from correcting the 'five star' thing, sorry about that - the Michelin guides max out at three stars - and there are only 18 three star restaurants in France, and a very few outside of France. 99.9% of restaurants get zero stars, even some very good ones. But your point about the French being big into the quality of their food is right on! After all, this is the country where food labels brag about how MUCH fat is in things.)
Along the same lines - I've been to Turkey a couple of times. Now, Turkey is home to the most badass coffee on the planet. "Turkish Coffee" is a few scoops of finer-than-espresso grind dark roast coffee and some sugar put into a very small pot with about 6 oz. of water and heated just below the simmer for a few minutes, then poured into a small cup - unfiltered! You get a couple of sips of just liquid, then quite a bit of thin 'sludge', then the bottom 1/2 inch or so is solid grounds. Why drink 40 oz. of watery 'Americano' when you can get more kick in 4 oz.?
But in most restaurants in Turkey, when you ask for Turkish Coffee, they say they don't have it, but they do have (big smile, eyes light up) Nescafe!!! Like they're all proud. WTF? Enh. When in doubt, go for the "Chai" (Çay). In Turkey, "chai" is strong black tea, served sweet (but not southern sweet). It isn't spiced or messed with - just strong and sweet - and they keep it comming. The consumption of tea in most middle eastern and arab countries would make most 'coffee addicts' in the US feel like amateurs. Lots of people throw back 30 to 40 servings or strong tea a day!
the first step is admitting there's a problem
Spuzo - the French press is the way to go! The caffeine in coffee is a function of how long the water spends hanging out with the grounds. In espresso, it shoots right through, in a drip it hangs out for a while, but in a French press, it has all the time you give it to pick up everyone's favorite performance enhancing drug! (Most mornings, I pour the hot water on my grounds, then go back to bed and hit the snooze a couple of times) Yeah, I only drink two cups a day, but I make them count!
Bacon is meat candy.
okay, please note that i already apologized for sounding like a snob but here i go.ynot wrote:What the heck is wrong with Folgers? Summertime I have 1 cup in the morning,decaf. Wintertime I fill a thermos for work, sometimes its gone by lunch.
folgers: if i wanted to drink water that was dyed brown i would put rusty pipes in my house. why drink it? they get most of their beans from south east asia and the soil there just isn't as good as for the coffee production as other areas. to my tastebuds.
again though, you drink what you like. right? but folgers is like drinking wine from ecuador. i love the country but really they should stick to bananas!
I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
- Robert McCloskey
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
- Emo Philips
- Robert McCloskey
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
- Emo Philips
But on a more serious note - coffee farmers around the world are literally starving today. If you aren't familiar with Fair Trade coffee, then start here:
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns ... de/coffee/
A few years ago, the US pulled out of a world agreement that kept coffee prices a bit higher than the 'market' would 'naturally' settle to. Coffee production goes through a bunch of 'middle-man' layers, and, of course, the farmers who actually grow the beans are at the bottom. Right now, the wholesale price that the farmers get for the raw beans is often below their cost to grow and harvest the beans. That means that lots of families who went into debt to set up their farms to produce coffee are loosing money - and in the third world, that doesn't mean packing up the Ford and moving to town. It means starvation. Juan V. and his wife and kids are a bit skinnier today than they were in the original commercials in the 80's - and they had to sell the donkey. (It also encourages farmers to rip out the coffee plants and grow opium or coca.)
When you buy Fair Trade coffee, you know that the farmers were paid a living-wage price for their beans. In the end, it's about the same price as any other premium coffee. Starbucks carries one type, and lots of urban area grocery stores will have a brand or two. Even if you don't totally switch, pick up a bag once in a while and help out the family farmers who grow the stuff.
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns ... de/coffee/
A few years ago, the US pulled out of a world agreement that kept coffee prices a bit higher than the 'market' would 'naturally' settle to. Coffee production goes through a bunch of 'middle-man' layers, and, of course, the farmers who actually grow the beans are at the bottom. Right now, the wholesale price that the farmers get for the raw beans is often below their cost to grow and harvest the beans. That means that lots of families who went into debt to set up their farms to produce coffee are loosing money - and in the third world, that doesn't mean packing up the Ford and moving to town. It means starvation. Juan V. and his wife and kids are a bit skinnier today than they were in the original commercials in the 80's - and they had to sell the donkey. (It also encourages farmers to rip out the coffee plants and grow opium or coca.)
When you buy Fair Trade coffee, you know that the farmers were paid a living-wage price for their beans. In the end, it's about the same price as any other premium coffee. Starbucks carries one type, and lots of urban area grocery stores will have a brand or two. Even if you don't totally switch, pick up a bag once in a while and help out the family farmers who grow the stuff.
p.s. tomdarch, be careful. i think i'm falling in love.
I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
- Robert McCloskey
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
- Emo Philips
- Robert McCloskey
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
- Emo Philips
tomdarch - you're right...Turkish coffee is pretty badass...I like a liquid that really lets you know who's boss. I was sent some for Christmas - but it's just not the same when I make it. There is a place on sixth street in downtown Cinci (Mejana - I think it's called) that I believe serves something close to the real stuff - you can even sit outside (or inside) with a three foot - four-seater hookah thing. Oh and the food is good too 
And yeah, most Brits I know put up a good fight against Turkish/Arabic tea drinkers - cept British tea is weak-willed for the most part, so I guess it doesn't count.
Darjeeling is good stuff too...I like the taste but don't think it's very caffeinated.
And yeah, most Brits I know put up a good fight against Turkish/Arabic tea drinkers - cept British tea is weak-willed for the most part, so I guess it doesn't count.
Darjeeling is good stuff too...I like the taste but don't think it's very caffeinated.
"I enjoyed a Guinness after I got back home from Palm Sunday Mass." - Captain Static
"Listen, you heard what I said. Do you want me to donate or not charlie. Suck it up and procreate." - Andrew
"Listen, you heard what I said. Do you want me to donate or not charlie. Suck it up and procreate." - Andrew
meetVA wrote:But on a more serious note - coffee farmers around the world are literally starving today. If you aren't familiar with Fair Trade coffee, then start here:
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns ... de/coffee/
Excellent point....you can get some really great fair trade coffee at Ten Thousand Villages in Cincinnati (Madison Road...down from The Running Spot across from Hemptations - want detailed directions just ask) That store is pretty great - non-profit. They have them in at least one or two cities in nearly every state. ALso - they are always looking for volunteers there if you have the time and the desire.
"I enjoyed a Guinness after I got back home from Palm Sunday Mass." - Captain Static
"Listen, you heard what I said. Do you want me to donate or not charlie. Suck it up and procreate." - Andrew
"Listen, you heard what I said. Do you want me to donate or not charlie. Suck it up and procreate." - Andrew
In Farsi, "chai" actually means "tea," literally. Which is why it was so weird for me when chai became the "in" thing to drink. Hearing people say "chai tea" is to me what it would be to hear people walking around saying "coffee coffee." (Same thing with Mahi Mahi, the fish... "mahi" in Farsi is "fish.")
"I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory." --Paul
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(Emails > PMs)
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(Emails > PMs)
1/2 cup in the morning. Totally off soft drinks. This might get you thinking about coffee:
When my son was about four, he offered to make me a pot of coffee. I agreed just to see how he would organize the event. After much climbing, banging, pouring, and spilling, he asked me,
"Okay, where do I put the dirt?"
When my son was about four, he offered to make me a pot of coffee. I agreed just to see how he would organize the event. After much climbing, banging, pouring, and spilling, he asked me,
"Okay, where do I put the dirt?"
What I love about running is you can meditate while running. It's a peaceful place.
Sister Mary Elizabeth Lloyd, Runs marathons to raise money and awareness about children orphaned by AIDS
Sister Mary Elizabeth Lloyd, Runs marathons to raise money and awareness about children orphaned by AIDS