DC's own coffee klatch

[vitauta]

OK, I just got back from a spree at the used book store. Surprise surprise, no Lee Child books there. Stupid movie! I'm trying to keep myself from diving in head first. Just going to go spread them out on the bed and decide what order to read them in. WOOHOO!!

book shopping is one of the most satisfying buying sprees there can be, for me! it is such a rich feeling to have my arms full, or bags, heavy with books from the used book store. you were looking for lee child books, alix? i like child about as much as i like tom cruise--you can have 'em both!!

you did peak my interest with your belgian chocolate coffee, though, alix. i'll have to look for some of that. danish butter cookies sound divine too. a perfect counterpoint to my strong, hot black coffee. nobody in the world makes butter cookies like the danes!! they positively melt in your mouth, right while you are busy marveling at their sweet richness. i only ever get to have them around christmastime though....

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I just reached into the Death Star cookie jar and pulled out another Dark Magic...

 

[tinlizzie]

eeww tin, morbid...that's morbid! but, if morbid is the only way to trick yourself into spending a little money on you, for nice things to make life more enjoyable... and, i'm really not one to talk, either. i will spend money i don't have on my girl and grandkids, but not for myself. like you, tin, i guess i'm simply not 'worthy' of good treatment.

the only reason i have a keurig coffeemaker and an ereader today, is that i bought these things for my mom. and when mom croaked a year ago at christmas, i got to keep these nice things for myself. i wish now i had gotten her a porsche. see tin? morbid....

i didn't become a coffee fiend until after i brought home the keurig. for two years, i was drinking a cup of instant coffee every morning just to keep mom company. i could see that she really enjoyed her coffee, though, so i decided to turn her on to 'good' coffee, and the rest is history... before long, we were making lists of favorite coffee flavors,( and least favorites), and brewing up a cuppa java anytime either of us had the inclination. adding our choice of 'go with' snacks to the keurig experience....

go for it, tin....

I know, I know, YOLO. But I'm still kinda in shock from having caved to the kids and replaced my dinosaur TV with a flat screen at Christmastime. The ereader, mmm, don't know so much about that. But I'm sure I really need another vice.

Coffee fiend -- that has a nice ring to it. And the company being kept here is numero uno.

You folks all prefer home-brewed to those Starbuck places? I've never been inside a Starbucks and surely hope this doesn't all lead to that!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I used to hang out at coffee bars...but it was way too expensive. Makes 60 cents a cup seem cheap considering what I used to pay for a coffee.

 

[Alix]

book shopping is one of the most satisfying buying sprees there can be, for me! it is such a rich feeling to have my arms full, or bags, heavy with books from the used book store. you were looking for lee child books, alix? i like child about as much as i like tom cruise--you can have 'em both!!

I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I didn't much enjoy the first Lee Child I read, but at the prompting of my brother, I picked up Die Trying and was hooked. It had a very strong female character as counterpoint to Reacher and that sucked me in. Loved it. SPOILER ALERT!!! I especially loved that they didn't end up together at the end of the book, but that she ended up with another FBI guy she'd been in love with for ages. I ended up getting a couple of Kelley Armstrong's and a couple of Dean Koontz and a Harlan Coben that I somehow missed along the way! My daughter picked up quite a few as well and I'll be borrowing a couple of hers when she is done with them.

I'm glad to have been an inspiration in your coffee buying! There are some lovely flavours out there. Dessert in a cup...NO CALORIES!!! How can that be bad for you?

 

[Addie]

I am sorry folks. But I HAVE to leave you. The kitchen is calling me. It is a mess right now and needs to be cleaned up. will be back. And I have to call my daughter.

 

[vitauta]

I know, I know, YOLO. But I'm still kinda in shock from having caved to the kids and replaced my dinosaur TV with a flat screen at Christmastime. The ereader, mmm, don't know so much about that. But I'm sure I really need another vice.

Coffee fiend -- that has a nice ring to it. And the company being kept here is numero uno.

You folks all prefer home-brewed to those Starbuck places? I've never been inside a Starbucks and surely hope this doesn't all lead to that!

so, tin, how are you feeling about your flat screen tv, do you not like it? what is the screen size? i am one person, living with three tv sets in the apartment, each one at least 15 years of age, probably weighing something in excess of fifty pounds apiece. talk about dinosaurs. between the keurig and the tvs, i derive more pleasure from my coffeemaker--hands down, no contest.

 

[taxlady]

so good that you are feeling better, kades, and that you are here. i love it, kades, that not only do you bring your lovely social graces to our coffee klatch, but major appliances too! i love that fridge! where did you find it? oooh, and ICE! it has an ice maker, oh wow, you shouldn't have, kades...but i'm/we're glad you did! who wants their coffee iced?

so, you say you are ready to dance, kades? anybody up for doing a little gangum style? or shall we maybe start a bit slower maybe, with the bunny hop? where the heck IS somebunny, anyhow....

somebody tell somebunny she doesn't HAVE to drink coffee to spend time with us here.

Ooh ice. Then we can have ice café au lait when it gets warm.

 

[justplainbill]

Received the Dexter butcher knife that I mentioned a fw days ago. It was wicked sharp 'out of the box'. It's a stain resistant high carbon steel called Dexsteel. It cost me $2 more than the srainless steel version.

 

[vitauta]

Ooh ice. Then we can have ice café au lait when it gets warm.

bien sur!

 

[vitauta]

Received the Dexter butcher knife that I mentioned a fw days ago. It was wicked sharp 'out of the box'. It's a stain resistant high carbon steel called Dexsteel. It cost me $2 more than the srainless steel version.

will the dexter butcher knife stay sharp longer than the ss one?

1. how do you test a 'wicked sharp' knife

2. how many knives do you require in the kitchen

3. how many good knives do you own

 

[Somebunny]

so good that you are feeling better, kades, and that you are here. i love it, kades, that not only do you bring your lovely social graces to our coffee klatch, but major appliances too! i love that fridge! where did you find it? oooh, and ICE! it has an ice maker, oh wow, you shouldn't have, kades...but i'm/we're glad you did! who wants their coffee iced?

so, you say you are ready to dance, kades? anybody up for doing a little gangum style? or shall we maybe start a bit slower maybe, with the bunny hop? where the heck IS somebunny, anyhow....

somebody tell somebunny she doesn't HAVE to drink coffee to spend time with us here.

Hey! I'm here Vit and I love my coffee! I will pop in once in a while for a French or Italian roast cuppa ;-)

 

[tinlizzie]

so, tin, how are you feeling about your flat screen tv, do you not like it? what is the screen size? i am one person, living with three tv sets in the apartment, each one at least 15 years of age, probably weighing something in excess of fifty pounds apiece. talk about dinosaurs. between the keurig and the tvs, i derive more pleasure from my coffeemaker--hands down, no contest.

Yes, I like the big TV - it's a 40" which is plenty big for my living room. Right now in the player is a travel-type DVD on the parks out west, Zion, Glacier and Bryce. That outghta be really pretty. I don't think it makes much difference with movie-type movies - it doesn't seem to enhance a bad story.

Note to self: Google Keurig on Amazon.

Really - don't you feel like you're talking nonsense with sentences like this? As though Lewis Carroll made it up - 'twas brillig, etc.

 

[taxlady]

Hey! I'm here Vit and I love my coffee! I will pop in once in a while for a French or Italian roast cuppa ;-)

Hi SB! Glad you could make it. You'll have to bring your own coffee or borrow some from someone here if I am going to make you a French or Italian roast espresso - far too dark for my taste. But I'd love to make you a nice espresso.

Just made my first cup of espresso allongé. I'll have that and see if anyone drops by here. Got a lot of cleaning and some prep to do. I've got friends coming over for cocktails and dinner.

 

[taxlady]

...

Note to self: Google Keurig on Amazon.

Really - don't you feel like you're talking nonsense with sentences like this? As though Lewis Carroll made it up - 'twas brillig, etc.

I was thinking that and then I read your Lewis Carroll description. Love it.

G' morning Lizzie.

 

[tinlizzie]

I was thinking that and then I read your Lewis Carroll description. Love it.

G' morning Lizzie.

Hey, tax. I'm just back from reading through the Keurig thread Pacanis started. Geez. Since I must confess to being both cheap (special cups??) and lazy (a website on how to clean it??) and not particularly a fan of the taste -- I was a tea-drinker for 20 years -- AND that I can come here even if I drink (shhhh) instant coffee, I'm rethinking the actual purchase of a brewer. Maybe I should save my money to invest in a Kitchen Aid mixer. That's kinda like Sarah Lee's old jingle, "nobody doesn't like" KA mixers, do they?

 

[taxlady]

Hey, tax. I'm just back from reading through the Keurig thread Pacanis started. Geez. Since I must confess to being both cheap (special cups??) and lazy (a website on how to clean it??) and not particularly a fan of the taste -- I was a tea-drinker for 20 years -- AND that I can come here even if I drink (shhhh) instant coffee, I'm rethinking the actual purchase of a brewer. Maybe I should save my money to invest in a Kitchen Aid mixer. That's kinda like Sarah Lee's old jingle, "nobody doesn't like" KA mixers, do they?

Which one do you have space for on your counter?

 

[bakechef]

Hey, tax. I'm just back from reading through the Keurig thread Pacanis started. Geez. Since I must confess to being both cheap (special cups??) and lazy (a website on how to clean it??) and not particularly a fan of the taste -- I was a tea-drinker for 20 years -- AND that I can come here even if I drink (shhhh) instant coffee, I'm rethinking the actual purchase of a brewer. Maybe I should save my money to invest in a Kitchen Aid mixer. That's kinda like Sarah Lee's old jingle, "nobody doesn't like" KA mixers, do they?

If I had to make a choice between a KA mixer and a one cup coffee maker, I'd choose the mixer!

I could totally deal with Nescafe Classico as an instant if I had to. It isn't terrible and I kind of like it! I keep it around for baking, but every once in a while if I run out of pods, I'll make a cup of this stuff.

 

[justplainbill]

will the dexter butcher knife stay sharp longer than the ss one?

1. how do you test a 'wicked sharp' knife

2. how many knives do you require in the kitchen

3. how many good knives do you own

Perhaps but, more importantly, it should be easier to sharpen.

1. -With minimal pressure the knife cuts through 6 layers of cocktail napkin
2. -about 6 for me and 6 for the wife*
3. -over a dozen

*Paring
Bird's Beak
Utility / petty
Cooks
Bread
Slicer
Butcher
Santoku
Heavy cleaver
Boning
Meat saw
Dough
Fillet

 

[forty_caliber]

Roasted a pound of beans this morning.

This week for Chemex pour over, 1/2 pound of Brazil Fazenda do Sertao Catuai. A farm-direct crop that won "Cup of Excellence". This coffee has placed 8 times in the Cup of Excellence. Roasted to just into City/City+ this "blonde" lighter roast has strong toasted almond-hazelnut aspect and an interesting malty grain sweet note with a cedar hint. About 13.3 minutes at 465.

For esspresso, 1/2 pound of Sweet Maria's "Liquid Amber" a blend of green coffee beans designed to produce copious amounts of crema. Described as "a secret blend of 5 coffees including Dry-processed, Wet-processed, and Monsooned coffees and a small quantity of Robusta. It is characterized by a thick and creamy mouthfeel with a sharp pungent bite that is not bitter then fades into a rich tobacco, milk chocolate aftertaste". Roasted into Full City/FC+. About 13.9 minutes at 482 starting with a warm roaster.

.40