Winter Sport in Tamingville

Last night, around 1:30 or so, the City of Tamingville did it's annual snowplow event on our street. Yup. Annual.

The signs went up a few days ago, so everyone would know not to park on the west side of the street. Parking on the east side was just peachy, because they only plow one side of the street. And to be totally fair, they alternate which side that is, so that if you miss out one year, you will get your turn the following year.

Now we will be treated to two or three weeks of small town bickering as the folks whose driveways were plowed in fill the newspaper with complaints. We'll also get to read angry letters from people who claim that they didn't get their turn.

Winters are long, cold, and yes, a bit snowy, here in Tamingville. Fortunately, we are easily amused. 

 

posted by taming at 08:52 | link | comments (3)|
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Missing, Not in Action

There are two things missing from the above picture, the lack of which is still keeping me from making espresso. The first is my new grinder, which shipped three days before the Bezerra BZ02A espresso maker. The second is the instruction manual.

There will be no teeny tiny cups of coffee here, today.

My gear had a stopover in LA, at my brother's house, before being sent to me here. I know the instruction manual, the grinder, and various espresso toys are on their way. If I've waited 55 years to make real espresso at home, I guess I can wait another day or two.

If you happen to see this bad boy wandering the streets of Tamingtown, give me a call. I want him. I want him real bad. He answers to Rocky.

Tell him he's needed at home.

 

posted by taming at 05:17 | link | comments (1)|
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Anticipation

This could be an exciting week here, at Casa Taming. I'm expecting major postal action which will transform the enjoyment of coffee, as we know it. My espresso gear is on its way, and I've got some brand new beans to play with, some specifically purchased for experiments in espresso, coming, too.

I've learned one has to be patient when my enjoyment is predicated upon the movement of goods through customs. In part that means accepting that nothing happens as quickly as it should. It also involves learning to enjoy the period of anticipation, rather than being irritated at the delay.

It's very grown up of me, and I think I deserve a great big pat on the back for being so mature about it all.

I have a feeling that my espresso infused life will be somewhat odd. Most people who take the plunge and cross over to "the dark side", have been enjoying espresso for years and have tasted the best, the middling, and the piss poor. Somewhere, buried in the synapses of their brain, resides the memory of the perfect espresso. They have a target in mind as they begin the adventure at home.

 Not me.  Nope. I am, in the grand scheme of things, an espresso virgin.

On the Home-Barista message board, there has been an interesting discussion about the intersection of home roasting and espresso making. Opinions vary widely, with some folks believing that most homeroasters are not producing good enough beans to be able to produce truly great espresso. Then there is the issue of what comes first, espresso geekiness, or roasting geekiness.

One of the posters made a roasting/espresso analogy with an athletic situation contrasting athletes who "work within themselves" to those who compete with others, or who look to some external authority against which they measure their own success.

As I sit in my house, in this relatively coffee deprived city in Central Alberta, I don't have much choice but to fall into the former camp and to work within myself.

I've purchased very good equipment, read widely about technique, and even watched videos on such esoteric things as tamping and latte art.  My hope is that all of this will settle into my brain, and I will, with practice, actually come up with something that I enjoy, and that other, more experienced folk, will recognize as espresso.

 Another possible scenario is that although I will enjoy the heck out of it, and get somewhat pride-puffy about it, the drink I produce will not resemble espresso except in the vaguest of ways.

I keep thinking about one of the (original) Star Trek episodes, The Omega Glory, where Jim and the crew end up on a planet whose inhabitants had their roots on planet earth but who had, over time, developed a culture that was no longer recognizable as being earth related. The episode ends with Kirk reading the preamble of the US Constitution to them, a document venerated, but entirely misunderstood.   

Somehow, I see myself holding out a cup of my hot brown liquid and saying , "espresso", only to have some visitor from far, far away saying, "poo".

 

posted by taming at 09:29 | link | comments (1)|
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They Call It Coffee

It's all over the news. Consumer Reports sampled coffee from Starbucks, McDonalds, Duncan Donuts, and Burger King, and gave clown coffee the nod as being "decent and moderately strong" although lacking "subtle top notes," whilst proclaiming Starbucks as "strong, but burnt and bitter."

Duh.

For those of us who are truly into great coffee, this is akin to comparing Budweiser, Miller-Lite, and Coors, all of them piss-poor examples of the brewers art, but among the most familiar of beers to most folks.

You like Duncan Donut (or one of the other brands tested) coffee, you say? How lovely for you, enjoy, enjoy.

It's all about context. The Consumer Report story provides what night be useful information to someone finding themselves in an average US city with a desire for coffee, no knowledge of the local coffee houses, and no particular familiarity with, or desire for, really great coffee.

The report, which will be published in the March issue, also compares cost, and Starbucks is the big loser there as well.

I don't drink any of those coffees. In fact, the last time I was in a McDonalds was June 2, 2000, the day before my wedding, when I was out and about finishing up some last minute things and suddenly needed to use the wash room. I tried a Starbuck's Americano at the Calgary airport a few years ago, but didn't finish it. I had a Duncan Donut's coffee when I was visiting a sick relative in a New York hospital, and I've never tried the coffee at Burger King.

I know I'm not missing anything when I bypass these outlets, but then, I'm not part of the target audience for this review. That's fine with me. After all, if the vast majority of North Americans keep drinking and enjoying that kind of coffee, there is more of the truly good stuff to go around.

 

posted by taming at 07:20 | link | comments (8)|
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Intermission at the Circus

 

posted by taming at 12:49 | link | comments (4)|
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