Let's Talk About Coffee.....

A few years back, I was cruising the cookbook section of a used bookstore I'd never been in, when I came across a hard cover book about coffee. It had everything I like in a book, hard cover, in good shape, covered history, methods, chemistry, how to's, and equipment required. Right. I really bought it because it was cheap! I like cook books that read like a story occasionally, and this was well written. Up until that book, Nescafe instant, 1-2 cups in the morning to jump start the brain, and I was good to go! However, after reading what an incredible peasant I had been to this noble beverage, I went on my new mission: To become a Coffee Snob! I shopped the Internet for information on the best burr grinder for the money. Snobs must grind their own coffee. It must be done in a burr grinder, so you don't overheat the ground coffee. Now I went forth and bought an automatic drip coffee maker. There are tons of good ones, so I got a programmable on sale. Now to actually shop for coffee! I ended up at a specialty outlet store owned by a commercial roaster of fine coffees. Every week or so, I would get a different type or blend of coffee beans and judge them as you would a fine wine. We found the ones we preferred and have enjoyed superior coffee at way cheaper prices (say, 20 cents a cup-max?) than you get at Starbuck type places. The picture is of our new coffee maker (wife doesn't ask for much, so she gets it!) with a couple of our favorites. We grind enough for just a few days, store it in a glass container and refrigerate (which you don't have to do!).
Message for today: Life is too short to drink crappy coffee!