Saturday, September 17, 2011

Rambling on about Coffee and a Give Away!!!

my makeshift coffee maker, ghetto but great
Coffee and I have an on and off relationship.  I drank it in high school, but then stopped in college...yes, I realize that is messed up, but that is how I roll.  If it was up to me I would drink it consistently every day, but unfortunately I am very sensitive to caffeine.  If I drink a cup in the morning I have trouble falling asleep up to 12 hours later...how lame is that?  I love the taste and smell of coffee, I mean really it can't get much better then that!  When I do drink coffee I never have more then one cup a day...my tolerance is low just like with alcohol.  Seriously, I can take up to 5 hours to finish one rum and coke...plus, I am always broke so I really can't afford more then one drink.  Moderation is the key to not going broke...someone put that on a bumper sticker. : )

Do you remember a time when Starbucks didn't exist?  What on earth did we do before that?  I honestly can't remember.  I am not a Starbucks groupie, I probably only go there 2 or 3 times a month at the most.  I stopped by the other day while running errands and as I was sitting in the drive though line I sat there pondering how brilliant the creators of this chain are.  I mean come on, they created something for everyone, that no one knew they needed, and now people can't live without it.  Genius, sheer genius.  I mean come on, try to imagine a world without Starbucks...honestly, I can't.

I had no idea there were so many ways to brew a cup of coffee.  People are getting really creative and innovative with their methods of obtaining their caffeine fixes.  Last Fall I visited my sister and her husband in NYC for the first time.  One of the many stops we made included a visit to the blue bottle coffee bar in Brooklyn.  They use the pour over method to brew their coffee.  America's test kitchen just posted a video on how to use the pour over method without any fancy gadgets.  I tried it, and it worked, it was nice, and pretty to watch .  Also, the Kitchn has a post about this method as well.  Try it out, let me know what you think!  I wish I was a coffee connoisseur, that would be awesome.  

I want to hear from you!  
 I am trying to do some research on coffee and people's preferences, so help me out!  Answer the following three questions by leaving a comment. In one week I will pick a random winner and send them (or anybody they like) a box of my delicious espresso shortbread cookies.

1)  What is your favorite brand of coffee?
2)  What method do you use to brew your cup of joe? (did you know "joe" and "jo" are both acceptable scrabble words?)
3)  When you go to a coffee shop what do you usually order?

ADDED BONUS ENTRY:  This time around I am giving you an extra chance to win.  Refer this give away to a friend, and tell them to use your name when they leave a comment, and I will enter your name an additional time for each person who was referred by you.  Comprende?

Here is a sample comment:
Referred by:  Dagny Syversen
1) Community Coffee or Rutamaya
2)  French Press
3)  Coffee with milk and one pump of mocha

PS. Here are some cool ideas of things to do with old coffee cans...

saweet...these might just be regular cans...that is okay, I want to do this anyways
Wish I had a green thumb
I want one
waking up to a cup of coffee like this every morning would be so happy
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23 comments:

  1. patty blanchardSeptember 17, 2011 at 12:01 PM

    1)We tend to buy local and we love Stumptown coffee.

    2)I like my coffee best in my bialetti stove top espresso maker.

    3)I usually order a latte, sometimes with vanilla or caramel.

    I also have a huge sensitivity to caffeine, which is tragic living in the rainy northwest. But some times I have to have coffee anyway its just so comforting and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ntdolphinSeptember 17, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    1) Love Starbucks. Any blend -- must be Decaf!
    2) I make it in my good ol' Proctor Silex cheapo coffee pot. (Also have two Keurig brewers which I use occasionally as well). The decaf pour-over at Starbuck's ain't too shabby, in my opinion (necessary because they often don't brew decaf after a certain time of day so then they brew it by the order using the pourover).
    3) When I want to splurge, I order a Venti decaf Americano. Black. No room.

    ReplyDelete
  3. BrigidSeptember 17, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    I will answer you question in the order you asked them:

    1) What is your favorite brand of coffee?
    I don't mind 8 o'clock coffee, or even folger's, but my third favorite is Starbucks' sumatra coffee, which is only second to a nicaraguan coffee I had whilst visiting the country, and only second to coffee I've had in Rome - some latte espresso thing.


    2) What method do you use to brew your cup of joe? because my family refuses to drink any coffee I brew... I have to make just enough for one cup - I put it in my mr. coffeemate thing, fill a mounding 1/4 cup of ground coffee, and let it brew. I only fill the water to the number '4' line, which, frankly, is just enough for a VERY strong, very large, single cup for yours truly.


    3) When you go to a coffee shop what do you usually order? Undoubtely, every single time, I order a chai tea latte (often with two shots). Nothing else. If it's too warm, I get that bad boy iced!

    ReplyDelete
  4. BrigidSeptember 17, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    questions*

    ReplyDelete
  5. Vicki WildeSeptember 17, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    I actually don't drink coffee! I made it through college and grad school without starting! Boyfriend tries to get me to drink coffee, I'm just not a fan.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AldebaranSeptember 17, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    1)I love Caribou Coffee - its a chain that we had in Chicago. I was super sad when we moved away from the Caribou area but was really happy when they started selling it in grocery stores!
    2)I have a Keurig. I'm the only one in my family who drinks coffee so it makes sense for me to make it one cup at a time.
    3)I like cappucinnos (which I apparently can't spell...). I like the foam. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. MirielSeptember 17, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    Yay coffee!!

    1. Eight O'Clock Bean coffee. Although...now I am an impoverished graduate student. I should probably start buying Folgers. Eww.

    2. Meeeester Coffee. But I would like to try the pour-over method!

    3. A latte, whole milk (the way God intended), sometimes with an extra shot.

    ReplyDelete
  8. JensSeptember 17, 2011 at 4:44 PM

    Referred by: patty blanchard

    1) honestly, i dont taste that much of a difference between brands yet:)

    2) stove up espresso maker

    3) cappuccino

    i only recently got to like coffee, mainly because it saved my life when i thought i was about to die from a huge hangover:)
    made it through school and university without it, somehow...
    p.s.: your cookie recipes sound delicious, if only you converted them to the metric system ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. HilarySeptember 17, 2011 at 5:49 PM

    Hmmmm.

    Favorite brand is tough. For everyday, I tend to drink Maxwell House (it IS good to the last drop!!) If I had an all-time fave, the Juan Valdez coffee from Colombia. My son has a friend who goes every summer to Colombia and we watch his cat. Amazing coffee is our payment. :0) Starbucks: Cafe Verona, but made at home, is my treat. Not as bitter because I make it milder here at the house. But I love the smoothness of it.

    I am a simple girl, really. My Mr. Coffee takes great care of me and my family. We all enjoy coffee, and it's nice to have a reliable, cheap coffee maker that we can use and abuse...

    My coffee has a tiny bit of sugar and half and half in it. School got me using heavy whipping cream occasionally when the half and half would be out, and I can guarantee heavy whipping cream on hand as I seem to be stuck in a perpetual crème brûlée/pot de crème/custard obsession...

    At least a cup a day... often two or three... and sometimes even as a soothing way to relax after a day at the bakery. I'm totally and completely addicted!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Laura DoskocilSeptember 17, 2011 at 7:57 PM

    1) I love this Ethiopian coffee from a small coffee shop called the "Dirt Cowboy Cafe" in, no not Texas but down the street from Dartmouth College. When that isn't an option I go with Pete's Major Dickenson.

    2) also 2 answers here - it all depends on the time. When I'm up for 5am on a work day it is mr coffee's programmable coffee maker... But if i have time to savor then French press!

    3) a little cream, a litte sugar. If it's solid coffee I might even take it black. Ooooor if I'm lazy a drop of French vanilla creamer.

    ReplyDelete
  11. BranwenSeptember 18, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    1. I don't coffee by the cup so I don't actually have a favorite brand but I know Lar likes Greencastle Coffe Roasters (from PA)

    2. regular old drip method

    3. Always a mocha in some form; hot, iced or frappuccino

    ReplyDelete
  12. Salome EllenSeptember 18, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    1. Greencastle Coffee Roasters -- near my hometown.
    2. My husband uses Mr. Coffee; I rarely drink it at home.
    3. Grande Cafe Mocha, decaf.

    I got here via Branwen.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Torie @ampersandetcSeptember 19, 2011 at 7:51 AM

    1) My dear husband's Home roasted java or Starbucks {Casi Cielo is our fave}
    2) French Press or my Cuisinart auto brew, just as long as its at least a heaping tablespoon per cup.. gotta have it strong!
    3) Venti Iced Coffee, no sweetener and no room! Another fave is a doppio espresso! Yum.
    4) how many cups a day... at least 2 large cups! :) WE LOVE COFFEE!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Margaret E. PerrySeptember 19, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    1) Blue Bottle! It's from SF originally, you know.
    2) French Press when I have time; but usually I have yesterday's coffee from the drip machine which I have chilled overnight.
    3) Iced Latte with an extra shot; though iced coffee is my favorite, I have a hard time finding a good one anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Margaret E. PerrySeptember 19, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    ps. i am glad you like the pour-over method. it is really nice in, say, an office, or somewhere else where its hard to get a good cup of coffee but easy to get hot water. and it really gets the flavor of the individual beans. But, anyone wanting to try this at home: don't use cheap beans or old beans for pour-over--it will taste horrible.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Paisley's PixelsSeptember 19, 2011 at 4:37 PM

    1) Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts
    2) French Press if I'm at home
    3) If I order: Caramel Macchiato, Caramel Toffee Nut or Pumpkin Spice Latte. If I'm at home, I'll add a Hazelnut or Vanilla creamer. If I'm at church, 2 vanilla creamers. :)

    Trisha Gunter

    ReplyDelete
  17. Emily SandsSeptember 21, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    1) Cafe Punto del Cielo, Decaf Americano blend, from Mexico
    2) Regular Mr. Coffee maker
    3) Black
    I'm drinking it right now as I type

    ReplyDelete
  18. Chad & CharissaSeptember 22, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    1) Meijer breakfast blend - simple but consistently yummy.
    2) My coffee pot (other ones sometimes taste funny)
    3) Latte with 1/2 packet of sugar in the raw

    ReplyDelete
  19. annFSeptember 22, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    1) Vivace, downtown Seattle! Or Cafe Vita as a back up
    2) love the French press, but use our coffee maker, or Dagny, maybe you remember my fat "B" coffee maker? :)
    3) americano, with room!

    ReplyDelete
  20. MimiSeptember 22, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    1) Ummmm The Bean Coffee
    2) I dont! I go and BUY my coffee from the Bean!
    3) Tall Caramel Frappuccino!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Marie FideroSeptember 22, 2011 at 5:29 PM

    1) Whole Foods Allegro brand, fresh roasted and ground
    2) French Press with frothed milk
    3) Cafe Au Lait~yum.

    ReplyDelete
  22. wannabeacookSeptember 23, 2011 at 6:56 AM

    AHHHHH COFFEE..........is there really ore to life than coffee????? Have I told you I LOVE your blog???
    Anywho.....I love my nespresso brand coffee almost all the bold blends, but if I make it in the barista I by espresso roast beans from a local coffee shop in keene
    I make coffee in the Nespresso machine mostly but sometimes use my boring, but trusty drip machine

    I always order a cappuccino very dry sometimes with a sweet sugar free syrup or I order a double shot espresso
    Any way it comes....I LOVE COFFEE!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. KdawgSeptember 23, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    1) Starbucks all the way. 2) never ever make my own 3) caramel frap everytime

    ReplyDelete

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