Tag: coffee

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capuccino, coffee, cup

I am piggy backing on Otto von Münchow’s idea to share photos captured and/or processed with Instagram over the last week. I have adjusted Otto’s idea. I don’t alway process my images in Instagram, preferring tools like Afterlight, Photogene, Snapseed and VSCO Cam.

Once a month I will show one or more of my photos captured and/or processed on my iPhone or iPad over the last month. It’s a way for me to show photography that usually is quite different from my regular work. The pictures are displayed without any comments, hoping they will stand on their own. But I still very much appreciate any comments you may have.

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Coffee Cup, Physics

I am not a coffee connoisseur but I do enjoy a good cup of joe and have invested time and money to making a better cup. Normally I get my beans locally either from Rojo’s Roastery in Princeton or Buy the Cup in Rocky Hill. But I grew bored with the offerings and wanted to try something new.

For the last few weeks, I have enjoyed coffee from Drift Away Coffee in Brooklyn, New York. Drift Away has a subscription program.

My initial concern with coffee subscription programs is getting something I don’t like. Drift Away has made the process of setting up easy while reducing the chances that the drinkers is delivered something they dislike. There is a $4 fee to set up the account and the first delivery is the Rise & Grind tasting kit containing a 1 oz sampling of four different coffees. These four single-origin coffees have distinct taste profiles: Fruity, Classic, Balanced & Bold. The tasting kit including a description of each taste profile, the origin of the coffees and a scorecard for each. I prefer light roasted Ethiopian coffees with a slight fruity character. Most Americans seem to prefer darker full bodies roasts. I think that’s because they add cream and sugar.

Once I was done a tasting and ranked the samples, I recorded the information on their website. Once I chose my favourites I will only get coffees that match my taste.

The second delivery is two weeks after the Rise & Grind tasting kit is delivered, but every delivery after is based on the frequency I choose. I opted for delivery every two weeks. Drift Away roast each week on Saturday and ships on Monday. Every other Thursday, a new 11 oz bag (Doppio) of freshly roasted coffee beans chosen to suit my taste arrives via the postal service. The Doppio is just the right size to make coffee for two for a week.

I have no complaints. So far, all deliveries have been on time and I enjoyed the coffees I have received. The cool thing is that Drift Away is adding new coffees all the time. At any time, I can change my subscription to have coffee delivered more or less often. I can change my taste profile to medium roast or darker. I have options.

So far I have had the Rwanda Dukunde Kawa – Musasa and Tanzania Mbozi – Kanji Lalji Farm, both of which brew well in my French Press and Chemex.

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It has been a millennium since Ethiopians discovered the stimulating effects of chewing the berries of native coffee trees and exported them to Yemen, where Sufi Muslims learned to roast and brew them into a tasty hot beverage. The Stimulating Story of Jews and Coffee

I’m fascinated by stories like this that illustrate some little known historical and cultural fact about coffee.