Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Is it Coffee or Is It Wine?

The election news is swirling around us and the coffeehouse is one of the better places to get out of the fray and try to make sense of America's fascination with the latest new shiny object, er political figure, er puppet. And coffee can be almost as controversial as politics in our town--and maybe in yours. The issues here are: does pressed coffee preserve the flavor of the beans better than the old way of brewing, and are blends of beans secondrate compared to using only one type of bean. In other words, should we start treating coffee like wine?
It seems like a 50-50 split here, with about half the locals in favor of blended, traditionally brewed java and the others preferring their presses. As for me, I want robust dark coffee that is easy to get and costs less than $2 a mug, because I buy a lot and I'm not very patient in the morning. Pressed is fine, but make it strong and do it quickly. Please.
If coffee cafes want to be like wine bars, then I say go all the way--offer a selection and let people taste and pick what they want. And have an express line for the grumpy folks.
Oh yeah...the fitness tip this week: Take care of your feet because sore feet (like sore backs) can stop you cold. Handy trick from "Runner's World" magazine is to gently pull your toes back toward your shin with your hands. It feels really good after a brisk walk and you can do it a few times every day. Reward yourself with a bit of Port before bed.

1 comment:

tonysv said...

I can see it now: going from coffee bar to coffee bar sampling their brews. Looking over their lists and tasting 4, 5 maybe 6 different coffees at each bar. After a day of coffee tasting my head would be spinning, my eyes bogged out, my hands shaking and I'd be awake for 3 days.