Good Morning Coffee

I only started drinking coffee a few years ago. I don't know why I made it  through college, living in Europe, and travelling through some great third wave coffee cities before succumbing to the power of the bean but there it is. After initial forays into over roasted, over logoed, and over priced espresso shots, I started to learn about kinds of beans and the importance of things like proper temperature, good water, and the appearance of a good shot.

A friend - yes a dear friend - gave me a Rancilio Silvia, one of the best home espresso machines available to all of mankind! I could be overstating it but the Silvia does invite devotion like this from its many followers:

Those were the caffeine-filled days in a busy little house on the prairie with lattes for all! It was fun having such a precise morning ritual filled with obsessive espresso shot judgements: "Oh I think that's a good one!" or "Oh no, not quite. We'll try again."

Times change. And with a move, less coffee and a busier life with fewer visitors, I gave the Rancilio back to the dear friend and moved to a minimalist set up. Rather than hunt and peck for a good coffee press amidst a sea of presses, I deferred to the Coffee Crew and ordered their recommendations from Espressotech.com in Vancouver - an Espro stainless steel press with microfilter and a portable Hario hand grinder.

 

 

This combination works well and can be easily packed for trips. In fact, I first tried it in Tofino where it saved me from hotel-brown-grains-of-mysterious-origin-in-sealed-package. Now with some good beans from 2% Jazz, I'm all set for a paired down approach to morning coffee. I miss my Silvia operatic experience but simplicity is good too.

The Daily Shave

I hate shaving and am always looking for a way to improve it. Saskatchewan is dry (we invented the term dry cold), wind swept, and my skin is always irritated. To deal with this I am always using some skin conditioner which means that I smell like aloe or something else all day when what I really want to smell like is The Old Spice Guy (Who knew? Marketing works). A couple of years ago I thought I came up with the perfect solution, I would grow the bald man ponytail and a lumberjack beard. Not only would I not have to shave but I would always have a place to store my wallet and cell phone. Well, Wendy vetoed that idea (she won't let me rock the mullet anymore either) and I was back trying to find a way to improve my shave.

One of the things I asked to get for Christmas was a shaving brush and some shaving soap. Jon Armstrong  mentioned it to his wife Heather Armstrong (creator of Dooce) a couple of years ago as a great Christmas gift and I was wondering if there was a good alternative to smelling a like I lived in an aloe plant every time I shaved.

On Christmas Eve I opened my stocking and found a Wilkinson Sword shaving brush and soap. Later that night I tried it out -  running some hot water, getting the brush wet, lathering up some soap, lathering up some more, getting a little carried away with it, making a mess, cleaning the mess up, and then realizing I had left the hot water on the entire time and had fogged up the mirror. By this time Wendy was mad that I was wasting water, Mark had to go to the bathroom and all momentum was lost.

Fast forward to Christmas morning and I tried again - this time with less mess and pretty good results. The brush helps hydrate the shaving cream in order to form a thick rich shaving lather. Using a brush to lather up helps get the shaving cream up under each whisker which results in better, smoother shaves.  At that point my face cried out in a chorus of joy. It felt good, really good.  Not only that but I didn’t smell like a plant and over the next couple of days I realized I didn’t need to use any after shave skin conditioner either. There is something to be said for kickin’ it old school. Now if I can only find my Zubaz pants and my Tony Hawk skateboard.

Since I was reinventing my shaving time, I decided to see if the razor needed an upgrade.  Now I know a real man would get himself a straight edge but I like my Schick Quattro Titanium and my jugular veins enjoy not being nicked up.  After looking at some Gillette products and seeing that a blade is now over $3, I went cheap and picked up a M5 Magnum five blade razor. Its blades cost  half the amount that the Quattro blades do and are a fraction of the Fusion Pro Glide blades. I thought to myself, “How bad can they be?”.  Well it’s not as good as the Quattro but it’s not horrible either. I got a better shave then my old  Gillette Sensor 3 razor but it wasn’t as comfortable as my Quattro. For whatever reason I have found that many razors included in the original case are of lower quality than the replacement blades (which has never made any sense to me) so I won’t make my final decision for a couple weeks but unless things change, I will relegate the M5 Magnum to my dopp kit or to the cabin.

Next week’s old school trick? Downgrading your web browser.

Making the perfect cup of coffee

Aerobie Coffee MakerI grew up Methodist which means that I really have no vices that anyone admires. To overcompensate so I can fit in with those that have interesting vices, I tend to be elitist about coffee and hope no one really notices.  One thing that has really helped me with this is the Aerobie Coffee Maker. Yes, the same Aerobie that makes those flying disks that when you miss them go for another hundred yards. They also make an amazing coffee maker.

I am not a coffeetologist but even I know, you want the flavor from the coffee but none of the bitterness (although at work, the people I work with seem to feel the opposite is true).  I am told that in your average pot of coffee, there are compounds such as chlorogenic acids, trigonelline, furfuryl alcohol, and even caffeine itself which lend bitter flavors to a pot of fresh coffee.  Aerobie set out to solve this. Rumors are that the first coffee maker they made just went a really long distance and make a mess of the house and yard.  Later incarnations made better coffee and less mess (but don't travel as far when you throw it).

According to several coffee/nerd sites, the coffee is better because of the lower temperature and short brew time which means that the the acid level of the brew is much lower than conventional brewers.  According to coffee nerds who have actually tested it, lab pH testing measured the Aeropress' brew acid as less than one fifth that of regular drip brew.

As for French Press, people see some similarities as both use total immersion and pressure. But the similarities end there. The filter in the French Press is at the top of the mixture. Because coffee floats, the floating grounds clog the filter and makes pressing and cleaning very difficult. Users are instructed to use only coarse ground coffee. But this reduces the amount of flavor that can be extracted from the coffee and necessitates long steeping times which extract bitterness.

Here is the Aeropress in action

You can find them for around $25 all over the interweb.  While you are it, get yourself some Luwak coffee to have along with it.