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Coffee Lullaby

A tea drinker always. A proud tea drinker. I’m not a coffee drinker. Never understood it. It hurt my stomach to drink. It fouled my mouth. It just doesn’t taste good.  Burnt and acidic.  Just not my cup of tea. Until…Larry’s French Frenchy pour over made for me in a small apartment kitchen by a man that carried his coffee making equipment 4000 then another 3000 miles from the West Coast to Italy to China to finally little ole Raleigh, NC.   And said, “This Larry’s Frenchy French is by far the best coffee I’ve had. You have to try it.”

“But, I don’t drink coffee.”

“Just try a sip.”

Just a sip. I drank the whole cup. He had to make more.

I so understand it now. My cup of tea still warms me in the morning, still sooths me at night, but a cup of coffee brightens the day.  Ends an evening with chocolate. Conjoins a couple at brunch. It wakes me up, almost too much that I curse it at 4 am when I can’t sleep.  But does that stop me from drinking it? No. Its my excuse to stop at that apartment.  Its my reason to shop the fancy kitchen stores, to search for the perfect carafe, the perfect pour over and maybe a French press, for the shelf appeal.

A sip of coffee is so grown up, a mature taste like wine, or a cigar and bourbon, which I have tried. Bourbon can substitute for dessert, I’m that grown up. With a cup of coffee, of course.

So, now I have ventured into learning to make it right. A consistent measuring devise for both the coffee and the water has been my learning curve. An ancient Tupperware 1 tablespoon measuring spoon, separated over time from its fellow spoons, has beaten all the coffee scoops lauded by Amazon. A consistent swipe of the grounds after a shake back into the spoon produces the right amount for the grounds.  And a gooseneck pitcher, and the right temperature.  Never boiled, just up to boil. I do 195 on my electric kettle then pour the water into the pitcher then pour over the grounds and between all that, the temperature seems to work. Seems to work. I have yet to decide though on the method of the pour.  Drown it or go around the perimeter, pour just in the center or chase around the coffee ground islands in the middle of your coffee filter world? This is where I continue my work on the making of a consistently good cup of coffee. 

Apartment man says, “Pour it so it comes to you.”  

Huh? I think I need a demonstration.

And another cup of coffee.