Cups of hope

Yesterday I had my first taste of the coffee I bought in Indianapolis earlier this month. We didn't get a hotel downtown so there was no closest coffeeshop for us. And so I opted for daily jaunts to Command Coffee on Monument Circle where I've been going there for past 2 or 3 years when we were staying at a hotel nearby. Good coffee, not overly crowded.

This is a lighter roast and I taste milk chocolate and a fruity kind of thing. Cherry seems appropriate but there's some other fruity taste here too. Not citrus, though. I don't know what passion fruit tastes like so a definite maybe.

Regardless this is tasty stuff and quite a bit different from the darker roasts I've been having lately which are more roasty and dark chocolatey.

That's no blini, you Perv

Last weekend I attended the birthday party of a Ukrainian lady and I ended up eating well.

That's a stuffed zucchini up top - vegetarian - while on the right we have a cheese blini/blintz. The hostess told us what they're called in Ukrainian but I forgot. Google says nalisniki which comports with my vague memory of what she said, i.e. - not beginning with "bli-". The other delectable here was cabbage wrapped in Phyllo dough.

Not shown is the hostess' Ukrainian potato salad which has a reputation that precedes it. People far and wide remark upon it when the hostess comes up in conversation and/or the possibility of attending a soiree at her place. It was tasty stuff indeed - potatoes, peas, dill, and other Slavic goodness.

I am looking forward to the cooler temps of autumn so I feel motivated to cook inside more often without fear of heating my apartment up.

Having gone out for dinner and eaten Buffalo wings twice in the past week or so, I decided to make my own last night. At first I was going to grill them but the chance of rain scared me away so I ended up cooking them in the oven. The sauce was store bought - Frank's Red Hot wing juice - and I dusted them with some spice mixture from Penzeys that was 99% pepper.

Not deadly hot by any means but a they had a little zip to them.

Lately I've been drinking some fine java from Llama Bean Coffee Co. down in Naperville, Illinois.

The beans are Peruvian in origin but the writing on the label looks like "Perv" and so I have been getting grief from my ladyfriend.

It's is tasty stuff.

Stoopid heat is coming

In preparation for the coming heat wave, I made some limeade.

It took 2 pounds of limes to make half a gallon of the stuff so I did a lot of reaming. Maybe I should look for a juicer at the thrift shops if I keep this up.

And I do not plan to fire up the coffeemaker when it's 90 so I've got some cold brew concentrate a-steeping.

I also made a batch of tuna salad and some Thai cucumber salad. And those brats in my refrigerator will likely be grilled today for dinner and future meals.

Alyssa blends a mean brew

A couple weeks or so ago I was in Appleton and there I made a visit to ACOCA Coffee. While more on the Appleton trip is forthcoming, know that I brought a bag of Alyssa's Blend home.

I cannot recall what varieties are blended here but am leaning towards Southeast Asian with beans from Sumatra, Papua New Guinea, and the like.

And how is it?

Look at my little Mandelbrot swirl!

Very tasty. A little nutty and very roasty. Bitterness is held in check so it has a mellow, almost creamy, thing going on. A fine bean. Cheers, Melissa!

Chock full o'Pine Nuts

Earlier this week I finally busted open my bag of piñon coffee that I bought in Albuquerque.

It was amongst the few edibles and didn't come red, green, and Xmas. A real treat from the Southwest, it's coffee flavored with piñon, a.k.a. - pine nut. But not just any old pine nut. This stuff has New Mexican terrior as the nuts are from the Colorado Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis), a pine native to the American Southwest and northern Mexico.

I brewed some up and took my first taste...

On the first couple sips the buttery flavor came through but I found that my tongue got used to it leaving the nuttiness to mingle with the coffeeness for the rest of the cup. It was delicious. 

Freshly roasted beans

One of my co-workers roasts his own coffee and last weekend he roasted 5 pounds of Rwandan beans. He kindly gave me a bag of them earlier this week.

They are off-gassing or setting or whatever it is they do sitting around after the roasting process has finished. I may brew a pot with some tomorrow.

Down and dirty mofawar

Last fall I made my second annual stop in at Qahwah House in lovely Lombard, Illinois. I bought a bag of their coffee beans in addition to a cuppa thinking it would be fun to ward off the chill of winter with a mofawar in-hand. Well, it took me a while and spring is nearly here but I've finally opened that bag o' beans and tried my hand at coffee Yemeni style at home.

I have not been brewing it in the traditional manner and instead have been using my coffeemaker. Step 1: grind the beans. Check. Step 2: lightly crush some cardamom pods. 

Check.

Step 3: put everything in basket and let 'er rip.

Add cream and voila! 

It took me a couple pots to figure out how much cardamom to put in there but, once I got that down, things have been humming along. Good stuff.

The bright side of life

Despite Piper's death and a large cat-shaped hole in my heart, life goes on and there really are many wonderful things in mine. Sometimes it is difficult to enjoy them or even recognize they exist when I get bogged down in my sweetpea's absence. For instance, it was very difficult to come home from work that first day after her death. I walked in the door and tearfully stared at the couch waiting for her to walk around the corner and jump on it to patiently wait for me to give her a pill pocket.

It gets better a little every day but I still miss her greatly. 

I baked a loaf of rye bread recently.

I used some insta-sourdough dust. 

It was nice to finally give this stuff a go as I had bought a packet last year when I was still living with my wife but never used it while in the grip of divorce miasma.

It turned out well with a nice rye flavor and a good tangy zip to it.

Look what arrived a couple days ago! 

I simply adore this picture. Winter! A kindly cat! Birds!

This was a gift given to me maybe a week or so before Piper passed. I need to get it framed so that it can sit on my desk.

Another recent gift was some coffee from Puerto Rico. 

Very tasty stuff. Very roasty and a bit nutty.

I hung my print of Grabby.

One of Piper to follow.

Lastly, for now, I'll mention that Shemekia Copeland put on a great show last week. 

Lousy picture, I know. One thing I love about her is how positive she is. In addition to catchy melodies and booty-shakin' grooves, her songs are often about hope and being kind to one another. She certainly recognizes hardships in life but she emphasizes beauty.

She mentioned that she'll be back here in Madison this summer at one of our numerous festivals.

I got Dibs

Back in December I was in Chicago where I went to the Christkindlmarkt downtown. While there I ate at Goddess and the Baker where I bought some coffee - Dibs. "Dibs" is the practice of putting chairs, orange cones, or whatever it takes to reserve a parking spot out on the street and it is also Goddess and the Baker's special winter blend.

It looks like a blend of medium and dark roast beans.

My cup here had an oily sheen. Dirty cup? Or the from the lighter roasted beans? My understanding is that the more you roast coffee, the more the oils are leeched out. 

It was tasty stuff. Roasty, a bit earthy, and with a nice level of bitterness.

Getting my mufawaar fix

While down in lovely Lombard, Illinois last week I stopped in at the Qamaria Coffee Co. outpost there and got a mufawaar for a little pick me up. It's luscious blend of coffee, cream, and cardamom warmed me up and sent my taste buds a-flutter. Now that I am attending Chicago TARDIS alone, I am making new traditions for my annual trip and this is one of them.

As I was sipping the wonderful drink, I thought to myself that Madison needs a Yemeni coffeehouse. My desire proved to be a premonition as I read just 2 days later that Madison, in fact, had a Yemeni coffeehouse. Indeed it was an outpost of Qamaria.

Now, a new location has opened in Madison. The cafe is well-lit but not overly bright, has music playing — though not too loud. In the air is a sweet and spiced aroma. In short, it’s cozy. 

“It honestly brings a feeling of family and community,” Alhurani said. “The whole Arabic culture and the Middle Eastern culture is all about this warm feeling and energy you get from the people around you.” 

My wife and I had a tradition of having our first Chicago TARDIS meal at Portillo's but, after they set up shop here in Madison, that changed. Now that we have a Qamaria here, I might have to try out Matari Coffee next year. 

When I need to get my mufawaar fix and am on the west side, I have somewhere to satisfy it. But, if I am at home, I am good, for now as I brought some medium roast home with me.

A cuppa. Coffee.

While in Birmingham I bought a bag of African coffee from 200º Coffee. At some point I will rant about the English and their coffee culture (tea still rules the roost over there, it seems) but know that I stopped in at 2 of their shops. It was at the second that I asked what a "Brew Bar" was and discovered much to my delight that it was drip coffee.

Don't get me started on Americanos.

Anyway, I recently busted out their beans.

It was delicious! Earthy, roasty with a bit of stonefruit. Exactly why African coffees are my favorites. 

Roasted in Englewood

I've been drinking coffee from Kusanya Cafe down in Chicago's south side lately.

I picked it up while on a tour of Englewood with Dilla last month but had coffee from Indy and Madison to go through before I could finally bust this stuff open.

The beans have a milk chocolate-roasty aroma. 

A nice roasty flavor with the occasional bit of plum. I think "bright" is an accurate description. Tasty stuff!

They grow some fine beans in Burundi

One of my co-workers roasts coffee and he brought in some of the fruits of his labors to the office for everyone to enjoy. By everyone I mean him and me.

African coffee! My own preference is for African coffees with their luscious earthy flavors. The roast was, in my estimation, light-medium.

In addition to the desired earthy flavors, the lighter roasting produced some stonefruit tastes as well. 

A cup of joe fit for Jehovah.

Keurig meet Aerosmith

We have a Keurig at work and whenever I brew #2 it emits this burst of staccato grinding noises that sounds a lot like the opening of "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith.

And so the song gets stuck in my head but I always change the lyrics so that they involve cats.

Pipe looks like a kittay

Pipe

Pipe

Pipe looks like a kittay 

In the beginning

These cool mornings are absolutely wonderful! I am still getting used to rising at the very crack of dawn but it gives me a little time to enjoy some coffee before heading out on a walk.

Evidence of autumn 2025 edition. It's only August!

Chilies yet to be harvested.

Books about cheese should be in every Little Free Library in Wisconsin.

When I got home, there was a rabbit relaxing in the middle of the yard.

There was also a naughty cat lurking nearby eyeing up the birds on the ground underneath the feeder. 

I did my best to protect our feathered friends.

After enjoying the great outdoors and the critters that inhabit it, I did my exercises before pouring a cup of coffee and savoring the roasty, nutty goodness. A fine start to the day.

Coffee illuminated

Some booty from Indy:

Smooth with a mild earthy taste and a bit more of a woody flavor. A fine light roast.

A taste of Ethiopia by way of Indy

Our first stop is in Yirgacheffe
To check Ethiopian fields 

While at Gencon earlier this month, Command Coffee on Monument Circle was my go-to for go juice. It was close to my hotel and they open early. Plus their coffee is good. I grabbed a back of their light roast, an Ethiopian bean.

The label emphasizes floral flavors and, while there was that, it sat atop a firm earthy, nuttiness. Good stuff.

The first signs of spring

First I saw 2 robins. Then I heard and finally saw several red-winged black birds. A killdeer sighting came next. This was followed by the sight of orange barrels along the interstate. And now Just Coffee's spring seasonal, Early Bird, a mighty tasty coffee.