Friday, September 22, 2023

Wake Up Music


MUG:
Dundoon fine bone china, made in England.

COFFEE: Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian Peaks coffee, light-medium roast. Beans delivered to the Amazon Lock Box around the corner and down the street. Excellent coffee for a pensioner.

NOTES: A custom AAM traditional straight sided mug with a flare at the top. Fine Bone China, made in England by Dunoon specially for AAM.

CAPACITY: 0.3L          HEIGHT: 87mm          DIAMETER: 85mm

Skilled craftsmen and rigorous quality checking is the key to Dunoon’s philosophy of producing the highest quality mugs, well designed in both shape and pattern and manufactured with the greatest care for the discerning customer.

Dunoon uses a high quality Fine Bone China clay from Cornwall, South West England which contains bone ash to give the mugs translucency, bright whiteness and strength. Dunoon uses local skilled craftsmen for each stage of manufacture, many of whom have worked for the company for many years. All Dunoon mugs are inspected and passed with application of the Dunoon shield.

It arrived via Royal Post quite out of the blue. Several months ago, I donated some money the Academy of Ancient Music in honor of their 50th Anniversary Year. The design on the mug (repeated smaller inside the mug) is their logo. I presume this was a thank you gift.

ADDENDUM: I presumed wrong. The mug is a Friendship Token sent to me by my great friend John Lopez (published author, chef, engineer, coffee expert and aficionado, and drummer). Did I mention Great Friend?

Tuesday, November 01, 2022

Totenkup


MUG:
Totenkopf mug, made by Waechstersbach in West Germany. The. Best. Mugs.

COFFEE: Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian Peaks coffee, light-medium roast. Beans delivered to my door. Very Good coffee.

NOTES: Today is (variously) All Hallows' Day, Hallowmas, Feast of All Saints, Feast of All Hallows, Solemnity of All Saints. Take your pick.

Monday, September 26, 2022


MUG:
Bass Pro Shops™ Chinese-made 24 ounce double-walled stainless steel, vacuum insulated mug. Cabela's Strata™ camouflage coverage. The 24 ounce capacity is perfect for iced coffee (fill with ice, top with approximately 12 ounces of strong coffee).

COFFEE: Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian Peaks coffee, light-medium roast, Kosher certified. Excellent coffee.

NOTES: The camouflage pattern makes the Bass Pro Shops logo almost invisible. I slapped my new Covenant Anglican sticker on it as a form of Coffee-time Evangelism. I'm right-handed.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Safety First


 
MUG: IGLOO, a Chinese-made 13.5 ounce double-walled stainless steel, vacuum insulated mug. Nice hi-viz powder coated yellow. The mug's lip rolls down into the interior for a very lip-friendly design. Another step in IGLOO's on-going war with cross-state rival YETI.

COFFEE: Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian Peaks coffee, light-medium roast. Excellent coffee.

NOTES: Save the planet. "The Earth-Friendly Thirst Quencher. With durable, BPA-free stainless steel, you can endlessly reuse this mug, helping to meaningfully reduce the amount of single-use plastic or EPS/polystyrene foam that end up in the landfill."

Monday, October 04, 2021

Early morning surly tableware


MUG:
Sainte-Germaine, a Chinese-made 10 ounce cup from Sur la Table. Conical shape, fairly thick ceramaric cup with nice lip and finger feel.

COFFEE: Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian Peaks coffee, light-medium roast. Beans delivered to my door. Excellent coffee.

NOTES: This mug is from the Sur La Table Collection of what I presume to be reproductions of, or homages to, European cafe dining ware. Sainte-Germaine is a Paris neighborhood famous for artistes, intellectuals, ex-patriot cultural refugees, bistros, and the left bank of the Seine River.

Friday, March 26, 2021

In Memorium


MUG: M Ware coffee mug (made in China), heavy cafe/naval-style mug ('tactical self-defense' weight?).

COFFEE: Colombia Huila, Pitalito, from Barrett's Micro Roast Coffee.

NOTES: While on a trip through parts of West Texas and The Big Empty, I stopped in at Booked Up, Larry McMurtry's bookstore/collection in his hometown of Archer City, Texas. I didn't have time to prowl around the shelves and stacks and tables of the two buildings, but I did have time to swap a couple of stories with the proprietress, and purchase this mug.

Friday, March 19, 2021

Five Not-So-Easy Peaces


MUG: 16 ounce paper to-go tumbler.

COFFEE:  Four ounces of drip-grind Colombia Jardin, medium roasted by White Rock Coffee in Dallas, and "sourced from a cooperative of the best farms in the Antioquia region." An excellent coffee and roast. Rainforest Alliance certified. Just the unbrewed ground coffee.

NOTES: In preparation for a four day trip, I pre-ground and packed my preferred coffee to make during our stay (our friend who was hosting us with is not a coffee drinker). A somnambulant mishap with unfamiliar brewing gear resulted in losing a day's supply. I ventured out to find a small supply.

The Wuhan Panic has resulted in bulk bins being discontinued, so my first thought of getting a quarter pound of coffee ground was a non-starter. "All our coffees are pre-packaged."

My next idea was to get a small sample-packet of quality coffee. Rebuffed again, as no such small packets were to be found.

I found a promising 12 ounce bag of coffee beans at a shop I trust and respect from my former life in Dallas, but I only wanted about 3-4 ounces ground, and the rest I would keep un-ground to use upon my return home. I asked the shop if they could just grind 1/4 of the bag to drip, and eave the restof the beans whole. "No, we can't do that," said the nice young lady behind the scones counter "we have nothing to put the ground coffee into."

Rebuffed again, I started to leave. But when I reached the door, an idea came to me. I went to the order counter, where a supervisor (?) awaited me. I explained my dilemma, and offered a solution. "Can you grind 1/4 of the beans and put the fresh grounds into a paper to-go cup, leaving the whole beans in the bag so they'll stay fresh until I get back home in a couple of days?"

A long pause came upon the gentleman as he pondered the ramifications of meeting my request. After about fifteen seconds (during which he was making hand gestures compatible with thinking through a math problem), he replied "I don't see why not." After grinding the beans, he kindly resealed the bag for freshness with a heating tool.

I departed at peace and in puzzlement.

Nicht Bin Ein Berliner


MUG:
14 ounce "You Are Here" series souvenir mug from Starbucks B.V. of Holland. Commemorating Berlin. Porcelain ceramic made in Thailand.

COFFEE: Colombia Jardin, medium roasted by White Rock Coffee in Dallas, and "sourced from a cooperative of the best farms in the Antioquia region." An excellent coffee and roast. Rainforest Alliance certified.

NOTES: The mug belongs to our friend Barbara, at whose house we were staying while visiting Dallas.