The Joy of Furrin' Coffee.

MUG: Another Society6 mug. Proven design of high function.

COFFEE: Continuing to deplete my supply of Colombian San Roque.

NOTE: In the morning dark, my coffee is to my left, my bible is before me, and my cat is to my right on the Meow Division.

The happy home.

MUG: German-made happy mug. You will be happy.

COFFEE: As I said before... "Colombian San Roque from La Colombe Torrefaction in Philadelphia. A truly superior Colombian coffee. A lighter roast than most commercial roasteries (I hear rumors and see evidence that Hipster-kulture™ has picked up on the benefits of lighter roasts), the strong chocolate and citrus overtones stand out (to my simple palate)."

NOTE: We're back home, and happy to be so. I survived road coffee (German-American motel, Mennonite coffee house, highway restaurant). The only really good coffee we had was a 5₵ cup of the "regular" that Linden consumed at Der Kuchen Laden.

Highly 'Si' likely.

MUG: Spanish-made unadorned white eleven ounce Waechtersbach cylinder mug.

COFFEE: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe via Werka Bauka processors in Ethiopia, via La Colombe roasters in Philadelphia, via Der Kuchen Laden merchants in Fredericksburg, Texas.

NOTES: Say the smart people: "The beans have the fragrance of white nectarine, marshmallow, tangerine, coffee blossom, guava, tomato, cane sugar, mango, long pepper, and macadamia nut. The grounds have the fragrance of spinach, yellow peach, mango, vanilla bean, papaya blossom, iodine, tart cherry, rosemary, and orange peel. The aroma of this coffee is of yellow peach, soil, tart mango, rose hips, tart cherry, orange peel, oolong tea, dried apricot, thyme, bakers chocolate. This is a full body coffee that is rounded with a deep stone fruit complexity that is more to the pineapple structure. This is a high acidity coffee that is juicy and lingering with a delicate desert floral sweetness. The flavors of this coffee are of yellow nectarine, manilla mango, yucca flower, tangerine, black tea, black cardamom, coca nibs, brown sugar, fleur de sel, pineapple."

Personally, I thought it tasted pretty good, especially after a day of generic cafe coffee and canned dark roast. I like Yiracheffe. A lot.

Mooned.

MUG: A Chinese-made diner mug. Hefty. Substantial. Chipped.

COFFEE: Despite having been voted "Best Coffee in Boerne," the Bear Moon Bakery & Cafe serves a canned Italian dark roast coffee from Segafredo, brewed "drip process" says the menu board. Not bad coffee, but if it's the best coffee in Boerne, there's a problem.

NOTE: The Bear Moon Bakery & Cafe is a delightful restaurant in Boerne, Texas on Hauptstrasse at East Theissen streets. Good light meals and hearty breakfasts, plus wonderful pastries. Highly recommended.

Desperate measures.

MUG: Plastic melamine-like mug imitating a stoneware mug. Good for dropping on hard surfaces.

COFFEE: "Don't ask. Don't tell" genereic cafe coffee... probably whatever SYSCO or Ben E. Keith Food Services delivered. It was hot and fresh, and those are major pluses on the road.

NOTE: Staying at the "historic" Leakey Inn, I eschewed using the in-room coffee maker, and instead walked to the closely adjacent Tina's Kitchen for a cup of coffee with the local movers and shakers. I sat on the porch at a barn-wood bar with a row of old tractor seats, all facing Highway 83.

Psalm 88:11-12

MUG: Ubiquitous Chinese novelty mug, patterned after the Waechstersbach barrel mug. Designed by Madeline Audrey, and made and sold by Society6 (who also makes a really cool Joy Division Cat mug). I saw a pillow with this design on the Facebook feed Karl Barth for Dummies, followed the link and got the mug. Today, Holy Saturday, is my first use.

COFFEE: The truly excellent Colombian San Roque. More is on the way.

NOTES: Growing up, Holy Saturday was the day we dyed Easter eggs in preparation for the Easter Sunday egg and candy hunts. Religiously and theologically, it was a bit ill-defined (to me). Some years later, while reading works from the Christian Orthodox tradition (and practicing some Eastern Orthodox prayer methods), I discovered an understanding that was held by the Early Church that opened doors of Faith for me. The Nicene Creed states that Jesus "descended to Hell" but it doesn't say what he did there. Peter mentions Christ "preaching to the dead in Hell."  Jesus' descent into Hell/Hades/Sheol wasn't to condemn the dead, but to save those who would listen to him. For all time. The answer to death (and therefore to everything) is Jesus.

Nobody has to die. Get on the bus. Free rides. Great coffee.

Wine and chocolate: more than a date drug.

MUG: One of my surviving original Waechtersbach mugs (purchased at the original Container Store on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas in 1979). I've said all that needs to be said about this particular mug's perfection. PMS MUD (essentially Pantone Matching System color 406) is also my favorite color.  

COFFEE: Colombian San Roque from La Colombe Torrefaction in Philadelphia. A truly superior Colombian coffee. A lighter roast than most commercial roasteries (I hear rumors and see evidence that Hipster-kulture™ has picked up on the benefits of lighter roasts), the strong chocolate and citrus overtones stand out (to my simple palate).

From the Roaster (via the Merchant): "Producers in the San Roque Association process and dry their own coffees and deliver them to quality analyst, Duver Rojas, who tastes the coffees delivered every day and pays incentives for the best coffees. Of 100 families in the association, this lot represents only ten producers who embraced these best practices. Their hard work on the steep hillsides unfolding below the San Roque Monastery and above the Magdalena River created this coffee of refined sweetness."

NOTES: A sample package from Der Kuchen Laden in Fredericksburg, Texas, no doubt meant to lure me back to Deutsche Disneyland Texas. Just might work.

It's been too long.