Bwana Java

MUG: Oh look! It's a Waechtersbach mug! What a surprise! School bus yellow, with a matte black Dymo Label that says "Bwana". All the usual superior qualities of the mug, enhanced by an easy to locate color.

COFFEE: The Guatemalan continues for a couple more days.

NOTE: This mug dates back to when I was Principal/Creative Director of The Summer Group (late 1980s). We gave these to clients and vendors, with a 1/3 pound of Summer Blend beans (Colombian, Guatemalan, and Kona coffee in a 2:1&1 ratio), with their name affixed in the manner of small office break rooms. This one was the prototype, and was mine. The name/title Bwana refers to both my position at the time, and to the art magazine I published (but refused to edit), Bwana Art. The Dymo Label has survived twenty some-dd years of dishwashing machines.

Mi madre' China del café.

 

MUG: Cup, actually. Wedgewood Briar Rose pattern. Tiny cup handle, suitable for extended pinky sipping. Lightweight, pleasant, respectable china serving.

COFFEE: Finishing up the Guatemalan.

NOTES: This was my mother's china. It's probably from Neiman-Marcus, as were most of her better things.

Savory or Safe?

MUG: The CenTury double-walled ceramic travel mug our real estate agent gave us as a house warming gift (one of the pair, as previously featured).

COFFEE: Guatemalan Estate (ongoing).

NOTE: As seen below, I used my new ceramic cone basket to make a tumbler of coffee. I'm not going anywhere, I just wanted come coffee on a cool afternoon. I also have used this for an illustration that coffee tastes much better without a lid. Full sensory impact.

Thus Dribbled Zarathustra

MUG: Double-walled titanium camp mug from REI. The plastic (not silicone) lid expands more than the mug when there is hot coffee in it. A sip becomes a dribble. Fail.

COFFEE: Guatemalan Estate from Barrett's. Happy camper, except for the dribble.

NOTE: I was trying to observe the alignment of the heavens this morning, as the moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury are in conjunction just before dawn. Low clouds on the horizon defeated my attempt, with only the Moon and Venus visible. Hot coffee dribbling down my chin in the cool morning air seemed about right.

Cowboy up!

MUG: Stoneware bistro mug from American Atelier's "Cowboy" series of dinnerware. 11 ounces, with an over-sized handle crafted from a ceramic tube (with a vent hole). Fun drinker.

COFFEE: First try of another roast from Barrett's. Guatemalan Estate instead of the usual Colombian Supremo.

NOTES: Guatemalan coffee is my standard "change-up" bean. It has similar characteristics to the Colombian, and makes a nice change of pace to keep the palate alert. Barrett's has again provided an excellent medium (Full City) roast. This is a good supplier of fresh-roasted coffee, and the convenience of mail order shopping can't be beat.

The mug came with a dessert plate. My wife bought two sets for the grandsons to snack on, and forgot that the mugs were giant-sized (by kid standards). I can't quite figure out the hieroglyphics on the mug. Probably some Chinese artist's idea of Western cattle brands... or the Western alphabet. The giant cowboy is nice, too. Or is that a Shetland pony?

Mountaintop experience.

MUG: Waechtersbach of choice. No need to repeat my praises.

COFFEE: A small-batch roasted Colombian Supremo full city roast from Barrett's in Austin (delivered fresh by mail).

NOTES: I got a German-made Cilio ceramic coffee filter holder (No. 4 Melitta), and made a pot of coffee the old-fashioned way: just off boiling water poured over to wet, set, and then to fill. The best cup of coffee I have had in a long time. I'm using the glass-thermos carafe, as glass doesn't retain old (bad) flavor like stainless steel thermal carafes do.

Slash and burn.

 

MUG: Specialty advertising Chinese mug. Standard issue.

COFFEE: The Colombian Supremo Bucaramanga from H.E.B.'s Cafe Olé selection of bulk coffees. Burnt and stale tasting, with none of the qualities that I appreciate from a well roasted Colombian. Second and last try of this convenient to purchase, but unpleasant to drink, coffee. It has been slashed from my list permanently. In it's favor, it does come from H.E.B.'s coffee section for "Straights".

NOTE: The mug (did I mention this before?) was a gift from the staff at Chubby's Restaurant on Northwest Highway in Dallas. Thank you, Alicia... the World's Best Waitress (and Mary, too).

Don't worry, be happy.

 

MUG: Waechtersbach (Germany). The decoration sort of tells it all (caffeine is your friend).

COFFEE: Colombian Supremo San Augustin from Barrett's Coffee roasters in Austin, purchased in whole bean form from Texpresso in Buda.

NOTES: The Great Colombian Expedition continues. This medium roast coffee is heavy on the dark side of the Colombian palate, missing the winey brightness that I anticipate with my first sip of a fresh Colombian. The aftertaste is oily on the tongue and roof of the mouth. Good complexity, excellent aroma, a taste of chocolate, muted with dense character. As of now, the jury is out.

Dark forebodings of disaster.

MUG: The standard by which all others are measured: West German made Waechstersbach, natural colored mug.

COFFEE: Nicaraguan organically-grown beans from the Matagalpa region, via Fara Coffee. Austin-based Fara Coffee roasts mostly beans from the owners' family estates (fincas) in their native Nicaragua. Most of their coffees are dark roast. Interestingly, these "Organic" beans don't seem to be listed on their website.

NOTES: First, the Good News (always). The coffee is a surprise. I thought I'd give it a try after seeing it in the bulk coffee bins of my local HEB-Plus grocery store. In the past, I have been favorably impressed with coffees from Nicaragua, but the various coffees I have tried from this store have been a resounding disappointment. Overly roasted (see the oily beans in the picture above), the taste remains mostly smooth despite the cruelty of too much heat for too long. I long for a Full City roasting of these beans.

Now the bad news. It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of an old friend. An inspection on the photo above will reveal the horror that my fingers first revealed... a crack in the recently unpacked mug's handle. This mug is one of the original set of four mugs I bought in Dallas upon moving from Austin in 1976. The crack appears to be in the structural ceramic, not just the glaze.

These mugs, in the natural slip color I like so much, have been out of the manufacturer's offerings for so long that a factory representative told me they'd never made mugs this color, physical evidence to the contrary (stupid young person). Another one bites the dust (leaving me with two, plus an inferior Spanish-made alternate).

A repair will be attempted, but...

Roast in Perkatory

MUG: Puffy styro Dixie cup. Nice soft-touch surface texture, smooth rolled lip. The puffed material is better insulating, and biodegradable (IIRC).

COFFEE: Percolated church-coffee, as served in AA meetings nationwide (but no ashtrays). Folgers, Maxwell House, HEB, Kroger, Chock-Ful-O-Nuts, or some other canned ground coffee.

NOTES: Sunday morning at The Well in Buda.  As for the coffee... judge not, lest ye be judged.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What has Brown done for you?

MUG: Chinese-made specialty advertising mug, from Ben E. Keith food distributors.

COFFEE: Polka Java, a mocha java blend from a local roaster, Buna Bean. Cafe strength brew (thin). Decent flavor coffee that might even be good if brewed properly.

NOTES: Breakfast at the Brown Street Cafe in Ennis, Texas, across from the police station/city hall/municipal court. I didn't ride my bike.

-


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Restoration.

MUG: One of my German-made Waechtersbach coffee mugs, the standard by which all mugs are judged.

COFFEE: Colombian Supremo, roasted by What's Brewing in San Antonio, sold by Central Market in Dallas. The water is spring sourced.

NOTES: This is my personal ideal combo of mug and coffee, the pairing that gives me the most satisfaction. I can improve on it slightly by using my French Press instead of the Melitta filter system, but only slightly, and at far greater inconvenience.

This is the first day since I was relocated to Kyle in the general exodus that I have been able to enjoy this combination of goodness. Heretofore, either the coffee was missing, or the mug. The opening of a recent box revealed the mugs, while a trip to Dallas last week to fetch lawn equipment resulted in the beans.

Any port in a storm? Nah, safe harbor.

MUG: Paper cup with sleeve and lid.

COFFEE: Costa Rican Cinchona coffee from Collin Street Bakery's Bellemead location. Not bad. Not bad at all. Very slight "burlap" taste, which is new to me, but brewed strong.

NOTES:  After taking six hours to travel 120 miles (due to the end of Spring Break and Austin's SXSW drunk-fest), I needed a rest (and an escape). Rather than fight the stop-and-go traffic on I-35 the rest of the way to Dallas, I took my escape cut-off route of State Highway 31 to Corsicana and I-45. Collin Street Bakery has one of their Deluxe Highway Shops at that intersection (I-35 and SH-31), so I stopped for coffee and a date bar. I also bought three of their fruit cakes (regular DeLuxe, Texas Blonde Pecan, and Apricot Pecan). These are so wonderful! Fooey on all you fruitcake haters, you are simply giving in to peer pressure and easy prejudice (another sign of The Fall).

The never-ending Coffee Wars

MUG: Novelty ceramic mug from China. Bistro/latte style. 16 ounce capacity. Handsome to behold, awkward to hold. Beautiful blue "satin" glaze, with a white glaze liner and white text.

COFFEE: Brazilin sweet yellow Bourbon beans from Daterra Farms (Rainforest Alliance Certified). Roasted and sold by White Rock Coffee. A tad under roasted for my tastes, but flavorful at my preferred strength. Picked up a pound of this the last time I was in Dallas. Ever searching.

NOTES: "Victory or death" - William Barrett Travis. That's what it says on the reverse side of the mug. Incongruous sentiment for a latte.

An aside: "Victory in death" is what it says on my heart.

The gilded art of bunting.

MUG: A gold foil dinnerware mug from the refectory at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. A very pleasant instrument of caffeine administration, it was made by the W.C. Bunting Company in Liverpool, Ohio. Well balanced, with a nice handle and lip, this mug is a superior, though unassuming, object. One of my favorites, it is a "hand wash" only utensil.

COFFEE: Colombian Supremo from What's Brewing Now in Ole San Antone, via Dallas' Central Market.

NOTES: I liberated this old mug while attending Nashotah House during summer session one year. I replaced it with a modern version from the school's bookstore. The late comedian George Carlin's comments on bunting in baseball vs. blitzing in football are forever with me.

Friends: old, new and new again.

MUG: Waechtersbach, made in Spain instead of Germany. Regular readers (both of you) know that I hold my 35 year old German-made examples of this mug (in this color) to be the epitome of the mysterious coffee mug arts. This Spanish version seems a bit lighter in weight, and the tint is to the brown as opposed to the lederhosen grey of my older Deutschemugs. Nonetheless, it is a fine drinking instrument, and is my old friend of consistent solace.

COFFEE: Mexican Organic Flores beans from Anderson's in Austin. Nutty flavor (not flavored) that is quite enjoyable. The best of the locally-sourced beans I have found. Small-batch roasted.

NOTES: The beans were a gift from a new friend I had never met, but did finally meet over a pint (or three). A charming fellow, whose tastes had always impressed me. My impressions have been confirmed. Truly, a scholar and a gentleman (really).

The beans were sourced from the first independent coffee shop I ever frequented, back when I lived in Austin in the early to late 1970s. Bought my first Braun coffee grinder there, as well as many a Melitta coffee pot (they had a tendency to break in my households at the time... knives and other domestic utensils were known to fly across rooms as well). Surprised and pleased to know the company is still in business, and still in the same location.

An old friend made new again. Thanks, Carter.

Lutheran World Relief comes to Kyle

MUG: Well, not a mug, but a paper sack inside of a zip-lok bag, inside of a cardboard box. Delivered by Federal Agents as a Priority assignment.

COFFEE: Columbian Supremo beans, roasted by What's Brewing in San Antonio, and sold by Central Market in Dallas.

NOTES: Alerted to a fellow (sorta) Lutheran's plight in Hays County, the Steve S. arm of LWR, Art & Architecture Division, sprang into action, contracting with Federal agents to transport a pound of superior coffee beans to Kyle in an act of Christian mercy and relief.

Thanks, Steve!

The Great White North

MUG: Chinese made “navy” or “diner” style mug, 10 8 ounce capacity, sourced from Cafe Du Monde on Bourbon Street in New Orleans (I'm showing the non-imprint side). A great mug, if maybe an ounce or three too small. Serious heft, good lip, thick one-finger handle.

COFFEE: Small-batch roasted Colombian Narino Reserva del Patron from White Rock Coffee in Dallas, as delivered to my door yesterday afternoon by a government employee. It’s a “full city” roast. It’s very good.

NOTES: Even with my tasting sense impaired by the allergies I am enduring moving to Central Texas, this coffee tastes good. Paying $30 for delivery of two pounds of freshly roasted coffee to my door may well be the shape of things to come. Placed my order on Thursday, it was shipped on Friday, and it arrived Monday. By placing my order on Sunday, I might be able to get in by Tuesday, as they ship via USPS Priority Mail. Not bad. The extra expense (higher bean price plus shipping) is balanced by the cost of gasoline to drive sixty mile round trip to Austin.

My bitter valentine.

MUG: Waechtersbach. Red. It’s St. Valentine’s day, and no, I don't have one of Waechtersbach’s popular “Heart” mugs.

COFFEE: Bulk Cafe Olé Colombian Supremo darker roast beans from the Buda H.E.B.

NOTES: Another failed attempt at brewing superior tasting coffee in Kyle. Bitter, over-roasted flavor.

I have some small-batch roasted imported beans coming my way, so hope springs eternal, even in Hays County. Speaking of Hays County, Texas, I do find it interesting that Jack C. Hays, the legendary Texas Ranger (and founder of the city of Oakland, California) for whom this county is named, had the middle name of Coffee. No one seems to have capitalized on this historical fact, including the gourmet coffee shop situated on Jack Hays Trail. I suppose Frontier Indian Fighters don’t fit the barista lifestyle.

Here I am.

MUG: Another repeat appearance. This is a Chinese-made specialty advertising mug that was handed out by the South Florida folks who did the “God Quotes” billboards. This one was given to Dallas City Council Member Mary Poss, who gave it to me.

COFFEE: Rio Grande Blend from Texenza Coffee (“South and Central American beans boast a smokey dark chocolate flavor with a rich, smooth finish. Perfect for iced coffee”). I'm not a fan of blends, as I suspect they are too often used to disguise poor beans by adding a few good ones. This locally roasted (Austin) coffee doesn't change my thinking.

NOTES: This is a good cup for Morning Prayer (the coffee is usually brewing as I observe the daily office). Still searching for superior coffee, I ordered some Colombian beans from way up north yesterday (Dallas). Stay tuned.