To Hell and Back

MUG: Chinese-generic.  Produced by Vistaprint as a one-off for me.

COFFEE: Colombian Supremo Santander. Roasted by Frank at CM.

NOTES: Sumer is icumen in... and it will be hell.

The road to better coffee.

MUG: Chinese specialty-advertising diner mug. A good drinker. Hefty without being cumbersome. A manly mug, in a soft ivory color with a tastefully small logo imprint in brown. 

COFFEE: Colombian Excelso Santander, city roast (by Frank) from Central Market Westgate.

NOTES: For reason related to (but not entirely limited to) my allergies to Central Texas, coffee has not been tasting especially good to me lately. I've tried various alterations in my brewing style (and beans), but without much success.

Today, I poured my morning brew into this mug from the coffee purveyors extraordinaire at Der Küchen Laden in Fredericksburg Texas. It tastes great!

If you want better coffee, may I suggest a good place to start is on US Highway 281, safely west of Austin.

The World Cafe.

MUG: A Chinese-made 'diner mug', showing signs of actual hand production (while this crudity is undesirable for maximizing profits, it's highly desirable for actually handling a mug). A 'good drinker' of a mug.

COFFEE: Beach Fire coffee from Summermoon Coffee in Buda, Texas. The politically-correct beans (organic and fair trade) come from the Indonesian island-province of Timor. Summermoon Coffee, which is quietly not politically correct when it comes to murdering tiny human beings, roasts their coffee beans 'off the grid' using no electricity. The fires are fueled by mesquite wood, and the roaster is turned by a stationary bicycle. The coffee is quite good.

NOTES: The Cafe du Monde mug came the original French Market location in New Orleans. It's a 9 ounce mug, which helps limit the amount of burned, oily coffee it can hold, thereby limiting the damage it can do. "French Roast" coffee, flavored with chicory root, is so nasty that customers demanded something to cushion both their palates and their stomach linings. Beignets do the trick nicely, and were the reason I made the trek to Cafe du Monde in the first place. I dutifully drank the coffee... with milk.

There is no fun in Mudville, Waechtersbach has struck out.

MUG: The classic Waechtersbach coffee mug, the original 'cylinder mug', made in Germany, and glazed in a slip that matches a color we call "PMS MUD" (a reference to the Pantone Matching System and my fondness for this earth tone).

COFFEE: Colombian Supremo roasted in-house at Central Market.

NOTES: For some time, Waechtersbach has made ceramics in Spain as well as Germany. The Spanish pieces were usually less desirable, although virtually identical. They were a bit lighter in weight, and the color range was less interesting. The line of mugs were called Fun Factory, perhaps due to the whimsical (and too often tacky) decorations on them, but mainly just a reference to the 'fun' colors of red, yellow, orange, and lime.

But now I see a new line of Waechtersbach mugs being offered for sale: Fun Factory II. They are made in China, and appear to be an altogether different mug, indistinguishable from any other Chinese generic coffee mug.

Wiggle room.

MUG: Uncle Wiggily cup made by the Sebring Pottery Co. Small-sized (six ounces). I'm told that's the size that's in high demand today. This one was made for a child in the 1920s.

COFFEE: Guatemalan Antigua from Central Market. Roasted (city) by Frank.

NOTES: While I noticed several roasts that were dark and shiny, my mainstays (Colombian and Guatemalan) remain roasted short of the burned stage so popular among the passing. There really isn't much wiggle room in coffee roasts destined for drip/pour-over brewing, but a rather narrow sweet spot.

This cup was produced for the Wander Co. in Chicago, an early maker of the Swiss Ovaltine breakfast drink. Uncle Wiggily was an early 20th century cartoon book series, created by Howard R. Garis.

Raven-black coffee

MUG: Texas Sesquicentennial coffee mug (from China), featuring a panel from the Texas History Movies graphic history book series.

COFFEE: Colombian Santa Minas.

NOTES: April 21, 1836: the Anglo-Celtic forging of what became known as 'America'.

"Can you drink from my cup?"

MUG: Waechtersbach Totenkopf mug.

COFFEE: Black.

NOTES: Darkness at noon.

Purchasey's Song

Bad news, bad news, comes to me where I shop.
Burn, burn, burn again.
Saying one of my finds is in dark trouble deep.
Burn, burn to the roast and the bean.

...with apologies to Robert Zimmerman.

Yesterday, I went by Central Market at West Gate to pick up some fresh coffee beans. While bagging my coffee, I overheard two of the roasting team members discuss plans to start roasting the coffees darker because of customer requests. The Austin coffee customer equates 'burned' with 'good' when it comes to coffee (just as they equate burned brisket crust combined with bloody meat as the sign of good barbecue). Coffee, beer, bbq, just about anything; overdone means superior in their minds.

Poseurs all.

These folks below were not poseurs by any means, even though they were trying a bit hard to be American-style folk-rockers. Turn, turn, turn again.



P.S. The tune is based on the old English folk song, The Wind And The Rain.

Where do you draw the line?

MUG: A two-dimensional rendering of a barrel-style mug, done on a 'magic erase' drawing pad I got for my two-year old granddaughter for a buck at Target.

COFFEE: A steaming hot virtual Colombian.

NOTES: I used to draw.

Interestingly, below is a picture of my grandson showing off his artwork of a steaming mug of tea at the elementary school district art show.

I'll take mine black.

MUG: A gift from the Bob Bullock State History Museum (don't bother to ask, "Which state?"). Chinese-made, with a black-trimmed lipped rim and foot. Sort of a Neo-Classical design, but it drinks well.

COFFEE: Brazilian Carmo de Minas Fezenda Sertão, Micro Lot 2. As most of my coffees are lately, this one was roasted at the Westgate Central Market. I like the good Brazilian coffees quite a bit. As the world's largest exporter of coffee beans, they produce a lot of crap beans for crap coffee as well, and the superior beans are a bit rarer in the marketplace.

NOTES: The mug was given to me by a dear friend who who made a decision to move away. Sort of a "piece offering"... as was the event the mug commemorates.

Mini mine.

MUG: Savor Drinkware travel mug. Double-walled, stainless steel, and spill proof to boot.

COFFEE: Guatemalan Antigua roasted at Central Market.

NOTES: This travel mug is sorta mini-sized. It only holds 12 ounces, which is 6 ounces less than most travel mugs. Its raison d'être is so it will fit under a Keurig coffee maker. It was a necessary purchase for me, not because I have a Keurig (although I have used the one at work) but because when used in my MINI Cooper, it doesn't block the dash controls above the cup holders like a normal-sized travel mug.

Be still, and drink coffee.

MUG: A generic, ubiquitous Chinese-made imitation of a Waechtersbach cylinder mug. It's ubiquitous for a reason. It works.

COFFEE: Santander Organic Fair-Trade Colombian from Central Market. City roast, by Frank.

NOTES: This mug is of the Radio Free Babylon internet 'comic' strip Coffee With Jesus, and was produced in conjunction with the publishing of a book of the internet cartoons by Intervarsity Press. I won the mug, and a copy of the book, by having this mug selected as the single most tasteless, tackiest coffee mug posted on their Facebook page. A British mug of Charles and Diana came in second.

This is my 'Happy Face'.

MUG: Nothing you haven't seen before. Waechtersbach (made in Germany). I've got nothing more to say on the matter (today).

COFFEE: Not coffee, which hasn't really been tasting very good since my case of "...an influenza-like upper respiratory infection" (so said the attending Physician). Today I am drinking some Taza Chipotle Chili Chocolate Mexicano, a stone-ground 70% dark "Mexican-style" chocolate in tablet form, from that renowned center of Central American cuisine... Massachusetts. It's about 500% more expensive (and not even close to being 500% better) than the authentic item from Mexico, but the word 'chipotle' causes my wallet to open... at least once.

NOTES: It's a cold morning. It's spicy hot chocolate. I have a cat on my lap. The 'Happy Face' mug is appropriate.

Local is usually best.

MUG: A 'diner' mug. Probably from China. Heavy, and drinks like all the other diner mugs I have. That's a good thing.

COFFEE: A Colombian Santander from Central Market's in-house roaster. Good stuff. Not over roasted.

NOTES: I bought this mug yesterday morning while meeting up with some fellow MINI drivers for a day's cruise. The shop was aptly-but-oddly named Local Coffee. Aptly, because it's a local company with three locations (we were at the Sonterra store). Oddly, because the coffee they serve is roasted in Dallas (the bagged coffee they sell is Stumptown from Portland). That's not a bad thing, because the coffee was excellent... and the barista made it a point to mention that the coffee isn't "over roasted" (I'm talking to you, Austin).

I sampled their daily drip, and it was the thinnest cup of coffee I have ever been served, even though it was just a sample. Seriously, it looked like tea. I made a puzzled remark, the barista made a mildly condescending remark back, and my visit was about to spiral down when I noticed the array of drip makers at the counter, both Chemex and Clever coffee makers. I looked to the menu and saw "slow drip" coffee as a $2.50 option. The coffee was a Colombian, and I bought it. It was a great cup of coffee (really almost two cups... it came in a 16 ounce leather-thermal-wrapped Mason jar), brewed in a Chemex, and it put the mystery of the coffee-tea behind me.

All the best.

MUG: Waechtersbach mug made in 'W Germany' (to give you an idea of how long I've had this particular implement). It doesn't get any better than this.

COFFEE: Ethiopian Sidama, full city roast, roasted a few days ago in a Rube Goldberg roaster by Doctor Smith's Copy and Coffee Emporium in southwest Austin. Pressed in a Bodum French Press coffee maker. Sampson would be envious.

COMMENTS: All the best; mug, coffee, conversation... and music. Thanks Dr. Smith! Good Yule!

Sur la Tabla Rasa

MUG: A new eleven ounce 'barrel mug' made in China, designed and sold by Gibson Home accessories. Coarse black finish, with a smooth white interior and blue lip. Nice drinker, with great tactile qualities. It came with a piece of chalk.

COFFEE: A 'Fair-Trade' washed Sidamo Nura Korate from Ethiopia, roasted at the Central Market Westgate store.

NOTES: This mug was a Christmas gift from my daughter Catherine LaGrone... who, like her elder sister Anna, never ever needs to give me anything, having gifted me with so much in my life I would never else have known. They have written their names on the previously too-often-erased blank slate of my heart.

Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips.

MUG: A stainless steel 12 ounce travel mug marketed by Savor.  It fits the cupholders in my MINI without blocking some of the control buttons like a standard 16 ounce travel mug does (nor does it inadvertently activate the heated seats control, either).

COFFEE: A Starbuck's "Tribute" coffee pod as made in a Keurig Coffee Maker. The machine (and the coffee pod) is in the break-alcove where I have a seasonal mall job. The result is remarkably similar to the drip coffee served in a genuine Starbuck's.

NOTES: I put a wrist band around the travel mug, to aid in grip and to aid in mission. ExploreGod.com, it says. Do.

Oh, and Isaiah 6:5.

Coffee not burned, in more ways than one.

MUG: A plasti-feely-foamy cup thingie from Dixie Cup, the Perfect Touch cup. Soft to the touch, with a harder rolled edge to give decent lip feel. No polystyrene foam is used in its manufacture.

COFFEE: A "100% ORGANIC, 100% FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED, 100% ARABICA" coffee of unspecified origin, roasted and brewed by Summermoon Coffee in Austin.  The roaster says, "NO FOSSIL FUELS, 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY, NO ELECTRICITY. We roast by hand in a brick oven, over a mesquite fire, using sight, sound, and smell to consistently offer our customers a unique and superior coffee experience." I've been told they use bicycles to rotate the roasting drums.

NOTES: Without a doubt, the absolute best 'church-coffee' I've ever been served (as served at The Well in Buda, Texas... which also 'served up' something entirely different and far less tasty yesterday).

As a great bonus, and no small thing to me, no human babies were burned to death in the fire of Moloch to make this coffee.

The daily grind changes. Conehead's revenge.

MUG: Not a mug, but a new grinder. It's a Breville Smart Grinder.

COFFEE: A Santa Inez from Brazil, by way of the Central Market at Westgate.

NOTES: I replaced my well-used Cuisinart burr grinder a few months ago (when it disintegrated internally) with a Krups conical burr grinder. I tried to like it, but while it had some great advantages over the Cuisinart (it didn't make a huge mess), it also didn't grind the coffee consistently, resulting in 'muddy' coffee from my cone filter drip maker (drip filter grind had too much finely powdered coffee).

The Breville is a true conical grinder (the Krups was a hybrid, with concave/convex disc burrs). I asked it some questions, and it remains mute, so I guess it isn't really very smart. We'll see what its learning curve is.

Kaffeeklatsch

MUG: 0,25L German stoneware beer stein. Made by Franz Stöber. There's an Augustiner logo imprinted on the side not seen. This is the ceramic glaze color (salt glaze?) that my favorite Waechtersbach mugs come in, and probably related.

COFFEE: Guatemalan Antigua coffee from/by Central Market Westgate. Roasted by Frank.

NOTES: Guten Morgen!