Morning Coffee Rituals

The morning coffee ritual begins the night before in our house. The drip machine is the most common method of brewing for the first consumption of the day. My husband is the first to get up. The machine must be prepared in advance for once the alarm goes off at 5:15 in the morning; he just wants to be able to push a button before taking a shower. Or at least pushing a button was all he used to have to do.

For the past ten years (since college) we have been beginning our day by using the low quality beans of mass roasting production by companies like Folgers. All morning cups of coffee were stale, flavorless. Now, the morning cup of coffee is a fresh delight. The beans are ground right before brewing. It is an extra step to his morning process, but one well worth it.

This morning's blend was two scoops (a scoop is about a tablespoon) of medium roasted Mexican Chiapas beans and one scoop of dark roasted Sumatra Takengo. This combination produced a wonderfully smooth cup of coffee. The flavors are like fine spun linen that feels like satin on your skin. It coats your tongue and slips down your throat with inconspicuous hints of smoky roasted goodness and caramelized sugars from the dark Sumatra beans, and unobtrusively rich taste that brings the mellow slightly fruit notes from the medium Mexico beans. Together, these flavors create a full body harmonious cup of coffee that is light on the pallet, perfect for a spring morning.