Coffee, Tea or Me(dicine)?

It is winter!
Not officially mind you, that happens on the December 21.
The time of year I am blessed with the joys of snow, Christmas and lots of pie!

While the season was approaching I was getting excited to enjoy warm, delicious espresso based drinks like peppermint mochas and eggnog lattes!

There was only one problem.
I had a cold, a common cold.

Instead of moping and complaining, I started to think.
If the common cold was so common, why wasn't there a cure?

Photographer Unknown

This post is about my quest to find a cure.
At the very least, I was determined to find a remedy for the common cold so my holiday season won't be ruined!

Will it be Coffee, Tea or Me(dicine)?

The Events.

Coffee?
I had just finished the coffee my husband left in the pot before going to work. A little less than half a pot. Just enough to stimulate the energy needed to get my son to school on time.

Tea?
Walking into the house from the garage the bright blue kettle on my stove catches my eye. I fill it with water, set it down and turn the burner on high. Shuffling out of the kitchen I head to the coat closet. After hanging up my coat, stuffing my hat and mittens into the bin, and placing my shoes on the rack, I slide my raccoon faced slippers and pad back to the kitchen to select a tea bag to brew with high hope of alleviating my sore throat.

Me(dicine)?
I can no longer even whistle a bit of air through my nose. I never appreciate my nose until I can't use it anymore. My sinuses are so stuffed my eyes have swelled making wearing contacts an impossibility. I don't like wearing my glasses. They are uncomfortable on a good day and unbearable when my head has become inflated with mucus like a water balloon.

They only cold medicine in the house is "green death", the green colored NightQuil.
It tastes makes bile taste good.

The Observations.

Coffee:
It gave me energy to get moving, but coffee is a diuretic. It made me slightly dehydrated and once the caffeine wore off, I crashed.

Tea:
It made my throat feel better. The herbal aromas rose with the steam and helped to clear my nose temporarily. While I still had to tinkle a lot, it didn't leave me feeling dehydrated like with coffee.

Me(dicine):
Worse than the flavor of the one cold medicine in the house is the medically induced coma it will put me in within 5 minutes of gagging it down. I can't. I have to pick up my son for pre-school in an hour.

After making some observations I recall some pertinent facts.
My husband was sick with this cold for 2 days. My son was sick for 5 days.
I have MS (multiple sclerosis) which means my autoimmune system is busy fighting against my body, so my immune system has less time and resources to fight off germs efficiently.

The Math.

If I take the number of days my husband and son are sick and add them together, then divide that sum by the number of people involved and finally multiple the quotient by 5 and have I the number of days I was sick.

In this case: ((2+5)/2)*5=17.5 days.

Like any scientific equation there are variables that need to be included.
In this case study those variables were Coffee, Tea and Me(dicine).
Each variable is assigned a number in the order of it's effectiveness and multiplied by the number of cups or doses I ingest.

Coffee gave me energy (.1) but dehydrated me (-.3).
Tea caffeinated tea gave me energy (.1), herbal qualities (.3) soothed my throat and temporarily cleared my nose.
Me(dicine): Medicine alleviates symptoms and induces sleep. Sleep is good when your sick, but not at the cost of my son; daytime use (-.5), nighttime use (.5).

So if I commit an act of desperation and omit coffee from my diet while I am sick, increase the amount of tea I usually drink from one cup to four and use medicine only at night for 5 days (the length of time my son was sick) I wonder what effect it will have on my cold.

(((2+5)/2)*5)-((((.1*4)+(.3*4))*5)+(.5*5))=
17.5-(8+2.5)=1
17.5-10.5=7.5

If I were to extended that logic to 7 days what would the outcome be?

(((2+5)/2)*5)-((((.1*4)+(.3*4))*7)+(.5*7))=
17.5-(11.2+3.5)=1
17.5-14.7=2.8

 

The Conclusion.

It has been proven I have too much time on my hands to have random thoughts when I am sick.
I also think it is safe to say I have not found a special remedy for the common cold.
However, I have learned to value of tea.

When you are sick, put coffee aside and drink tea instead.
I prefer mine in the traditional English style with a splash of (almond) milk and a sprinkle of sugar.
My husband prefers his plain or with a squeeze of honey. 

Busy. Busy. Busy.

The theme of my life right now is busy.
It almost seems to have become an understatement!

Organization is key to keeping my sanity stable right now.
Improving organization leads to higher productivity.

With the help of coffee, some of these changes are visible on this site.
Look under the banner where tabs have been added. 

If you click on Books! you will be taken to a page about...
you guessed it 
Books!
Not just any books, my books. 
Novels in fact.

If you click on Recipes! you will be taken to a page featuring recipes I have created.
Many are the perfect companion to a cup of coffee!

Can't get enough of my thoughts?
Want to know more about me? 
Click on the tab 'Who am I?'.
You will be taken to site to answer all those questions!

I will continue to feed my coffee addiction.
A series of posts are in the works even as I type this post.
Roast Notes:
Pages from my personal coffee roasting journal.

Keep checking back for these pages on my roasting successes and failures that haven't necessarily made it into a post before.

In the mean time, check out the changes while enjoying a cup or two of your favorite coffee!

Water: Myths or Facts.

For me, the past week was spent in a coffee deprived state of consciousness. While I was kayaking around Lake Tulaby daydreaming about coffee, a few curious thoughts occurred to me.

Myth

A watch pot never boils.

False.

If you don't believe me, go boil water and stare at it.

Myth
Cold water boils faster than hot water.

False.

Fact
Water boils at 212 F.

The physics of bringing water to a boiling point is pretty straight forward.
It is a transfer of energy, specifically 1 calorie to heat 1 milliliter of water 1.8 F.
My husband, an aerospace engineer who enjoys astrophysics, informed me that it is technically thermal dynamics which is kind of a branch of physics and kind of chemistry.

A pot or kettle of water sits on a heating unit. The heat is transferred to the pot, from the pot to the water. If the water is cold to begin with the coefficient of time will be higher because the temperature difference is greater.

Time Difference = (Temperature Difference * K * Surface Area) / (Heating Power * Material Thickness)

K as a water property constant which is a bit tricky to calculate as the properties and efficiency will vary for the water supply you use and the setup of the system.

In summation, using hot water means you will be able to brew and enjoy a cup of coffee sooner. 

So again, why?
The science for using hot water is sound.

Why boil cold water?  

Fact

Hot water leeches minerals and possibly lead out of metal pipes.
Obviously lead is not something we want to be voluntarily ingesting on a daily basis and the minerals will add off-flavors.

Now I know why I’m constantly being instructed to use cold water to brew coffee or cook.
It goes against the facts of thermal dynamics, but quality of life will be improved by better tasting coffee.

If you know your water supply and house hold plumbing do not interact with metal pipes, use hot water to bring water to a boil faster; if you are not sure or if you know there are metal pipes, continue to use cold water and be happy with the knowledge you won’t receive lead poisoning from your daily consumption of coffee.

Roast. Record. Blend. Repeat.

The season of weddings is upon us,
RSVPs have been sent out and travel plans have been made.
and with weddings, come anniversaries. 
Cards have been sent to friends and family congratulating them on 8, 32 or even 50 years of marriage.

My husband went to college for aerospace engineering and astrophysics, and I went for design. While he poured over complex equations, I was cutting and pasting hand painted tiles like I was still in kindergarten.

He likes documentaries and watching the news, and I prefer music. 

We define the stereotype of opposites attract.

So what makes our marriage work?
What keeps people together?

Photograph by Birdsong Photography

It has been a year since I began the adventure of roasting coffee.
A year since starting Notable Coffee.

After a year of crafting blends of good combinations and terrible ones, I have determined the answer.

The answer is the same for coffee blends as for marriages.
Balance.

The opposite nature of our personalities and different coffee beans creates a balance.
Conflicts or poor taste occurs when one person or flavor tries to over power another.

Roast.
When crafting a blend, it is best to roast a bean individually first.
Then, brew up a small amount, in order to establish a taste profile.

(Only after the initial individual bean roast and recording can experimentation of roasting different beans together occur through repeating the process.)

Record.
I used Roast Notes to record comprehensive observations of Indian Mysore, Ethiopian Harar and Sulawesi Toraja before, during and after the roast to determine their flavor profiles.

• The Indian Mysore is a bright roast containing spicy and nutty flavor characteristics.
  
• The Ethiopian Harar is also spicy, but with an additional earth quality.
  
• The Sulawesi Toraja is a roast of low acidity and a thick body of spicy flavors with the undertone of chocolatey and slightly nutty notes.

Blend.
Combined in a blend of 1:1:1 (ounces), the brightness, or higher acidity of the Harar was balanced by the low acidity of the Toraja.

The spicy flavor all three beans shared was obviously predominate, but not over powering because of the secondary flavors. The earthiness helped to ground the spicy flavors from running away with the pallet. The chocolatey and nutty flavors naturally blend well together and  help to sweeten the temperament of the spice.

Repeat.
Another example was when I put Bali Kintamani together with Sulawesi Toraja.

The Kintamani held a very fruity flavor. The taste of cherries was so overpowering that my husband and I found it practically undrinkable. However the spicy, chocolatey and nutty flavors of the Toraja created a balance to the Kintamani.

When used at a 2:1 ratio, Kintamani:Toraja, the undrinkable bean was transformed to create a blended cup of coffee with no dominate flavors.

It ended up tasting...like coffee. 
Just a good cup of coffee.
And when you are waking up, it is nice to do it slowly, with no surprises to the taste buds.

Marriage is bringing two individuals together.

Crafting a coffee blend is bringing individual beans together.

Strengths and weakness must be tested/tasted to find out how they work together best.

In my marriage, the one responsible and not forgetful pays the bills.
That person isn't me.
Just one person pays them, so we don't inadvertently pay twice. 

The one who doesn't burn the meal or sends the other into anaphylactic shock gets to cook.
That would be me\...except for meringue and pies.
Mmmm, lemon meringue pie. In this relationship, my husband is the Pie Man.

So, to craft a great blend of coffee it starts with the individual flavors first, then the proper ratio of each is combined to create a blend.

Roast. Record. Blend. Repeat.

Let's learn from our own roasting adventures and each others. Share your blends in the comments box, or with me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.

As always, Happy Roasting and Brewing!

Reproducing Favorite Roasts.

Having favorites is risky.

When it comes to parental favorites with siblings there is the uncertainty of not living up to expectations.
Even if parents say there isn't a favorite, kids don't stop envisioning it exists.

When it comes to material items, replacements might not be obtainable.
I had a pair of fish embroidered Sketchers. So comfy and cute. One day my husband threw them away because he said they smelled like the aquatic organism on it. No pair of sporty slip-ons has ever been as good as the idealized standard those shoes set.

When it comes to coffee, the a favorite roast might be discontinued or the last of the roasted batch consumed.
I roasted Bali Blue Moon and nearly swooned over my cup. Suddenly I was torn between sharing this heavenly roast with my husband or keeping all the precious beans for myself. Then a horrifying thought hit me...

What if I can't reproduce the same roast again?

Here the risky cycle of choosing favorites can stop.
Through the use of roasting notes form, you can record the basic information and observations needed to reproduce a roast.

Free to print. Click image for PDF.

Date
Recording the date you roasted is not only a good organization technique, but a simple way to have recorded the season.
The more time I roast, the more I notice how ambient temperature, for example, effects roasting reproduction. Loving the way I had roasted Lagniappe Decaf one month in the summer, I went back to reproduce it in the winter. The temperature difference effect the length of time roasting required to reach the Espresso roast I needed.
(Refer to Basic Roasting Guide)

Green Bean(s) Type 
This is self explanatory as obvious information needed to reproduce the same roast.

Ounces
It is important to note, if not by ounce another standardized measurement, the amount of beans you roasted.
If less or more is used at a later date, the roast time will need to be adjusted. Less time for fewer beans and more time for more beans. Refer to manufacture's instructions as the maximum amount of beans while roasting varies by machine.

Settings
Settings vary by machine, but the essentials are to record the temperature used, the fan speed and the time of roast.

Apperance
Record the green bean before and the roasted bean after.
Experience gained through experimentation has lead me to conclude the darker the color of the green bean before the roasting, the longer it will take to achieve a crack. By recording the color of a bean before roasting it, it allows with crop comparison as experience expands and develops your taste buds.

Audible
Recording the audible signals of roasting is an invaluable way to adjust the time of roast in order to achieve the preferred roast level.

Taste
Spicy, chocolaty, nutty, buttery, fruity, flowery, winey, earthy are the comment adjectives I use when I reopen the notes and record how it tastes.

Additional Notes
Once again, self explanatory. However, I would recommend commenting about the weather, aroma and brewing method used to obtain the flavors.

So, for me as a parent there is no threat of playing favorites since I only have one.
Although, I must confess some days the dog is preferable company to a four year old! 

The Shoemaker's elves have not magically left me a new pair of exceedingly comfy fishy slip-ons.
If I really like a pair of shoes now, I wear socks. Always!

And favorite roasts can be reproduced!
The only glitch is the possibility of crop shortages for a particular green bean.

Feel free to print out the Roast Notes form for use, but please don't sell it for profit. 
Punch it with a three holes for a binder and keep a record of your roasts. Even the bad ones!
Through out history we have learned from our mistakes. Experiment with roasting. Record your results.

What is your favorite roast?
Share with me either in the comments box or by emailing me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.
Enjoy and as always... 
Happy Roasting and Brewing!

Onobrano's Latte Blend

artist unknown

Decaf coffee. 
What else can I say?

That it is a substitute baristas give to rude customers?

Or that, like for many, 'Death Before Decaf' is a lifestyle motto I completely understand?

The lack of caffeine is the obvious problem. Then there's a chemical taste the decaffeination process leaves which makes any cup of decaf undrinkable.

Then I roasted my own. 

A naturally decaffeinated blend of green beans called Lagniappe Expresso Decaf Blend.
 
The term used to name this blend, Lagniappe, is a Louisianan term meaning "a little something extra" which is exactly what you get with this roast. 

The lack of caffeine isn't even noticeable as you get lost in the espresso it creates when you brew it.

Recently my four year old decided he doesn't need to take naps anymore.
Which means I don't get my R&R during the day.
Refueling & Recuperating.
Suddenly, the half pot my husbands leaves me in the morning isn't good enough.

If I were to make another pot or press of coffee I would most likely drink it all and then I would be awake all night. I had to find another solution. 

Onobeano's Latte Blend is the extra boost I need.
Created with the intention of the espresso being mixed with milk to make a latte (Latte Making Guide), this blend has a delicious bittersweet chocolate taste. It has a brighter taste than the Lagniapple. 

To make a latte, I combined the espresso with almond milk.  It was amazing!  The brightness of the espresso was tamed. The almond milk naturally provided a nutty flavor that complimented and enhanced the bitter sweet chocolate flavor already present.

Onobeano's Latte Blend
Roasting Notes:

I roasted 4 ounces with 2/3 fan and low heat for 2 minutes. Then 7 minutes with 1/2 fan and medium heat. Finishing with 2 minutes on high heat with 1/4 fan. The total roasting time was 11 minutes. The first crack came after 5.7 minutes and the second after 9.3 minutes elapsed. 

As with all espresso roasts the goal is to be between a Vienna roast and an Italian. It should be medium brown with a matte finish. If the roast is too light, it will be very acidic.

This is a blend definitely worth trying. I recommend giving almond milk a try instead of regular moo. It heightens the drink to Seattle coffee shop levels. Enjoy and as always... 
Happy Roasting and Brewing!

Visible & Invisible

Spring?

When there is snow outside, ice to slip on and a wind chill below freezing it is hard to believe the first day of spring has come and gone. Flowers and rain, not ice and snow, is what I expect.
It's time to start...

artist unknown

In spring there are two types of cleaning that must be done.
The kind of cleaning done with a bucket, mop and broom which will require many pots of coffee; and the kind with a cup or two and some thinking.

Visible:
I promised my husband a freshly roasted pot of his favorite, Mocca Java, to help him tackle the garage which seemed to have exploded with dust, cobwebs and clutter over the winter.

Since I have not been able to roast for much of the winter, I haven't purchased any new green coffee beans. Going to my stash of remnants from last year's stock, I discovered I only had an ounce or less of the Java Ciwidey, Yemen Mocca Matari, Indian Mysore and Papua New Guinea Purosa.

It seems like a dire situation to a dedicated amateur.

Yes, I roasted in the snow to get a clean garage!
I would not advise.
Electricity and water (even if it is frozen) do not get along.

What to do?
The answer is simple. 

Do not throw them out, make a blend.
Take four ounces of whatever is remaining and roast them together.

This is the best way to gain experience. 
Experiment, taste and enjoy.

Cleaning out the remaining green coffee beans to make room for new ones in order to provide the fuel and motivation needed to spring clean away the visible dirt, but what about the other spring clean that needs to be done?


Invisible:
The first thing I thought, as I sipped with a two handed technique, was sadly far from deep.
It was what came first...

The chicken or the egg?
Stay with me!
The egg or the bunny?
There is a point, I promise.
A bunny who lays eggs...for children to eat?
Okay, so that thought is both disgusting and disturbing!

How has another holiday of candy taken priority over the real meaning?

Halloween I can accept as a candy holiday.
Trick-or-treating is a tradition in my house.
Christmas has Santa Clause; whose real name was Saint Nicholas; who was trying to share christian charity around Christmas; whose real message is the birth of Christ.
Logical.
But an Easter Bunny on the day celebrated for someone being killed
and rising from the dead?!
Whether a Christian or not, that logic is flawed.

Take the Easter season as a time to Spring Clean what cannot be seen.

Personally, I saw how I needed to spend more time on others than myself.
I don't own make up or a hair dryer, so I don't mean in a primping in front of a mirror way.
For me it is the time I spend doing what I want, like writing, drawing, designing and roasting that needs to be replaced with things my son, my husband or even my dog wants to do with me.

Reallocating my time, giving away what I want to others, has given me a happier heart.

As winter clings on this year give spring cleaning some thoughtful consideration.

Which rooms you might want to bribe your significant other to help clean?
The places too gross or high to reach are always my choices. 

How to spring clean yourself?
Personally, I made my husband shower before sitting down after cleaning the garage! The real answer I gave above.


Which coffee blend you can create with the beans left in last year's stash?
I would love to hear about your blends. What combination of beans were used? How were they roasted? How did it tastes? Use the comment box below or email me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.

Happy Spring Cleaning, Roasting and Easter!

Expectations. Hope. Coffee.

Expectations come with hope.

You expect you've been good for the year, so you hope Santa brings you a puppy for Christmas. 

Those were the years. 

 

CBS News

Now, I am older. As of February, I am one year shy of thirty.
Until this year I didn't really pay much attention to politics. 

I expected the officials who got elected to do their job. 

I hoped a deal would be struck before the budget was sequestered. 

Now, the only government office to not have their budget be affected by their inability to do their job is their own salaries.

I probably wouldn't give this any thought, except it affects my sister who was an officer in the Navy until last year and her husband who is an active officer in the Marines. They have both been serving their country since Sept 11, 2001.

But that's not the rest of the story, it affects my household too. 

This sequestered budget forces my husband to be furloughed. 

We will lose a significant portion of his salary. 

Since I am a stay-at-home mom, his salary is our only source of income.

Today, he told me this might not be the worst to come.

If March 27 passes with congress not meeting the budget deadline, it could be much worse.

And not just for us. I know there are many people who will be affected by all of this inaction.

To cope with these current events, I did the only thing I could think to do. 

I made coffee.

With a manual grinder, I ground Blue Mountain Jamaica roast.

I have been dying to try this coffee!

I did not buy green beans and roast them.
I could never afford them! Five pounds of green beans cost $240!

Already roasted bean were given to me as a gift from my in-laws when they got back from a vacation in Jamaica. 

It was like Christmas to me!

Expectations that this was going to be the best cup of coffee ever in order to assuage the pain of our current situation were high.

I brewed it with the manual press, poured it into two mugs and sat with my husband on the sofa. 

Top Gear (U.K) was on Netflix and our son was napping.

The heat from the cups warmed my perpetual cold hands. Raising to my lips, I sipped.

I don't know what flavors I was expecting, but they didn't come.

Thinking of how coffee changes flavor with different temperatures, I waited for it to cool and took another sip.

This was repeated until the coffee was gone. 

Looking at my hubby, my face showed my question and opinion. 

"I agree," was all he said in reply.

It had been an incredibly smooth cup of coffee. 

It had nothing repugnant about it.

It also had nothing remarkable either.

No flavor.

I was less disappointed on every Christmas morning growing up when all the gifts from Santa had been opened to discover he didn't give me the one thing I had really hoped for. A puppy.

I still hold out hope that Congress won't crush my expectations for them to do the job they have been elected to do. Their lives are not being affected, but my family's, my sister's family and many peoples family's will be affected. 

I would drink that unremarkable coffee every day, because it holds the promise of something better when I finish drinking all the beans. That the replacement beans will be better.

The same holds for our elected officials.

I will, my family will, make it through this crisis with hope because of the promise of being an American. There will be another election in 2014 where the officials who have not done their jobs can be replaced, just like my coffee.

How to Make Store Bought Coffee Better.

Snow has fallen, giving me the pleasure of shoveling the driveway. My son is too little to push a shovel, so he gets to use a dustpan.  

The concept of shoveling off the driveway is lost on him.

He scoops a pan full of snow off the side of the driveway I had just cleared and dumped it back on. Once he gets bored with that game, I am repeatedly pelted with snowballs. Mind you, the entire time I can see the faces of my neighbors through their windows watching and laughing as snow went down my back through the crack at the collar my scarf didn't cover.

With rosy cheeks and frozen feet, we head in. Hot chocolate was swiftly made for my son and then I checked for coffee options. Since the snow on the back deck was deeper than the driveway I had just shoveled, I knew replenishing my fresh roasted coffee stash isn't going to be a viable option until the groundhog's prediction of an early spring comes true.  

Only stale store bought coffee remains my option! *Gasp*

Have you found yourself in this situation?
Don't dismay!

With a manual grinder, manual drip device and a teakettle you have the power to turn bad coffee into decent coffee; decent coffee into good coffee; and good coffee into an outstanding cup.

Step One: Take the pre-ground store bought coffee and grind it again until it is fine, almost powder like.

Note: An automatic grinder will work, but the motor will emit heat which will roast the coffee further destroying the flavors and coffee potency of the blend.

Step Two: Boil water. Electric kettle, stove top or over a fire north woods style, it doesn't matter how you choose to do this step.

Note: Actually, remove the water from the heat before it reaches boiling temperature (212F). Ideally, coffee should be brewed with water around 190F and not above 200F.

Step Three: Set up a manual drip brewing device according to model specifications. Once the filter is in place, pour the re-ground coffee in.

Step Four: Slowly pour water over the grounds.

Note: Moisten the coffee thoroughly with a small amount of water at first, then brew as much coffee as the pot can hold.

Step Five: This is the most important step, Enjoy!

Whether or not the taste is improved by this five step method is up for debate.

Perhaps it is the "Ikea effect" that makes me believe I have made a better cup of coffee.

"Ikea effect" defined: You buy a piece of furniture, put it together, it wobbles and you still love it because of all the work you put into making it. Versus going to a furniture store and picking out a table, where if one wobbles you don't buy it based on the poor craftsmanship.

Is it possible using a manual grinder and drip machine to improve store bought pre-ground coffee actually makes a better cup of coffee, yes. Then again it is completely believable that the extra work does absolutely nothing to improve the cup.

But, even if that is true, I am enjoying the cup of coffee more than if I use the easiest way possible becuase I worked for it. 

In the words of Porky Pig, "That's all folks", five steps to improve the taste of store bought coffee when you find yourself unable to roast your own. Even if it is just the "Ikea effect" for coffee, I am happy and for me that is all the proof I need to know this method works.

As always Happy Roasting and Brewing!