[Note: I have a number of unpublished/unfinished blog entries; this was one from January 21st, 2008. In its unfinished state, it was supposed to celebrate being a coffee snob. Now, maybe not.]
Bumping into Bobby at the BP Tower Starbucks gave me a chance to explore coffee and talk about it. Our personal preferences conflicted dramatically, but it was conversations with Bobby that convinced me that coffee could be enjoyable and not only for the caffeine. Since then, I've discovered that there is "coffee™" and then there is "Coffee!" Very simply, the stuff called "coffee™" I found is usually purchased in stores and cafes, is usually too hot, weak and tastes of stainless steel or burnt beans. "Coffee!" is usually brewed at home.
I suppose there's another category. Our Cub Scout Pack drinks what we call "cowboy coffee": throw the grounds into a blue-enameled coffee pot, boil the water, let the grounds settle down and pour. You have to wait for the coffee to cool enough to strain it through your teeth. It satisfies but is never really enjoyed.
Recently, we've been bringing a collection of four-cup french presses. That gets messy, real quick. And keeping three or four of these things producing is almost a full-time job. You never get to sit down long enough to enjoy a cup. But in a french press, even rusty, hard campground water can make "Coffee!", depending on the beans.
And therein lies part of the problem. There are dozens of variables, some within your control and some not. I found myself constantly chasing the perfect cup of "Coffee!" Would this bag of Sulawesi taste as good as the last one? Should I try a different roaster's product? Why does coffee from this roaster do this in the water but coffee from this other roaster do something different? Early on, there was a bag of New Guinea Peaberry that has taken on mythical proportions. I've never been able to duplicate the flavors of that bag.
Someday, maybe I'll get back into playing this game. I enjoyed being a coffee snob, really. Ultimately, it was the constant chasing after the perfect cup that did me in. There was never a simply "good enough" cup of coffee.
