I've never had a problem with coffee keeping me awake at night. I guess I'm not one of those people who, like my wife, blame the cup of coffee they had at 2pm on the fact that they are so restless going to bed. No doubt that over the years I've probably built up some level of caffeine tolerance.
However, I have found that over the last few months coffee has been causing me to go to bed far too late - virtual coffee that is. I've really enjoyed discovering some great websites that are highlights in the world of coffee. One such site is the English coffee roaster Has Bean.
I've been receiving a few bags of coffee from Has Bean recently which are always a pleasure to get and an education to drink. (They'll ship to anywhere in the world). But one of the best features of the site is owner Steve Leighton's vlog, In My Mug. In it he describes a different coffee each week which is available to buy. The enthusiasm that Steve puts into his coffee is immense and very entertaining. So here's a taster of one of his vlogs as he describes a speciality coffee from Kenya....which I have just ordered.
By sheer coincidence I'm sure, you may have noticed the competition at the end of this video...I'll let you know if I win!
If you've never ordered freshly roasted coffee before then why not give Has Bean a try. It will take your coffee experience to a new level and may even sway the competition result ;-)
By the way, if you are "one of those people" Has Bean also roasts decaf. I just don't like to talk about that sort of thing very much.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Like Coffee for Ale
Ah, St Patrick's Day. That one day in the year when you can put aside any commemoration of how one man of God challenged and changed the history of an island and, instead, put on a green, sparkly cowboy hat and get drunk. (I'm such a cynic.)
I've lived an alcohol free life now for over 15 years. I consider it my personal holy vow that I made with God. And here I am now, living in the home of the "black stuff" - Guinness, but growing in my appreciation for the other black stuff - coffee. However, if I was to take a drink it would most probably be ale with it's variations in tastes and styles to take you on a never ending journey of discovery. So I smiled when I came across this ancient poem that combines one man's religion with his love of ale.
I should like to have a great ale-feast for the King of Kings; I should like the Heavenly Host to be drinking it for all eternity.
I should like to have the fruits of Faith, of pure devotion; I should like to have the seats of Repentance in my house.
I should like to have the men of Heaven in my own dwelling; I should like the tubs of Long-Suffering to be at their service.
I should like to have the vessels of Charity to dispense; I should like to have the pitchers of Mercy for their company.
I should like there to be Hospitality for their sake; I should like Jesus to be here always.
I should like to have the Three Marys of glorious renown; I should like to have the Heavenly Host from every side.
I should like to be rent-payer to the Lord; he to whom He gives a good blessing has done well in suffering distress.
Go mbeannaí Dia duit.
I've lived an alcohol free life now for over 15 years. I consider it my personal holy vow that I made with God. And here I am now, living in the home of the "black stuff" - Guinness, but growing in my appreciation for the other black stuff - coffee. However, if I was to take a drink it would most probably be ale with it's variations in tastes and styles to take you on a never ending journey of discovery. So I smiled when I came across this ancient poem that combines one man's religion with his love of ale.
I Should Like to Have a Great Ale-Feast
I should like to have a great ale-feast for the King of Kings; I should like the Heavenly Host to be drinking it for all eternity.
I should like to have the fruits of Faith, of pure devotion; I should like to have the seats of Repentance in my house.
I should like to have the men of Heaven in my own dwelling; I should like the tubs of Long-Suffering to be at their service.
I should like to have the vessels of Charity to dispense; I should like to have the pitchers of Mercy for their company.
I should like there to be Hospitality for their sake; I should like Jesus to be here always.
I should like to have the Three Marys of glorious renown; I should like to have the Heavenly Host from every side.
I should like to be rent-payer to the Lord; he to whom He gives a good blessing has done well in suffering distress.
Irish; author unknown; tenth-eleventh century.
Go mbeannaí Dia duit.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Coffee with my Namesake
My wife was out the other evening so, instead of wasting the evening away in front of one of a number of screens that vie for my attention, I pulled out a book from the ‘Classics’ section of the bookshelf and spent some time reading. The book I chose was Meditations by Marcus Aurelius – the second century Roman emperor/philosopher. I lit a fire and made myself a coffee – an espresso con panna: the strength of an espresso with the decadence of the cream seemed somehow appropriate.
It made for a most agreeable evening. Here are a couple of quotes.
On family attributes:
From my grandfather Versus: decency and a mild temper.
From what they say and I remember of my natural father: integrity and manliness.
From my mother: piety, generosity, the avoidance of wrong-doing and even the thought of it; also simplicity of living, well clear of the habits of the rich. [Book 1:1-3]
On living in the moment:
Even if you were destined to live three thousand years, or ten times that long, nevertheless remember that no one loses any life other than the one he lives, or lives any life other than the one he loses. I follows that the longest and the shortest lives are brought to the same state. The present moment is equal for all; so what is passing is equal also; the loss therefore turns out to be the merest fragment of time. No one can lose either the past or the future – how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess? [Book 2:14]
On beauty:
We should also attend to things like these, observing that even the incidental effects of the processes of Nature have their own charm and attraction. Take the baking of bread. The loaf splits open here and there, and those very cracks, in one way a failure of the baker’s profession, somehow catch the eye and give particular stimulus to our appetite. Figs likewise burst open at full maturity: and in olives ripened on the tree the very proximity of decay lends a special beauty to the fruit…Looked at in isolation these things are far from lovely, but their consequence on the processes of Nature enhances them and gives them attraction. So any man with a feeling and deeper insight for the workings of the Whole will find some pleasure in almost every aspect of their disposition, including the incidental consequences. Such a man will take no less delight in the living snarl of wild animals that in all the imitative representations of painters and sculptors; he will see a kind of bloom and fresh beauty in an old woman or old man. Not all can share this convictions – only one who has developed a genuine affinity for Nature and her works. For him there will be many such perceptions. [Book 3:2]
It made for a most agreeable evening. Here are a couple of quotes.
On family attributes:
From my grandfather Versus: decency and a mild temper.
From what they say and I remember of my natural father: integrity and manliness.
From my mother: piety, generosity, the avoidance of wrong-doing and even the thought of it; also simplicity of living, well clear of the habits of the rich. [Book 1:1-3]
On living in the moment:
Even if you were destined to live three thousand years, or ten times that long, nevertheless remember that no one loses any life other than the one he lives, or lives any life other than the one he loses. I follows that the longest and the shortest lives are brought to the same state. The present moment is equal for all; so what is passing is equal also; the loss therefore turns out to be the merest fragment of time. No one can lose either the past or the future – how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess? [Book 2:14]
On beauty:
We should also attend to things like these, observing that even the incidental effects of the processes of Nature have their own charm and attraction. Take the baking of bread. The loaf splits open here and there, and those very cracks, in one way a failure of the baker’s profession, somehow catch the eye and give particular stimulus to our appetite. Figs likewise burst open at full maturity: and in olives ripened on the tree the very proximity of decay lends a special beauty to the fruit…Looked at in isolation these things are far from lovely, but their consequence on the processes of Nature enhances them and gives them attraction. So any man with a feeling and deeper insight for the workings of the Whole will find some pleasure in almost every aspect of their disposition, including the incidental consequences. Such a man will take no less delight in the living snarl of wild animals that in all the imitative representations of painters and sculptors; he will see a kind of bloom and fresh beauty in an old woman or old man. Not all can share this convictions – only one who has developed a genuine affinity for Nature and her works. For him there will be many such perceptions. [Book 3:2]
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