coffee confusion...

You know you have lived in too many cities when you can't even remember the name of your favorite place to go get a cup of joe! On my initial Knitters Coffee Swap 4 questionnaire I answered that I loved to go to Coffee Tree Roasters in Chicago for my coffee... the only problem is that Coffee Tree Roasters is in Pittsburgh, not Chicago! If my partner, Jodi, hadn't been from Chicago I would have remained confused... however, luckily, I now, think I have it straightened out. I used to go to The Coffee and Tea Exchange when I lived in Chicago!

And, you might ask, how many cities have I lived in... well... I grew up in West Hartford, CT, went to college in Ithaca, NY, lived in NYC for 2 years, then moved to Chicago, IL for grad school, lived there for 5 years (in 5 different apts!) and then to Boston for 1 year to teach. After Boston I got a "full-time/tenure track job" and moved to Pittsburgh for 3 years, where I might have actually stayed... I mean I even bought a house, BUT... then I met my husband, and so, the moving boxes came out again, and here I am on Long Island!

Knitter's Coffee Swap 4 Questions

Yep, back again, for another go round... I had so much fun last time that I decided to do this again... the only "fly in the ointment" as my DH says, is that since I am pregnant I am so NOT into coffee at the moment... but, since this happened last time, too, I know that when I deliver the belly I will begin to crave the coffee again. So, this time it will have to sit and wait for me, but I am okay with that!
QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? whole bean, please - grinding is part of the ritual
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? fully-loaded
3. Regular or flavored? regular, unless the flavoring is provided by spices actually added to the beans, ie Trader Joes Winter Blend which has pieces of cinnamon, peppercorns and cloves actually in w/ the beans the be ground together
4. How do you drink your coffee? w/ half and half is preferred, but if I have had meat and really want coffee, w/ some sugar and no cream (will explain this more below)
5. Favorite coffee ever? can't really say, but I really enjoyed the Blue Mountain Roast Blend from Coffee and Tea Exchange in Chicago when I lived around the corner... actually anything from there was awesome!
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? not so picky, but have had some "old beans" I regretted...
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? mmmmmm....treats... you mean besides chocolate? well, we really like the Trader Joe's A Fig Walked into A Bar cereal bars... We keep kosher so any food products including coffee, need to have a symbol on them stating as such. The most common symbol you see will be an O with a U inside it, however there are many many symbols. Hershey chocolate is all kosher, Scharffen Bergen and Giradelli (the regular flavors - usually w/o nuts, fruits, etc) are also kosher. PLEASE ASK, don't just guess, I hate throwing food away and I really have no one to give these things to if we can't eat them.
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? I like dark chocolate - did I mention chocolate...
9. Yarn/fiber you love? am really enjoying the alpaca/solk blend I am working w/ right now. Not too much of a yarn snob - will use blends, particularly washable ones...washable wool, or blends to make it washable... and MALABRIGO!!!! love the silky merino...
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? not a fan of Red Heart anything.... also, have plenty of teal and I don't know what to do with it, don't like the fun fur/novelty stuff
11. What's on your needles? too many things... a Feb. Lady sweater, a knit hat for my daughter, a knit hat for myself, a lace shawl for my best friend, a knit gansey for my daughter, a crochet sweater baby gift, a crochet animal baby gift, and probably a few other things here and there that have been started, and need my attention...
12. Favorite colors? blue, green (not kelly), darker colors
13. Allergies? fresh pineapple, smoke, typical animals - dog, cat, etc.
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? please ask me about kosher stuff, really, I don't mind - also, while you may think there is nothing "great" about Hershey's.. it's kosher, we're used to it! if you are near a Trader Joes my new fave chocolate is the dark chocolate wedges with Ancho and Chipotle Chiles & Korintji Cinnamon... mmmm yummmmmmmmmmm.... think I'll have me some right now...

that's it for now... i think!

dreams of coffee...

so the impetus to start this blog was two fold, one was all the reasons I mentioned in the first post, the other was that I had seen (via someone else's blog and the button) the opportunity to participate in a swap of fiber and coffee... ok - so it was (is) called the knitters coffee swap and my first fiber love is still crochet, but still, it's all the same in this great big fiber world... I would imagine that spinners and weavers would be just as welcome to sign up... only I found the blog too late to participate, so I waited and waited and was very very patient, and hoped they would run another one and so they did... http://coffeeswapthree.blogspot.com/ and I am hopeful that I am in... I sent in my info and am now playing the waiting game to receive my invite. In hopeful anticipation, and because Knittymama said so, I am going to post and answer all the questions on the swap list.

The funny thing is that I was going to blog mainly about fiber today as I had a dream about wool last night, but instead, while sweet little teething Erin is sleeping I am going to answer these questions....

SWAP QUESTIONS

Here are the questions:
QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? whole bean - to me, part of the coffeemaking process/experience is grinding the beans... unfortunately Erin doesn't seem to be so fond of the sound the grinder makes- hopefully longterm exposure will temper that

2. Fully-loaded or decaf? fully-loaded - not that I have anything against decaf other than the decaffinating process is chemical laden for the most part...

3. Regular or flavored? usually regular, but every once and again I will taste a flavored coffee that I would consider drinking again

4. How do you drink your coffee? preferably with half and half, although if I have had a meat meal I would prefer black with sugar over the fake creamers... there is just something about them that makes me feel like I am drinking plastic and soy and rice milks don't do it for me. Recently I have tried two different varieties of almond milk to see if I like that any better... and the answer is no, not really - just doesn't do much for me!

5. Favorite coffee ever? pretty much anything I ever got at the Coffee and Tea Exchange in Chicago when I was living there.. it was right around the corner, most amazing aroma ever when you went in, and, there was a huge goldfish named Mary who lived on the counter and was like 10 years old or something amazing like that that made it, well, just like home... Strange thing, when I was in Havana three years ago I was hoping to have a "coffee nirvana experience" and while the coffee was good, it was served more like the bitter coffee I have had in Bedouin tents than what I had anticipated. Delicious, just not what I expected, now the ice cream... WOW!!!!!!!!! that was amazing... and the mangos......

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? I am pretty open to trying any old bean, however, usually my preference is to go back to what I like afterward, although I will say that most beans I have tried from Trader Joes have been to my liking in terms of relatively inexpensive bean fixes.... in the cupboard to try now is a bag of organic coffee (breakfast blend, I believe) from our local health food store

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? mmmmm....treats.... well, I am kinda a baked goods snob - really prefering only my own, but after that... chocolate.... the scones from Trader Joes are kinda nice as well - and since they are kosher it works for me if I have not baked in awhile - really like the lemon ginger ones and the blueberry

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? I forgot to mention the rest of the experience above... it's all about the process... perfect morning is as follows... put up the water to boil, grind the beans, rinse the press (usually still filled with last pots beans...) put the new beans in the press, after the water is just beneath boiling so it doesn't burn the beans, pour away, let it sit 5 minutes... if my husband is home I let him know it's time, if not I do the pressing. He has a "patented swirl" method that he loves to do - doesn't drink coffee or any other hot beverage, but likes to press, and who am I to complain! Then, pour it in the cup, smell and savour the aroma, add the half and half and enjoy.

Erin just woke up so the fiber questiosn and the like will be in part two of this post...