It is always scary to begin writing something when you don't really know what the fuck you are going to write about. These SOC posts are the scariest things I put out here at the C-blog as I write whatever comes into my head at that moment. The irony is that this unplanned writing is often the best shit I do. I don't know why, but inspiration always seems to find me while I am working. I think best while in motion. I don't like contemplation. I like action.
So, there is this new coffee maker that coffee elitists like to use. It is called a Chemex. Basically, it is a modified beaker, and you can tell it was created by a chemist down to the filters the thing uses. It looks like this:
Basically, it is the same thing as a Mister Coffee drip coffeemaker. The difference is that it is more deliberate and less convenient. Will it make a better tasting cup of coffee? I think it will. This is because the water spends more time in the grounds and can soak up more of the flavor. There is also no burner under the pot to scorch the final product.
I am a blue collar coffee drinker, so I will probably keep using the cheap shit from Walmart run through my Mister Coffee for my morning coffee. It doesn't have to taste good. It just has to work. I save the coffee elitism for evening coffee.
I think the best coffee in terms of flavor comes from a French press. The problem with the press method is that you have to use a coarse grind to keep the grounds behind the mesh. Even then, you are going to get some grit in your teeth. My answer to this problem is to use fine ground coffee in the press and use a Mister Coffee filter on the coffee that comes out of the press. You get the best of both worlds. The French press allows the boiling water to become thoroughly infused with coffee goodness. The filter removes the stray particles. Somewhere, some engineering type will make a coffee machine that combines these two approaches.
My favorite coffee comes from a moka pot. I've tried a lot of different brands and methods, but I come back to Bustelo and the moka. The only drawback is the inconvenience. You can't make a lot of coffee without additional pots. But the final product is nothing short of stimulating. It is strong coffee that will knock you into the floor.
I try not to get into food and drink elitism because it can quickly make a fool of you. This was demonstrated recently when a wine from New Jersey won top prize at a tasting. A few years ago, Old Milwaukee won for best tasting beer. We can go on and on with this shit. Penn and Teller famously fooled a bunch of foodies with food prepared by a guy in a wifebeater T-shirt armed only with a blow torch, a toaster oven, and food purchased from a convenience store.
Epicurus said that pleasure knows no increase only variety. I keep this in mind when it comes to things that I eat or drink. For instance, I can't tell you if Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme have better donuts. I like Dunkin's old fashioned donuts, but I would rather have Krispy's lemon glazed. They are simply different, and I like the variety. As for the coffee, I prefer Dunkin to KK, but I will drink both. There really isn't a coffee I won't drink.
The irony of all this good taste is that I find that the cheap and the simple are pretty damn good. The things we eat and drink come with a great deal of hype, marketing, and social importance. In the end, very little of it really matters. I look for quality which tends to be normative. Taste is relative.
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