thou most fragrant, aromatic joy
Ode To Coffee
Oh, thou most fragrant, aromatic joy, impugned,
abused, and often stormed against,
And yet containing all the blissfulness that in
a tiny cup could be condensed!
Give thy contemners calm, imperial scorn—
For thou wilt reign through ages yet unborn!
Some ancient Arab, so the legend tells, first
found thee—may his memory be blest!
The worldwide sign of brotherhood today, the
binding tie between the East and West!
Good coffee pleases in a Persian dell,
And Blackfeet Indians make it more than well.
The lonely traveler in the desert range, if thou
art with him, smiles at eventide—
The sailor, as thy perfume bubbles forth, laughs
at the ocean as it rages wide—
And where the camps of fighting men are found
Thy fragrance hovers o’er each battleground.
“Use, not abuse, the good things of this life”—
that is a motto from the Prophet’s days,
And, dealing with thee thus, we ne’er shall
come to troublous times or parting of the ways.
Comfort and solace both endure with thee,
Rich, royal berry of the coffee tree!
I hold it with coffee, like I do with wine or beer. Whenever possible I like to buy local. What’s the point in buying something that has travelled across the globe …. blah, blah, blah, …..
If you don’t live in a coffee producing country, you are bound to purchase coffee that has travelled at least some sort of distance to reach you …. But we are fortunate enough to at least have a regionally renown coffee roster, Café Najjar. Very quickly did we change from various import coffees to Café Najjar coffee. The beans still had to travel quite a distance, but at least it is relatively freshly roasted coffee we buy. “Ethiopia Sidamo” to be precise.
“Ethiopia Sidamo” is a type of Arabica coffee of single origin grown exclusively in the Sidamo Province of Ethiopia. Like most African coffees, Ethiopia Sidamo features a small and greyish bean, yet is valued for its deep, spice and wine or chocolate-like taste and floral aroma. The most distinctive flavor notes found in all Sidamo coffees are lemon and citrus, with bright crisp acidity. Sidamo coffee includes Yirgachefe Coffee and Guji Coffee. Both coffee types are very high quality.
We ditched the automatic coffee-drip-machine for the more “manual” “French Press” or “Cafetière” quite some time ago. It does require some input from you first thing in the morning. But boy, is it worth it.
I played with the idea of buying a coffee grinder for quite some time. Yes, we buy the beans, and first thing in the morning, we make a racket, and get the precise amount of coffee freshly ground for our morning pleasure.
Well …. , I did a couple of days ago. I purchased a “Burr” grinder for our
