Day 332: Brew Instant Coffee

     I think it's safe to say that I have begun to feel the effects of drinking coffee on a regular basis. Since starting my coffee drinking ways, I now almost always start my day off with a piping hot cup of Joe. I enjoy it and I even look forward to it sometimes, but I still don't think I'm addicted. Coffee has yet to take a hold of my life. Hell, I still go hefty on the milk and sugar.
     So I saw this stuff called Instant Coffee today while in the grocery store. I found it strange that there were people out there that were sooooo addicted to the stuff they needed it at this very instant. They just had to have their fix like, now. It's all very strange to me. I just don't see the demand for right-this-very-instant-coffee; with a Starbucks on every corner and a coffee pot in every kitchen, we are seconds away from caffeine at any time. But I guess that just means that I'm not into coffee enough to understand.

     So I bought the stuff -cause, who knows- maybe I will need coffee within a moments notice someday. Unfortunately, I found out that the name "Instant" on the label was a tad bit deceptive. In all actuality, once I heated up the water, mixed in the coffee powder, and stirred, I had spent about the same amount of time as I would have on a normal cup of Joe. So it wasn't much of a streamline process, and things didn't get any better when I tasted it. The taste wasn't all bad, but it was far from good too. It was a lot like a cup of lukewarm bitterness that had a hint of a coffee aftertaste. I may just not be cut out for this coffee drinking business after all.

Day 272: Decaf Coffee

     I never understood why anyone would ever drink decaf until I started drinking coffee. It seemed backwards to me. Cause people drink coffee to get energized and all twitchy, at least, that why I do. But after a few solid weeks of coffee drinking, I found myself craving it. The problem was, I was craving coffee at like 8:00 at night. Thus the idea for a decaf drink was born. I drove down to the ol Caribou Coffee joint and picked up one decaf cup to sip on while at the skatepark. It was a little strange drinking the coffee at first. I was about an hour away from bed but I was sipping some java. Other than that, it was all pretty normal. I drank my coffee and skated the night away, and kept the twitching to a minimum.

Day 264:Fresh Ground Coffee

     I was wondering through the isles of the grocery store like I always seem to do whenever I cant think of a challenge to try when I came to a stop at the coffee grounds isle. I stood in front of a wall of  coffee ground flavors. There was everything from pumpkin spice to french vanilla to some sort of chocolate flavor. It was pretty awesome, and a tad bit overwhelming as I struggled to choose just one flavor to go with. In the end, I went with the french vanilla beans. I filled my little bean bag with the flavored beans then dumped them into the store's coffee grinder just like how it was depicted in the illustration. The machine spat the grounds back into the bag and I was pleasantly surprised when I dove in for a whiff. The aroma was enticing especially compared to the smell of that crap coffee I've been drinking lately. I was pleasently surprised again at home once I sipped the fresh brew. That was some good coffee, too bad it was also some expensive coffee.

Day 109: Brew Coffee (From Scratch)

     Well it seems like that warm milk really did the trick. Not only did it put me right to sleep, but it made me sleep in late today. I was supposed to get up early and get some major homework and bike riding related activities done. Its the milk's fault, thats my story and I'm stickin to it. So, when I did finally wake up, I needed some energy, and thats where the brewing coffee challenge was born (thats another one of my stories that I plan on sticking too). I wanted to brew coffee, but I didn't want to use a coffee maker. The following video explains basically what I did. The only difference was that I used 4 filters instead of 2.

     I made two batches of coffee cause Mouse complained that the first cup was "the worse thing I've ever tasted". I reassured him that he simply just wasn't cultured enough to appreciate a quality cup of joe. I made a second batch but used only 2 filters so that hopefully more of the caramel truffle flavor would present itself. The process went smoothly and the coffee came out a tad darker then before, which was promising. I threw in a generous amount of creamer and sugar to shut Mouse up before he could pooh pooh it. He took his cup, teased it with a couple of half sips, and then placed it back onto the counter. It would have been a discouraging insult if I didn't already know that Mouse hates all coffee and never drinks it ever. So, I guess that if I use a bit of flawed logic, that means I made a pretty good cup-o-coffee.
My slightly flawed logic

• If mouse hated my coffee
• And he hates all coffee
• And if almost all coffee is considered to taste good by those who drink it
• Then my coffee must have tasted like the kind that Mouse hates
• Which means that my coffee was good

That makes perfect sense. I made some great coffee today, and I didn't use a coffee maker like some lazy American. I mean, I liked the coffee anyway.