Oh Sunday, how I love thee. Today is a rest/stretch day in Round 4 of the P90Xing, so I started the morning with StretchX, followed by making myself an eggs breakfast… because really, is there anything better than that on a Sunday? I suddenly felt like breaking free from my routine. Yes, I was feeling a bit adventurous. So what did I do? I decided to try something that had the potential to be an epic disaster: Make my own coffee… GASP! Now, I may be awesome at a lot of things, but for some reason, I can’t seem to make myself a good cup of coffee. I’m a huge Starbucks fan and their Pike Place coffee never disappoints. But my own cup of coffee never has the same caffeine drop-kick to the face the way I like it. Nevertheless, armed with my FÖRSTÅ coffee/tea maker, I was ready to go. A quick note: my coffee/tea maker was recently recalled by Ikea due to potential pressure from the metal holder causing the glass to break, but I haven’t taken mine back as yet… read about it here. In retrospect, perhaps the key to making a good pot of coffee is a good coffee maker, but golly, back off and get out of my face! It’s not like I’m rich or anything- so maybe one day I’ll splurge and get one. Sadly, for this humble analyst, today is not that day. Now onto the story! I’ve taken photos to document the process… and of course, to show off my photogeneticism (a real word?), which I’m taking to mean: the genetic predisposition to showcase my awesome photogenic ability and appear aesthetically pleasing in at least 95% of all photographs … and cue smile.
The coffee of choice comes from my recent trip to Hawaii: Ground 100% Kona Coffee, Gourmet Roast from the Mulvadi Corporation. Kona coffee was oh so good while I was there, and I miss it so. Naturally, I’d be able to brew my own to the standards it deserves. Yes, naturally. It has been a couple of months since that trip and I still had not opened the package. When I opened it, it smelled so good…
As the photo at the top of this posting shows, I had everything I needed. Apparently, in order to make coffee, you need hot water. So I boiled myself some (watching intently to make sure nothing went wrong… it’s a delicate science), and then I poured the boiling water into my FÖRSTÅ coffee/tea maker, which had about 2.5 spoonfuls of coffee. Oh yeah, I knew what I was doing.
And then I waited for a few minutes while I ate breakfast. I believe it was ‘brewing’… brewing a pot of awesome!
And THEN… I poured myself a cup of coffee. The anticipation was killing me- could this be the best home brewed coffee in the history of ever!? I was hopeful that it would be.
The verdict? I wouldn’t go as far as to say that my attempt was an epic fail of global proportions. The quality of the coffee is so good that making an undrinkable cup of coffee would be very difficult, even for someone as inept as me. But here’s a reenactment of the initial sip of my coffee…
But alas, I was being too harsh on my first cup. After the initial sip, I actually liked what I had created! And I’ve been drinking it the whole time I’ve written this post. It may not have been the best coffee ever in the history of ever, but I’d say I’m well on my way to becoming quite the coffee connoisseur! Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be buying my Pike Place coffee, but now there’s a special place in my black heart for my home brewed variety.
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 
I haven’t opened mine either, although the chocolate covered coffee beans are gone and the flavoured coffees have long since made friends with my belly. This has inspired me to perhaps brew up some Kona love. Granted, I have a sleeping cat in my lap so it will have to wait until he’s done with me. The term Photogeneticism should be a real word. Also, thanks for showing me how to pour water. I’ve been known to have difficulties with that :)I get the sense that you must have been giggling a lot when you were writing this. Awesome post, as usual.
LikeLike
Lol, yes, I was giggling quite a bit when I was writing up this post. Blogging is so much fun! You should brew up some Kona coffee, and document it, of course.
LikeLike
Coffee making tips from a former barista: When using a french press (which is what you used) make sure the coffee is a coarse grind. Also, the water should not be boiling when you pour it over the grounds, but rather a little cooler than boiling. Also, brew only between 3 to 5 minutes, so as not to over-steep your coffee, which can kill the flavour.I know this was a tongue-in-cheek post, but I thought you might find this useful in your “perfect cup quest”.
LikeLike
That is some Oscar worthy reenactment right there. I felt like I was right there with you as you drank that coffee!Also, before you say that you can’t afford a good coffee maker, consider this recent economic analysis of home brew vs. store bought: http://www.nottobetrustedwithknives.com/2010/07/07/i-also-heart-coffee/ All the money you will save by brewing at home will more than make up for the cost of a pricey coffee machine!
LikeLike
Gina, this post was tongue-in-cheek, yes, but my quest for brewing a perfect cup of coffee is no laughing matter. It’s serious business, and your tips are very much appreciated! I’ll take advice from an expert any day 🙂 Coarse grind- good to know. And if I can find a way to use awesome as an ingredient, I think I could make that perfect cup in no time!And Beth, your scientifically rigorous economic analysis is very convincing. Perhaps you are right- I really should brew my own coffee in the morning! This is definitely something to think about…. thanks!
LikeLike
I have one of those and I have yet to use it. But does it make it better than Timmies?
LikeLike
hey gorgeous, how did u take those pics of yourself? dont tell me u put your cam on timer everytime u wanted a shot?! -janelle
LikeLike
Lol, I used PhotoBooth with my Mac. It’s a 2 second countdown, so it’s easy to take these shots 🙂
LikeLike