Friends, family, and strangers alike... Please feel free to sit down and have a cup of coffee care of your host. I've felt the need to change designs drastically, but this is going to be the waiting room of the future layout. I feel that this country has not ever really grasped the idea of coffee like it was meant to be taken.

Almost every other country in the world enjoys their coffee/tea in a leisurly fashion. The U.S. seems to be the only ones to try to make gourmet coffee into a fast food franchise. If you go to Europe, South America, or pretty much anywhere that enjoys the fruits of these bittersweet beans, you'll find a much different coffee culture. In cafe's when you order one coffee, it is understood that you have the table as long as you want. Many people in Italy, France, and Spain will spend whole days drinking coffee, chatting or simply people watching. Here in the United States if we don't get our Half Fat Decaf Mocha Latte Frappacino with non dairy Whipped Cream in less than one minute we become impatient. We want to drink and dash. We really feel the effects of a caffiene culture. Maybe its because in comparison to these other cultures we are relatively young. Did Italy go through a period when they didn't appreciate the taste of the beverage, and the actual preparation. I highly doubt it, but it's possible.

I've gone a bit retro in my coffee preparation. For christmas I recieved a French Press, and if you don't know what that is, please refer to the icon picture in the upper left hand corner. To make coffee in this thing, I have to warm water on the stove in a pan, then pour it directly into the beaker portion with the grounds in the bottom. I let the grounds and hot water mill around for about five minutes to get the full flavor of the grounds. Then I have to use the plunger to separate the grounds from the coffee. The whole process takes about fifteen minutes, and for most people, having to do that work would be too much for coffee. Why do that when you can just go buy a automatic coffee maker? Because I am pretentious and a coffee snob. I may not have traveled accross the world to have the perfect cup of java, but I have learned to love the taste of this ancient beverage. The french press allows the leftover coffee to keep direct contact with the beans, making for a more potent second cup. Also it gives the coffee a more earthy flavor. Without the paper filter, I get the direct "drippings" of the water from the grounds.

It took me a while to get used to this. Every time I want a cup of coffee I have to go through a ritual. It reminds me of Japanese tea. Every action has to occur at a certain time to ensure perfection of the coffee. I know a drip maker would make it much faster, and probably wouldn't taste that much different, but I'm going to do it my way.

This ritual has become a essential process in my mornings. I highly encourage any coffee drinkers to either purchase one, or invite me over to make you probably the best cup of coffee ever.

Back to the original point. It is beginning to feel like spring every day. As this process progresses, I feel the need to update the design with a more cheerful color and design. Hopefully I'll have something in place by the end of the month, but we'll see how it goes. Suggestions are acceptable.  ¶ Friday, March 03, 2006