A Great Cup of Coffee

Coffee has been on my mind lately. Reminders of my passion for a good cup have popped up here and there. Between my marvelous French press pot that gets me revved up each morning to the poor quality coffee I was stuck with while in Florida last week, I’ve been thinking about it A LOT. (My gal-friend Lise has also been thinking about coffee. She took this great photo at a coffee shop in Denmark, Australia last week.)

I continually search out the next best shot of espresso too. And while coffee sucked in Naples, Florida, I did happen to sip one of the best espresso shots at a fairly generic, old-fashioned Italian restaurant down there. While my food experience was not as lovely as Ivan’s, the espresso was sweet, thick and creamy.

I’m also a big fan of the French press pot. On a daily basis, I heat up several cups of water in my electric tea kettle and add it to coarsely-ground, sometimes locally-roasted coffee just as it boils. In 3-4 minutes, I have a deliciously indulgent pot of coffee, a pot that makes feel like I splurged on myself just a bit.

I keep a variety of coffee beans on hand to meet all my tastes and emotions. A friend recently introduced me to Black Bear Coffee Roasters, a New Hampshire roaster who imports from all over the coffee bean-growing world and roasts to their taste on a daily basis. When I grind those beans on a Saturday morning, the thick aroma that drifts from my little grinder makes me feel like I’m treating myself to something special and that I’m going to have a great day.

All that said, I swear I’m not a coffee snob. Well, I am a snob about my French press pots, but not necessarily about my beans. Great beans come in all types of packages and I’m open to experimenting with beans from other local roasters or even those from Whole Foods, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.

Do you have a favorite coffee bean roaster? What should I try?