Smeagol is Free!

iFunny

2010-01-31T19:56:00.001-05:00

I'm blatantly borrowing this from my brother, since it's too funny not to share:

If I was working for Apple, I'd suggest the following products. I doubt they will ever be brought to market but you never know. Let's go, Steve Jobs, get on it...

• iBall – Good for throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing and rolling but tends to turn red and have that “glazed” look when exposed to marijuana smoke.

• iDrops – For use on the iBall after being exposed to marijuana smoke to combat redness and the glazed look.

• iLid – Used to cover the iBall, especially in “sleep” mode. Also enables "wink" and "blink" functions.

• iLash – Add-on accessory for the iLid, it helps keep dust and debris away from the iBall. Extensions available.

• iShadow – Optional color schemes for the iLid.

• iLiner – Used to accent the iBall for a sexier look. For use primarily by females, rock stars and actors.

• iBrow – Generally attached above the iLid for aesthetic purposes but can be plucked or waxed to adjust shape. Use in conjuction with iBrowpencil.

• iGlasses – Helps to keep the iBall in focus, especially as it gets older.

• iContacts – An advanced version of the iGlasses, it attaches itself directly to the iBall, eliminating the need for an external frame.

• iDunno – For use by kids (my nephew has been field testing this for a while now) to answer adult’s questions when they know they’ve screwed up but can’t think of a good excuse when confronted. Other variations include “iCantremember” and “iDontrecall.”

• iRate – For use by adults when stupid kids use the iDunno too frequently.

• iSlapyourhead – For use by adults on stupid kids when the iRate just doesn’t seem to be working. Definitely one of the most underused products today.

• iKickyour@$$ - For use when iSlapyourhead is not effective. Not necessarily for everyday use but if it must be utilized, apply liberally.

Roasting Excerpt

2009-11-25T16:17:00.003-05:00

Here's an excerpt from the "Wednesday Morning Cup" post that I wrote about the Kenya Kirinyaga AA we pressed here in the office:

For those of you curious about the roasting details, this was roasted on Sunday night to roughly a City to City+ roast. First crack occurred somewhere after 11 minutes (I don't have my roast notes on me, so this is just from memory), and the total roast time was about 14:30. The idea was to drop the heat just before it hit first crack and let the roast coast a little as it went through the roast development stage, lingering very gently so as to let first crack fade a little toward the end. I've done this more and more with this year's Kenyas and I've gotten results that I've loved. The acidity isn't quite so sharp, giving a slightly more balanced cup, which I feel allows more of the sweetness and delicate characteristics of each coffee to shine through.

Unfortunately, the Prima Coffee site isn't live yet, so even though I'm going to link to the full post here, it's still not accessible for most of you. Oops.

I Suited Up

2009-11-23T18:46:00.001-05:00

Gotta love what Lang did with these...

Word

2009-11-20T07:23:00.002-05:00

Psalm 119:11
Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

All too often, I find that my thoughts are not of the LORD. In those times, should my eyes look toward Him, I feel disinclined to gaze overly long, lest I feel the sting of conviction and displeasure. I'm reminded of my younger nephews -- or even my older ones -- when they are disobedient. Their body language changes; gone is the carefree, unblushing excitement and curiosity, replaced by a shirking, dodging attitude. They stand there, looking anywhere but into the eyes of the adult speaking to them.

I feel like I'm looking into the eyes of my Father when I sin. I know what is right and what is wrong; regarding that, I have no excuse. Yet, what do His eyes desire? That I not sin against Him? Yes. But what do they require? Absolute obedience? Absolutely. And has Christ done that? Yes. And has He given me Christ, His Word Incarnate? Yes. So, although He has given His word as a means to obey Him, He has also given His Word as a means to know Him, to be one with Him.

In the Cup

2009-11-16T08:35:00.001-05:00

Glen's bid for a cup of coffee this morning was quite entertaining, even if it went a bit awry.

Glenjamin: good morning
John: top o' the mornin' to ye
Glenjamin: have you ever heard the jingle ♪ the best part of waking up is latodo in your cup! ♫
John: um
no
I've not
Glenjamin: well. it's running through my head for some reason
John: hmmmm
who's latodo?
Glenjamin: that...and songs from Beaches...the movie
you.
I spelled it wrong didn't i.
John: quite
Glenjamin: how is it spelled.
John: letoto
Glenjamin: darn.

Good Morning, Window

2009-11-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

The view from my kitchen window this morning.

Espresso 101: Syllabus

2009-11-05T12:43:00.001-05:00

Required reading.

For Crist's Sake

2009-11-02T20:16:00.003-05:00

Regarding the injury to Notre Dame's 2nd-string quarterback, Dayne Crist, the following forum thread appeared today:

Anyone hear the severity of Christ's injury? [NT]

And the reply that takes the wit award:

Large gaping wounds to hands, feet...

...Should be OK in about three days.

A Letter

2009-11-02T18:41:00.001-05:00

Dear Shelby Park Denizens,

I apologize if my after-sunset habit of standing at my window whilst wearing a head lamp alarms you. I assure you, my Petzl head lamp is not one of my normal fashion accessories -- unless I am backpacking and/or camping -- but it is a most helpful tool in culling out the defective beans from a batch of freshly-roasted coffee. Since the batch of Grade 3 Yirgacheffe was greatly lacking in uniformity and seemed to abound in defects, both of the quaker and tipping/facing varieties, I felt compelled to simply stand at my window so as to be able to toss out those defects with greater ease. This, however, put me in quite a conspicuous position, as those of you walking in the park were able to see yours truly standing at his kitchen window with a head lamp gracing his head. Quite the odd spectacle, I expect. I truly hope this will not deter you from enjoying your delightful walks around our beloved and endearing park during this wonderful Fall season.

Sincerely,

Your Coffee-Loving, Petzl Head Lamp-Toting Neighbor

From Ryan Fullerton

2009-10-31T15:23:00.001-04:00

Just got home to see a little treat from Ryan in my inbox:

Luke - "What are those Dad?"
Dad - "They're cuff-links, do you know what those are?"
Luke - "Yes I do, Mr. John Letoto has them..."
Luke - "I didn't think you had them Dad."

I'm gonna laugh about that one for a long, long time... ;)

Lists

2009-10-30T17:47:00.001-04:00

For you coffee nuts...

My Twitter coffee list.

Drinking vs. Tasting

2009-10-21T15:09:00.001-04:00

Today, I posted a little something over on the work blog. Take a gander.

Being Awesome Instead

2009-10-20T00:45:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, I can get really, really bored with awesome coffees. Lame, isn't it? Still, for all its lameness, that doesn't make that sad fact any less true. So what do I do when I get bored? Well, I channel a little Barney Stinson and tell myself, "Stop being lame and be awesome instead!" Aaaaannd what precisely does this awesome agenda entail? In tonight's instance of boredom, that meant that I decided I would roast up a batch of the Ethiopia Beloya Selection 8...for espresso. This intensely fruited coffee was sourced by the wonderful folks over at PT's, and believe me, I'm very grateful for all of their hard work, as it means that I get to try to do justice in giving this coffee its penultimate -- roasted -- form.

Judging by the roast development stage that came in at just around four and a half minutes, I think I nailed it. *Crossing fingers*.

An Observation

2009-10-19T07:45:00.000-04:00

I am a perfectionist. Seriously. The problem with that lies in the fact that I am also picky, and that picky nature extends to my choosing -- quite pickily -- what I desire to be perfect in. Added to this dangerous personality cocktail are the massive bouts of laziness I seem to be prone to, and I very likely I tend to drive those around me to inane levels of confusion.

Think...empty pizza boxes and empty ice cream containers heaped around the mounds of clothing and books in my apartment, all while I furiously edit and re-edit the notes and blog posts I write about the latest coffee I've roasted and cupped. *Sigh*...yep, that's pretty accurate...

Re: Today's Game

2009-10-17T23:25:00.003-04:00

I need to read my previous post. Over and over and over again. 'Cause I hate losing to Southern Cal. A lot.

So...close.

For the record, I called the 2nd and 3rd down plays. They went to Kyle Rudolph, and they threw a quick slant. The throw to Rudolph made sense because he's Kyle Rudolph, and he's ridiculous on jump-ball type plays. The quick slant made sense because if it's incomplete, you still have time left for one more play.

*Sigh*...

My Self...ish

2009-10-17T10:07:00.002-04:00

Late last night, in between roasting and reading and pondering, I concluded something: I'm easily the most selfish person I know. That's not one of those statements that is tossed out there as bait for pity, nor is it one that can be refuted, as I said that I'm easily the most selfish person I know.

I had been reading a blog post at some late hour. It was incredibly sad and joyful all at once, so much so that it shocked me into a far more sober state of heart. I don't know the Pipers, nor do they know me. In a sense, I suppose their family gains some sort of mild Christian rock-star status (I'm being sarcastic here, people) by simply being related to John Piper. That clearly doesn't exempt them from grief. Nor, on the other hand, does it automatically grant them joy.

I think I was on the second or third roast of the night, and as the machine went through its cooling and pre-heat cycle, I sat and reflected on my own life, my own heart. I meant what I said about my own selfishness; it's hideous. I can say that without reservation not because I don't give, but because of what I don't give out of what I've been given. It's that old thought that Scott and I have tossed back and forth over the years: an honest assessment of our gifts and talents leads us to believe that we can't be lazy about using them, about using them to love and care for others, as we've been given...well...much.

Tears fall as I think about the death of that precious little one. It was really odd for me to look at the picture of the date on that tombstone -- date, not dates. "What? Just one date? Where's the othe...r...one. Oh." Yeah. "Oh." Just like that, life became far more fleeting, far more important than the coffee that was cooling in the tray.

There's this tendency I have to push away love, to not receive it; it's very selfish of me. If you know me and your bibles well, I think you'll understand very quickly what I'm getting at. *Sigh*. It's not often that I lack for words, especially when I feel the need to write as I do now, but my finite heart and mind are too inadequate to convey the love of God. And that is precisely what is silencing me, I think, because as I sit here and type, I'm reminded of those that love me with the love of Christ. Furthermore, I'm reminded very, very keenly of how one-sided that love often is; that, my friends, is incredibly selfish of me, of anyone.

He Made My Day

2009-10-14T19:55:00.002-04:00

An unedited tweet from Mr. Michael Elvin, concerning the Kenya Ndaro-ini I had roasted for single-origin espresso:

"yes! it totally rocked. ment to write you straight away... now I have to remember my notes. myself and my people loved it!"

More on this later. (I've been saying that a lot lately, haven't I?)

Thirty-Three

2009-10-11T23:37:00.003-04:00

The other night, Makana was counting backwards for me: "Thiwty-nine, thiwty-eight, thiwty-seven, thiwty-siiiix, thiwty-fiiive, thiwty-fouw, thiwty-thwee..."

Thiwty-thwee is definitely the cutest.

Dwell Time

2009-10-08T23:06:00.001-04:00

Coffee. Coffee products. Tasting coffee. Coffee brewing methods. Coffee tasting. Brewing parameters for coffee products. Coffee.

And that's just at work...

Setting the Table

2009-10-07T21:42:00.002-04:00

Very soon, I'll return to continue posting my thoughts on coffee, Seattle and Chicago and otherwise. I may even have some nice things to say.

Imagine that.

Standing During the Stands

2009-10-06T22:41:00.003-04:00

"...a goal-line stand that has to match up with the greatest in school history, the Irish survived 8 plays of do-or-die football..."

"...any time a group can manage three goal line stands in a game, credit must be given. In the many years I've been a fan, I have absolutely never seen an Irish team do that...hell, I don't remember seeing any team do that..."

"...despite all the areas for improvement, the defense did something incredible - three goal line stands in one game..."

"The boys had some bend but don't break moments but damned if they didn't buckle down, strap the lids on and win the damn game! Hats off and pouring some out for every kid that took the field on the Irish defense today. The goal line stands were absolutely unbelievable!"

"Since 1972, my standard for greatest goal-line stands (plural) I had seen in a football game was when Ohio State made two against Michigan in a 14-11 Buckeye victory that year. After 37 years, that changed yesterday."

"All three of the goal line stands were remarkable. The double goal line stand was unbelievable."

"Those moments were in a game that will now be legendary and included in the discussion of some of the greatest games in Notre Dame Stadium history. I don't care who the opponent was."

All of those quotes were collected from around the web from folks describing the game -- specifically, the goal line stands the Notre Dame defense somehow managed to gut out -- this past Saturday in South Bend. While Moisan and I were standing there in the stands as the fourth quarter wound down and ND sealed the deal in overtime, all I could think about was the game itself: Down and distance, formations, personnel groupings, matchups, time on the clock, etc. What didn't come to mind was where this would rank in the annals of Notre Dame lore; more personally, how awesome it was that we were there, in person, standing in the stands near the south end zone where the Irish defense pulled off its double stand at the goal line.

As a seemingly life-long Irish fan, there are some epic games that I, along with many others, remember far more than others: Penn State in '92, Florida State in '93, USC in '05. While I was too young to clearly remember details from games in prior seasons without having to consult Google, I easily remember where I was for each of those games I listed. I remember agonizing over the games, hating the outcome against the Trojans in '05, and still thinking back fondly over each game in the years to come. And now, when I think about that crazy contest in the rain against the Huskies, I'll remember exactly where I was...

...standing near the south end zone, yelling myself hoarse as the Irish did the unbelievable.

Washington's Head Coach, Steve Sarkisian, said it well, even in defeat: ""It was a great college football game...for all the things that happened in this ball game, I think as a fan, everybody loved it."

We Were There!

2009-10-05T21:08:00.002-04:00

Notre Dame only needed one overtime against Washington to pull out the win, and I'm quite glad that was the case. I'm not certain my old heart could take any more of it, you know?

Moisan and I were going nuts in our section near the south end zone. Well, everyone was going nuts, Huskies fans included...they were just much quieter about it. As you can tell from the video, we had a blast. (You will probably want to turn down your speakers since the sound that was picked up by my iPod nano came through as ridiculously loud static.)

Go Irish!

For the Future

2009-10-05T12:47:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm thinking about a post I wrote back in 2007. It can be found in its entirety here, but this is an excerpt from it:

"I was immediately taken to Revelation 19 when first reading this psalm. There we find ourselves with John as he envisions the marriage supper of the Lamb, that glorious event where all the saved saints of God, who collectively are the bride of Christ, are presented to her Bridegroom, the Lamb of God. It is a presentation where we are shown to be clean, pure, and righteous! What saint, struggling with sin, longing to be free of the real yet deceptive burdens of this world, does not long for this day? What saint, a sinner saved by grace, a sinner whose sins were washed white as snow by the shed blood of the precious Lamb of God, cannot help but ache to see the Savior in all His glory, nevermore to grieve His Spirit, forevermore to praise Him unashamedly? Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your godly ones sing for joy."

Back Again

2009-10-04T23:42:00.001-04:00

Back from South Bend and Chicago. What a game! I think I'm done traveling for now.

Think.

Seattle Visuals: Day 4

2009-10-02T23:19:00.000-04:00

Seattle Recap: Day 2

2009-10-01T22:36:00.004-04:00

A bit slow in coming, but here's a quick rundown of what we did last Friday in Seattle...

The majority of our morning was taken up by hanging around the convention center and taking in the Millrock latte art competition, as the main reason for my trip was to watch and support Kenny as he competed in that event on Saturday -- and hopefully Sunday, if he made the finals. Since he didn't have to go for another day, we just took in the sights of the other competitors doing their thing. A little bit of drama took place as Christopher Nicely Abel Alameda (did I get all of that? whew!) had, through no fault of his own, his connecting flight to Seattle and wasn't able to get there on time to pour as he had been slated to. Fortunately, the specialty coffee community is a small and relatively tight-knit group, and no silly penalties were placed on him for the unfortunate travel tardiness. He poured last and knocked out some killer stuff to qualify for Sunday. (For the record, it is my sincere belief that Nicely's mom obeyed as maaaaaaaaany traffic regulations as she deemed possible during the transport of her son from the airport to the convention hall.) We chatted with Kevin Emmons, whom Kenny and I met and saw pour in Chicago, met and spoke at length with Julian Trigg, and met Chris Deferio, a well-known figure in the specialty coffee industry and with whom we would end up spending a good deal of time with in Seattle. More on that later.

Before heading into the convention itself, we decided to hit up Pike Place Market for some lunch, since we would be taking in bountiful amounts of acid in the espressos and coffees we planned to consume. Believe me, lunch was very necessary.

In walking the convention floor, we saw the five groupheaded La Marzocco Linea that was put together by Espresso Parts specially for a buyer in Japan, with two of the groupheads being modded to be used with tea instead of coffee. We drooled over the Synesso both, where David Schomer got in the way of Kenny's bid to play with a beautiful piece of espresso machinery. We met Alex Negranza (even though I'd been tweeting and texting back and forth with him for some time) at the Visions booth, where I gave him some Ethiopia Moplaco I'd just roasted at the beginning of last week. He'd end up brewing at least one tasty -- I hope -- syphon of it once we left Seattle. The Olympia Coffee Roasting Company booth would turn out to be our favorite place to stop and knock back some espresso and talk shop. It was here that we met Chris, one of their baristas, as well as Michael Elvin, Oliver Stormshak, and Sara Ziniewicz. Sara was dialing in the espresso she would use for the Northwest Regional Barista Competition, Costa Rica La Mirella (honey processed), which Kenny and I got to taste. For the record, it was wonderful.

We spent a good amount of time just sitting in a Starbucks, taking up space, while we waited to decide what we would do. We wound up meeting Deferio for dinner, then walked over to the Coffee Enhancement Lounge for their awesome little party. Correction: we waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalked over to the Coffee Enhancement Lounge for their awesome little party. For a sweet view of the action, check out the La Marzocco USA blog (thanks to Jack Kuo of La Marzocco USA for posting that). Kenny did some behind-the-back pouring, Pablo acquired a new appreciation for the machiatto, and I found out that Michael Elvin, while already being an espresso guru and killer barista, is also a surfer. Aaaahhh, a man after my own heart! The conversations I had with him were perhaps the biggest ongoing highlight of my trip. I also met another Michael (didn't catch his last name), the owner of Trabant Coffee & Chai, one of the handful of places I really regret not making it to while in Seattle. I was able to meet Brian, the owner of Tougo Coffee Company. Tougo was the place I had that killer espresso the day before, the one that tasted like crushed almonds and butter and cream...the whole way through. Dan'l, the barista behind the bar, did some wonderful things with the Del Sol from Caffe Vita. It was there at the CEL that I first formed my very correct hunch that Sarah Dooley is -- to use her own terminology -- a real sweetheart. Undoubtedly one of the nicest people in the coffee business...ever.

Okay...I'm sure there's lots I'm missing, but I think that serves as a decent summation of how we spent our second day in Seattle. More to come.

Seattle Visuals: Day 3, Part II

2009-09-30T23:43:00.000-04:00

Seattle Thoughts: I Love Starbucks

2009-09-30T18:42:00.004-04:00

Since my first reflection on Seattle was a wee bit...oh...blunt, I figured a little session of making nice-nice was in store.

Let's get the dirty little not-so-secret truth out and on the table, shall we? Most coffee nuts, in one way or another, have been influenced by Starbucks, and in many cases, that influence has been for the good. I'm not stupid; it's not been only good, but to depict the company that collectively dons the green apron in a nasty, uncaring light just isn't fair. If you're a coffee-crazed human and you're reading this, ask yourself this: Did Starbucks in some way influence my love for coffee, and for the better? I'm willing to wager that for most of us, the truthful answer is an affirming one. If not, let me ask this follow-up question of you: Do you work in the coffee industry, and if so, is it possible that your customer base would not be nearly so large were it not for Starbucks and their influence on the coffee-drinking world?

A little over a month ago, I wrote about how the coffee scene here in Louisville was found, in my own estimation, lacking. A few may have taken exception to that, but, as I explained to others, my frustration was similar to that of a parent with an underachieving child. I wrote what I did because I care about the state of coffee in this city, and I believe that it can indeed and should change for the better.

I feel much the same way toward Starbucks. That company has done so much for the advancement of coffee in the world, and on many different fronts: Farmers looking to provide for their families, burgeoning coffee aficionados, college students paying their way through college, etc. To look the other way and ignore the influence Starbucks has had would be quite ungracious of me, and I don't want to do that any more than I already do. Sarah Dooley said it best last Friday night at the Coffee Enhancement Lounge when she shared her experience interacting with Howard Schultz. She explained to us that he had a passion to get Starbucks on the right track, pushing the experience of the Starbucks customer to the point where they are tasting great coffee again. Whether or not they'll get there, I don't know. I'll still be honest in my assessment of them, but in the long run, I honestly feel it's for the betterment of coffee that they succeed; their voice is too loud for me not to want that.

Seattle Visuals: Day 3, Part I

2009-09-30T06:49:00.000-04:00

FYI

2009-09-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

I hate typos. I need an editor. Self-editing sucks.

Seattle Thoughts: Mediocre Espresso

2009-09-29T21:50:00.003-04:00

Kenny laughed. Immediately.

Anyone who has spent a great deal of time around me when I'm talking coffee will tell you, from personal experience, that I won't shy away from being honest when I feel the occasion calls for it. Unfortunately, those occasions are often precisely when others do not want me to be honest.

Allow me to clarify.

As I explained to Kenny and Pablo, it does a coffee shop no service when a barista asks how my espresso was and I tell them, "It was good!" and then promptly walk out and tell my friends and everyone else who asks, "Eeeehhhh...it was mediocre." Sometimes, the truth hurts. Sometimes, feedback isn't helpful. Sometimes, hurtful truth isn't helpful. I honestly wanted to be truthful, even hurtful if necessary, and I certainly wanted to be helpful.

Allow me to clarify still more.

I told Austin, the barista at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea, that the single-origin Kenya AB espresso I had been served was mediocre. Actually, I didn't say the word mediocre; I had lifted my hand, palm-downward with my fingers spread open, and wiggled it in a motion while making a noise which clearly indicated the word I wanted to indicate: Mediocre.

It was the truth, and it clearly hurt. Kenny's laughter wasn't helping.

At that point, my feedback wasn't helpful, so I expounded. I told him what I had told Kenny and Pablo: The fruit was there, the flavor was there, it just didn't "pop" at all. A Kenya pulled as espresso is a unique animal: wild and flashy, vivid and powerful and woefully dangerous. I felt it should have ascended quickly up my palate and made my eyes pop open intensely in surprise; instead, it just sort of stood there...and blinked...in boredom.

The reason I gave such honest feedback? They cared. Austin and the other barista clearly wanted to offer up an outstanding product. My aim was not to bash the latest Starbucks project into oblivion; it was to enjoy it for what it was, offer up some critique, and be on my merry way. In retrospect, I think Austin was not prepared for my up-front honesty. Kenny, however, was used to it, and so he laughed. I took the time to explain myself to Austin, telling him precisely why I felt no qualms in being so honest in what I tasted. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was in a Starbucks and wanted to engage in some high-handed, silly game of Charbucks-bashing. No, it was and is simply this: The espresso was mediocre, and if they want to serve up a good espresso, they need to know when they serve up mediocre espresso. Otherwise, how will they know the difference?

Seattle Visuals: Day 2

2009-09-29T19:31:00.000-04:00

Seattle Recap: Day 1

2009-09-29T16:51:00.002-04:00

I'm going to do two types of written posts concerning Seattle: Recaps and Thoughts. In the Recaps, I'll just give a bit of running commentary, summing up what Kenny, Pablo and I did in the Emerald City. In the Thoughts, I'll take the time to ruminate over what happened, doing so in a much more free-flowing manner.

We flew out of Louisville at the butt-crack of dawn with a layover in Minneapolis before we headed way west to Seattle. While waiting at our gate at SDF, I brewed up some of PT's Wondo Bonko using a Clever. Not bad for airport coffee, I assure you.

Fast-forward past our arrival and pickup and settling in at our host's house in Bellevue, just outside of Seattle. The first coffee destination? Victrola on 15th Avenue. We also hit up 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea, Tougo Coffee, an already closed Porchlight, Stumptown, then Caffe Vita and Vivace. Espresso and more was obtained -- some more enjoyable than others -- at each stop, and a wonderful experience was in the making.

Seattle Visuals: Day 1

2009-09-29T16:36:00.001-04:00

Little Twittle

2009-09-28T22:57:00.001-04:00

One quick link via Twitter...check out the throwdown Kenny aaaaaaalllllmost won...

Red-Eyed

2009-09-28T22:16:00.000-04:00

There is a slew of thoughts and feelings I have concerning my trip to Seattle. There's also a batch of images I took with Benjamin's Nikon D40 that I've yet to load onto my eSATA drive. Sitting on my living room floor is a bag full of goodies: roasted coffee from Stumptown, Neptune, Caffe Vita, and more. The ND - Purdue game I missed live is replaying on ESPN360, my body has yet to readjust to the three hours I lost in the time change, and I'm still unsure what in the world I'm supposed to get done this week.

That's my long-winded way of saying, "I got nuthin'." No fancy blog post, no pictures, no romantic recap of the weekend's happenings, even though those happenings took place in one of the best coffee cities in the world as it played host to some of the best coffee events in the world.

At least, not yet ;)

2009-09-26T19:45:00.001-04:00

Whoa! Check it out...Kenny is pouring behind his back, and we end up on the La Marzocco USA blog! Sweet action :)

Not Pau Yet...

2009-09-24T04:31:00.002-04:00

4:30 AMish. Still not completely packed. Some things never change, eh?

Hit Me

2009-09-23T18:52:00.000-04:00

Amazing. I start blogging in earnest again and the hits go up. It's like it's my birthday again and people want to get their hits in.

C-Links: First

2009-09-23T13:13:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer number one: this is an extremely coffee-centric post. Since I've done a horrible job of keeping this blog updated, I figured I'd go ahead and list a small portion of the coffee-related blogs and websites I often delve into. This is the first such list of that nature. Disclaimer number two: I must note that not all of these -- particularly the blogs -- are updated with fresh content. Furthermore, I would point out that I don't always agree with what each respective site claims. If you read thoroughly, you'll find that some of them seem to contradict one another on at least several levels, making full and/or blind agreement illogical. That's part of the reason I'm providing these links: I'd like for the coffee junkies out there to read and think.

Intelli Roasters

Shot Zombies

Cafe Grumpy

Espresso Map

Barista Exchange

Ninety Plus Coffee

Barismo

Coffee Review

Bloggle

Meet the Press Pot

God Shot

Tamp This!

Man Seeking Coffee

Tim Wendelboe

Has Bean

TheShot

Chemically Imbalanced

Coffee and Crema

Discovery Coffee

Crema De La Crema

That Other Coffee Blog

Way of Coffee

Chris Baca

Daniel Humpries

Dwell Time

Colin Harmon

Suit Up!

2009-09-22T22:58:00.001-04:00

Barney is back!

I Said That?

2009-09-22T17:28:00.000-04:00

Concerning coffee knowledge:

"I'm largely ignorant...so much to learn, so few legitimate shortcuts, so many helpful aids that require hard work on your part."

Recounting the Roasting

2009-09-21T22:28:00.002-04:00

There are two coffees that have already dropped out of the drum and into the cooling tray tonight, both from Africa: Ethiopia Beloya Selection Eight and Kenya AA Nyeri Ndaro-ini. While both are noted for their fruited characters, they differ in precisely which types of fruits they each present. That said, they're also the types of coffees that aren't particularly known for their use in espresso, either as components of a blend or as single-origin offerings.

Naturally, I did the logical thing and roasted those two batches specifically for espresso.

The plan is to take them to Seattle with us. With all of the geeking-out we'll do, my hope is that we'll be able to get those pulled.

Who knows...they may even be delicious.

Archival

2009-09-20T22:25:00.002-04:00

The archives are fixed. Kind of. They're there, but they aren't archiving the way they should be. Ugh.

Story Time

2009-09-20T14:41:00.005-04:00

At the moment, I'm listening to Debbie Gibson. By the time I'm done with this post, I'm sure that will change several times over.

An odd start to a post, I know, but since when has convention been my forté? Ask my mom; she'll tell you I've been fairly odd since before I first tucked my jeans into my tube socks, ninja-style. All weirdness aside, I figured I'd go ahead and write about the start of my love affair with one my favorite things to love: coffee.

We're on Ray LaMontagne now, by the way.

When I was a wee lad who sported a side-comb, I can remember my dad would sometimes take me to McDonald's for breakfast. The one on Liliha Street was not yet renovated, sporting an open-air building of red brick that the birds frequented as much as the senior citizens with their polyester pants pulled up three inches past their belly buttons. No matter what else he got, I remember Dad getting coffee. I'm not sure of the exact combination and ratio, but cream and sugar were always added and stirred with one of those stirring straws. That concoction is something he still drinks to this day, I think.

As I got older, I thought of coffee with a pinched-up look on my face. It was, to be blunt, gross. And you know what? I'm still right: that coffee is still gross.

When I graduated from high school, I got hired at my first job, and I started to drink "coffee". Truth be told, it was International Delights with caffeine added to it, but oh, how deliciously helpful it was! Shift starting at 6 AM? No problem, so long as I could hit up the coffee machine in the deli section before I started.

Color Me Badd...oh yeah...iTunes is kickin' it back to the 90's!

So yes, I started to get hooked. From there, it slowly escalated to Starbucks Fraps, then straight black, then presses at home or in the office. My kitchen is now littered with ceramic and plastic pour-overs, presses, air pots, syphon sets, and more. 'Spro machine? No...not yet. I find I'm too busy trying to discern the massive subtleties found in different filtered brewing methods to tinker with espresso in my own kitchen.

I suppose you could say I wrote this rather pointless -- in my own eyes -- post because I felt like I needed to. Michael wrote a little something on another blog about how he reads this blog, and how this blog has content on coffee. He also said something I'll not repeat here, but I will say that his assertion is absolutely, unequivocally ridiculous. I'll leave it at that.

Aaaahhhh, Def Leppard...love it.

Not Mine

2009-09-19T08:23:00.002-04:00

It's been over six and a half years since I moved here from home. I can tell I've been here for a while now in that when I try to think of the specific period of when things happened within that time frame, say, a given month or even a year, I often draw blanks.

That definitely wasn't the case before.

I used to hate living here. Well, hate is a strong word; perhaps it's more accurate to say that I constantly ached. Yes, that's better. I had left almost all of my family and friends and everything I'd ever known. My life, for all intents and purposes, was decidedly not my own.

This morning, I'm going to go to Quills and hang out there with Jeesh. I know all of the baristas, and often serve them coffee in their own coffee shop. The same is true of when I go to Sunergos. Last weekend, Scott and Em came into town from Ohio for a visit, and this weekend, Moon drove down from Illinois. All of them fall into the "old friends" category. When we were out on the town last night, I saw more than a few random people I know in places we hadn't expected to see one another.

The point? I no longer come anywhere close to hating it here...not even an ache, really. When I think about it, I realize that my life feels like it's mine.

I wish it didn't, because it's not.

Jesus talked about losing our lives for His sake. Four or five years ago, that was a shocking reality. I'd wake up and think of home, of Kewalo's, of 'Drew and Boss and Kev and Kayla and her little brothers and wonder when I would get to see them next. I'd smile sadly -- if I smiled at all -- when asked if I wanted to end up at home after I was done here. Don't misunderstand me: I wasn't in the midst of a pity party. If anything, I think I just understood that while my life was never mine to begin with, I am freely given Christ's life in return.

I wish I would remember that now.

Wednesday Already?

2009-09-09T07:53:00.000-04:00

I like holiday-shortened work weeks :)

Linkage

2009-09-07T23:14:00.003-04:00

A few links I like to read. Quite interesting stuff, truth be told. And whether or not you believe it, not a single one of these links has even a wink of coffee in 'em.

Just remember that I didn't specify just how much a wink is ;)

For those that care not just what's written, but how what is written looks.

Keep screwing up rice? Not to worry; you're not the only one.

Given the time of year, 'tis amusingly apropos, don't you think?

Cuss-word funny. Seriously.

Linkage

2009-08-31T23:22:00.002-04:00

I think I'll go and pay them a visit. Maybe even do so with the author.

If I could taste coffee like he does, I'd call myself a cupper.

Rosetta from a baby bottle? Yeah.

Betcha didn't know that this was how Lloyd's got its start.

Seriously.

Four Words

2009-08-30T23:42:00.001-04:00

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream.

This Coffee Sucks

2009-08-29T22:32:00.003-04:00

This is the description I put down for the event on Facebook:

This is a little workshop on learning how to brew with what's known as a vacuum/syphon/siphon brewing system. I'll provide the materials, split you up into teams, give you some instruction and information to sort through and absorb, and you go at it for a couple of hours. We'll have fun, learn a LOT about coffee, be frustrated by the fact that we're walking away feeling stupider than when we started, and generally have a good time. Hopefully :)

It turned out to be a heck of a lot of fun, actually. At least, that was the feedback I got from everyone. I set up three complete sets of syphon brewing systems, butane burners included, and gave each group several printed threads of discussion from coffeed.com.

My goal was more than just to give people some hands-on experience with a method of brewing they'd never before brewed with; in reality, I wanted to challenge their perceptions of what coffee should or should not do or should or should not taste like, and, in doing so, be forced to think rigorously about why coffee is the way it is. Don't misunderstand me: I don't think we arrived at any sort of conclusions. What we did accomplish, though, was the hard-earned acquisition of a tiny bit more experiential coffee knowledge, an acquisition that was a heck of a lot of fun.

I'm totally jacking Moatsy's TwitPic picture for this post:

Thoughts: Godward

2009-08-28T07:57:00.003-04:00

Sure, Jesus tastes better than any coffee, but how savory does Christ seem to the spirit that feels burned and scarred by sin? Here on earth, there still are consequences to sin, and sometimes that means that the soul is soured, pained, even numbed, worn-down and wearied by the longing for Jesus to come once more.

The fact that I feel an aching -- or sometimes realize that I don't ache as I once did -- for Jesus in the midst of repenting or wanting to repent or after repenting is, at the very least, an encouragement that I am His, for only in Christ does such misery, upon deeper reflection, seem so sweet.

Ben Movement

2009-08-27T23:47:00.002-04:00

This afternoon and evening, a bunch of us went over to the Hedricks' old pad to pile up their stuff and move 'em on over to their new pad. The process was fun, and definitely with a close shave or two ;)

Go West, Young Man

2009-08-25T19:32:00.002-04:00

This means we're going to Seattle, kids. What for? So that Kenny can be one of 40 in one of the best coffee cities in the world. Heck yeah :)

Not Yet

2009-08-24T23:43:00.001-04:00

I took a little trip to New York City last December. I'd never been to New York, either the state or the city, and as such, I did what most folks in my situation would think preposterous: I visited coffee shops. Just coffee shops.

I didn't go alone, as I dragged along Andrew and Sandi. They were the friends with whom I was spending Christmas, and as such, were being very gracious in indulging me and feeding my delight at the mere thought of all the delicious coffee and espresso to be had in The City That Never Sleeps. Quite apt, you'd think, for one questing for culinary delights of a caffeinated nature to do his questing in a city so named, yet that was not always the case. In fact, only in the past five years or so has New York City gained a reputation -- legitimately, mind you -- as a destination worthy of those seeking delicious coffee. That goes against the grain of logic, does it not? One would think that a metropolis as massive and, reputedly, as cultured as New York City would be crawling with stellar coffees...right? Not so much.

Not until recently, that is.

Why write about New York City's coffee scene, you ask? Well, I'm not. I just bring up that much larger city to make a point: Louisville has yet to have a coffee establishment that consistently serves great coffee.

Calm down, calm down. I can see the Louisville locals clamoring for my head. (I have long, flowing blond locks if anyone was wondering.)

Note the third word in my point: Yet. Yet. It's much easier to sit around and say we have great coffee here than it is to actually go and find out what truly great coffee tastes like, who is serving it, and, most importantly, how they do it. It would be no small understatement to say it takes a lot of humble effort to be great. All the fluff on the labels won't matter one iota if the product in the bag isn't great, and the most stellar, highly sought-after, Direct-Trade, artisanally-roasted beans in the world won't matter if those beans are left to sit for a month after roasting or aren't pulled or brewed with the utmost attention and care, shot after shot, cup after cup. The coffee served in Louisville can become consistently great, even outstanding; it just takes some humble effort.

Word Works

2009-08-23T20:57:00.001-04:00

It's been over a month. No preamble, no explanation, no random logic as way of reason; merely an unforeseen hiatus from the blogosphere. Twitter can't be blamed since a hundred and forty characters is hardly enough for my overly-verbose and long-winded self to express that which longs to explode from within me. Nor, for that matter, can a suddenly busier schedule, one filled with "work"...lots and lots of it, truth be told. What, then? No real reason; at least, not one that I feel capable of giving voice to here. A part of me was fine with this; another part of me felt like I was missing something.

Within the past few days, I've had a handful of unrelated incidences that have caused me to think about my little corner of the web, which has, ironically enough, seemed to have collected a few "cyber-cobwebs" here and there. The last post was published well over a month ago, unceremoniously and mysteriously announcing the fact that I had been thinking about haoles. My blog silence prompted a couple of recent inquiries from friends that will occasionally read what my mind churns out. One semi-anonymous reader commented on an old post; one that, ironically enough, speaks about how I had felt unable to blog. Last night, I sat in Sunergos and read Kenny a couple of posts that I had written a long while back, posts on topics that revealed things both wonderful and vulnerable, profound and intimate.

Why say all this? What's the point of this rambling? I'm not certain. Writing is a form of communication; sometimes, the very act of writing is communication enough, for no one needs to read what I write here in order for me to feel that I've been heard. Strange how that works, isn't it?

Tomorrow is Friday!

2009-07-16T22:20:00.002-04:00

The week is almost over. Amazing. More significant blogging to come; for now, though, you're stuck with this thought: haoles...*sigh*.

Thoughts

2009-07-15T22:30:00.000-04:00

How did I get here? Gosh, I feel like I'm neglecting this ratty-looking space on the web. Team Johnny 5 is hurting but so freakin' close to being epic. Shaggy's team in green in the LUFA Competitive League is lookin' pretty dang stout! Two words: selection eight. I'm the world's most hypocritical hermit, I really am. I'd give up coffee for it in half a heartbeat...no lie. Frances is in 'Bama. Pancakes would be nice, even though I don't want 'em. I'm supposed to do that sushi thing with Moisan...but when? Yeah, that's right, I like listening to Color Me Badd. So what if I yelled, "I'm a Muggle, wanna snuggle?" in the parking lot after the movie last night...I only did it 'cause I saw it on a shirt. Note to self: more sleep is necessary. Working in an orphanage sounds like one of the most wonderful things ever. Commando! I think my leg is leaking pus. Another note to self: stretch, old man, stretch. This look on my face could be here for a while.

Doubled Up

2009-07-14T21:22:00.000-04:00

Dang. Winning was a nice feeling. Too bad losing kind of feels not so nice.

In Moderation

2009-07-13T22:49:00.005-04:00

So what if every other post seems to be about coffee or Twitter? Or, in some cases, both? I find Dr. Moore's tweets to be way freakin' funny, especially this one, talking about the celebration of John Calvin's 500th birthday:

What do moderate Calvinists like me do on Calvin's birthday? Cake, yes, but with enough ice cream for the WHOLE WORLD.

While I'm at it, I'll tell you what happened when Warren and I were headed home from work that day and heard Dr. Moore on the radio. Dr. Moore said that he had a couple of guests lined up, one a five-point Calvinist, the other a five-point Arminian. I told Warren that I could tell I'd been under the influence of Southern Seminary -- and other such reformed bodies of thinking -- for quite a while because when I heard Dr. Moore tell of the five-point Arminian, I got excited in the same way you do when someone tells you that they have a huge alligator in their bathtub: "Ooohhh, can I see it? Is it still alive? Does it bite? Can't you get in trouble for having one of those?"

Gosh, I need to get out more.

September in Seattle

2009-07-12T23:45:00.001-04:00

Remember how in February, there was that little jaunt up to Chicago? And how it was all about coffee? And how Kenny and Kane were entered into that little competition?

Well...Seattle is on the horizon...

"Drinking Coffee"

2009-07-11T21:03:00.000-04:00

This is probably sacrilegious in some way. Hmmm. Oh well...I said it the other night, so enough people have read it already, I'm sure :)

hermitudinous Drinkin' a Gesha brewed in a syphon, cooling a batch of Idido Misty Valley, and about to bag up the Tanzanian Blackburn Estate Peaberry.

RaleighSadler @hermitudinous hmmm. Some people just say "drinking coffee." really. It may see strange. But they do. ;)

hermitudinous @RaleighSadler Right. If God gets the whole freakin' bible -- and a physical body -- to communicate Himself, I can use all 140 characters :P

Gesha in a Syphon

2009-07-10T11:18:00.001-04:00

This, my friends, was a thing of beauty to see, smell, and taste.

Be Democratic

2009-07-10T00:41:00.001-04:00

Go vote for my niece. Do it. She's ridiculously cute and you know it. Now!

Gladly Blessed

2009-07-09T20:04:00.001-04:00

This is on repeat in the iTunes playlist:

"Glad when Thy gracious smile we see, blessed when our faith can hold Thee fast."

Well...not just those lines, but the entire song is. Yeah. That's all I can say about that.

The Hotness

2009-07-09T19:14:00.000-04:00

Yawn

2009-07-09T07:43:00.001-04:00

One more day until Friday :)

Bunch of Kids

2009-07-08T23:33:00.000-04:00

Wow

2009-07-07T21:59:00.002-04:00

Coffee quote of yesterday:

"Crema is rubbish. That's all I have to say."
-James Hoffmann

Super Syphon

2009-07-06T23:50:00.000-04:00

Mmm.

Tweety Todd

2009-07-05T22:01:00.003-04:00

From yesterday, a little Twitter back-and-forth with Mr. Todd Pellowe:

toddpellowe had a dream that the groomsmen from last night's wedding took their pants off during the portrait session... oh wait. that really happened.

hermitudinous @toddpellowe And...did you photograph this, Mr. Wedding Photographer?

toddpellowe @hermitudinous it's my duty to document the wedding day.

hermitudinous @toddpellowe Hahahahahahahaha!!! That's a must-see!

Window Silled

2009-07-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

Quick Link

2009-07-03T23:41:00.001-04:00

Heeeeeyyyy, check it out, it's Pat! I love Pat...such a great guy...I think we're just about due for a random run-in. I didn't see him in Baltimore this year -- probably because I wasn't there -- and I don't remember if I we saw each other here at Na last year. Oh well. Soon, perhaps. He's in a coffee mecca, after all :)

A Nutcase

2009-07-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've shied away from calling myself a connoisseur of any sort, particularly a coffee connoisseur. I feel uncomfortable with that word when it's applied to me, especially when I think of touting myself as one. A connoisseur, by definition, is an expert, or one who can discern subtleties and differences.

That's quite a presumption.

I have no qualms, however, stating that I'm a nutcase. A coffee nutcase. I brew coffees for different reasons than most folks do: to drink, yes, but I brew coffees primarily to taste them, savor them, even understand them. Think I'm crazy? You haven't even heard the hundredth of it.

Nutcase, indeed!

Yesterday, Kiddo hooked me up with a pound of Intelligentsia's excellent, in-season Honduras La Tortuga. With such a delight in my possession, you'd think I'd brew it and enjoy it, right? Well, sort of. On my desk are two mugs, one with a brew from a press and another with a brew from a Hario cloth cone pour-over.

The press was brewed with a course grind setting and an extraction time of four minutes. The pour-over was brewed with a finer grind setting -- a little finer than traditional drip, perhaps -- and a total extraction time of roughly one minute. There's a discernible difference in the cups, mostly in the body and mouthfeel. The press is less even, less homogeneous. The pour-over, however, feels more syrupy, having a more viscous body, even though it feels cleaner in the mouth. Quite interesting.

Why share all of this? Well, a handful of you don't care one whit about coffee beyond its ability to wake you up in the morning. Some of you, like Moon Pie, won't even have made it down this far. A small portion of you glorious readers really dig a post like this, though, and are actually intrigued by my mad rantings and unrelenting roasting and brewing experiments.

Am I a nutcase? Absolutely. Will I continue to be so? You betcha.

Linkage

2009-07-02T23:52:00.000-04:00

My palms and feet were sweating through the whole article. Not kidding.

I felt a slight urge to go and clean halfway through reading this. Hah...yeah, right!

I always have enjoyed telling people they don't know squat about Notre Dame and college football. It gets a little easier with this.

Robista?

2009-07-01T22:46:00.002-04:00

Just so you know, the sock-style cloth pour-over brewer is on the list of coffee gadgets soon to be added to my kitchen. In the mean time, the robot throws it down!

Stephen David, Not David Stephen

2009-07-01T22:23:00.002-04:00

The little may remind me of Todd Thomas every five minutes, but he sure as heck has his Papa's fist-pump down!

Quotes of the Day

2009-06-30T12:00:00.001-04:00

"My father once chased after his own sister with a butcher knife."
-Blake McKinney

"Crap! I'd run 'em over, but pedestrians have the right of way."
-Juan Maclean

"Did we grab the faucet and put it with the rest of its kind? Good grief, that sounds like Land Before Time meets Beauty and the Beast."
-Yours Truly

If Can, Can...If No Can, No Can

2009-06-29T20:22:00.002-04:00

This was the text Steak Sauce sent a little while ago:

Surfing Kewalos @ 3 with Andrew. U should come!

What a babooze...gotta love the Crew. Give a wave offering for me, boys :)

Twenty Questions

2009-06-28T23:34:00.000-04:00

Little Miss Merrifield asks her Uncle Johnny all about...well...stuff. She does a might fine job of it, I might add!

Feeling Focused

2009-06-27T23:20:00.001-04:00

Taken from Ryan Willbur, this sums up a lot of my feelings toward coffee at the moment:

The difference is that my focus has changed. I’m finding that I’m less concerned with what people are drinking at the coffee bar and I’m more concerned with what they’re drinking at home. If any of the punk-teenager still leaks out on bar, it’s probably because someone is asking me to grind a pound of coffee for them. You could call it my ‘new’ espresso on ice. More than ever, I’m excited to push more and more people into making better coffee at home.

He Digs It

2009-06-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

Enlightening

2009-06-25T23:40:00.000-04:00

During thunderstorm at work:

"Hey Petey, I'll give you ten bucks if you go outside and wave around a long metal pole."

"Ten bucks?"

"Ten bucks."

"Fifteen?"

"Twenty!"

Maybe you just had to be there.

What's Your Name?

2009-06-24T23:37:00.002-04:00

She's an awesome little girl, isn't she? Ridiculously cute and smart and downright lovable. Hard to beat that combo!

SMS Singleness

2009-06-23T23:16:00.001-04:00

One of my single buddies sent me this text this afternoon...I, of course, felt compelled to share his thoughts with all of you:

I hate attractive 24 yr old teachers/sports coaches with a southern accent that wear jewelry on their ring finger.

Awesome :)

Uncle Johnny is Charming!

2009-06-22T23:10:00.001-04:00

She knows what she's talking about. Yup!

Indelible Memories

2009-06-22T18:09:00.001-04:00

Gonna go show Makana my "stamp"...awesome :)

Thoughts

2009-06-21T22:32:00.003-04:00

According to Makana, the thing on my leg is a stamp. Moisan in his fedora...incarnate. We need some of those Vibrams. When you gotta go, you gotta go. So yeah, I'm in...I suppose that's a big deal. Mission accomplished, Butterworth the Younger. I need a haircut. Seriously, am I the only guy whose marital future is dreamed of or discussed by girls? I met little Stephen David Merrifield; awesome. Still don't know why that second brew on the syphon didn't draw down completely. We should rock on Tuesday. Brooks is singing to me at the moment. I get so tired of fighting sin sometimes...I'd give up coffee if I could go through the rest of my days without sinning...but I don't have to give it up, do I? That camel kiss was freakin' legendary. I love it when the "You and me?" story comes out. I'm on Year 4 and should be done with Year 7 by the end of the week.

A Coffee Tasting: Pau

2009-06-20T23:47:00.002-04:00

My legs ache. My stomach is empty. My eyeballs want my eyelids to fall down over them. My hands are a little shaky.

And I'm really, really, really happy.

Hopefully, the dozen or so people that showed up feel the same way.

Perhaps tomorrow, I'll write more on what happened and how what happened happened, but for now, the lingering impressions of an event that's been several weeks in the making and completely finished less than an hour ago will have to suffice. I think people went away experiencing coffees in a way that left them satisfied yet wanting more. On top of that, I think there was an educational aspect to their experience that is going to prove long-lasting; in other words, indelible, hands-on learning took place.

For that, I'm very grateful. More later.

Decisions, Decisions

2009-06-20T13:53:00.000-04:00

I told him I'm in.

Thoughts

2009-06-19T23:11:00.004-04:00

In less than two days, I won't be the only Letoto child in the 'Ville. When I go to a wedding where I know only one other person, it's almost inevitable that my people-watching and fashionista tendencies become traits that team up to form a painful combination. That rain was crazy. Sleep...oh, how I love sleep. My motto for this evening: Have suit, will eat. My buddies the Hardisons went to Chicago and enjoyed the same Intelligentsia shop that I did...and they just told me that. Some guys daydream about a girl they have a crush on; I daydream about chasing down a plastic disc and brewing rare coffees over open flames. I'm gonna wear that jersey soon, Butterworth. I find it's so much harder to enjoy Jesus than it used to be...even though He's not on iota less enjoyable. Team Johnny 5 may have a few fans on Tuesday; I hope we rep it. Boss likes to call me at 3:30 AM more than any other time, I think. Bob and Justin totally pushed Over the Grave...too bad I missed the party. Perfect...forgiven...

A Coffee Tasting: Sharing to Teach

2009-06-18T01:39:00.000-04:00

It's near 1:30 in the morning, and I've just finished up three of the batches that will be going towards Saturday's little event. As I bagged up the last of the batches, I realized why I chose those three, as well as the Ethiopian beans I roasted last week for single-origin espresso, to sit alongside the Gesha: I wanted to present coffees that were not merely quality coffees, not merely coffees I particularly enjoy, but coffees that were unique and utterly hard to find in this city. A big part of the reason I decided to do this little shindig in the first place was because I wanted to educate people, and not merely by them hearing me drone on and on and on about total dissolved solids and uneven extraction leading to unintended but delightful complexities and the near-supreme importance of good green sourcing and blah blah blah blah blah.

No.

One of the best ways to teach is to let someone experience things for themselves. Simple concept, right? Strangely enough, I find it horrifically absent from the American educational system. Perhaps because its inclusion requires creativity and enjoyment and vulnerability.

But that's another blog post. I'm supposed to only write about coffee and Jesus here, right?

I think I've come to greatly appreciate the minute gains of cerebral understandings of what is causing coffee to taste the way it does. I suppose my point is that I'd hate to share some coffee and not share that appreciation. Make sense? I hope so. See you Saturday.

Crap...it's almost 1:40.

Capturing What I Wrote

2009-06-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

Well over a year ago, I wrote the following:

"How are you?" The variations of that non-threatening, traditional greeting are many, but the purpose is the same: to greet someone. But you know what? I find my answers severely...lacking. Rarely do I feel as though I've really answered the question. Sometimes, it's because I don't really want to tell that person how I'm doing. At other times, it's because I don't like the answer, even if I really want to gush my guts. At still other times, I find that I don't even understand the answer, or think that maybe the answer isn't valid for some reason.

Tonight, though, I thought about that question. What I find I really want to ask isn't, "How are you?" No, my question lies somewhere along these lines: "Are you enjoying Jesus? Are you believing the promises that are yes and amen in Him? What areas of sin do you see in my life that need to be addressed? Do you see Christ in me? What has the LORD been teaching you in these recent days and weeks?" In my head, those are the questions I hear. In my heart, those are the questions that burn.

So tell me...are you enjoying Jesus?

Less than a couple of months following that, I wrote this in a blog post that I'd written to my awesome friend Rich:

Rich...the following comes mostly from some thoughts scrawled down in my journal at some point last week. I hope this helps. At the very least, it's helped me to gaze upon the Savior more, which is something I desperately need. For that, I thank you.

In the story of Abraham and Isaac, the LORD makes very clear not only the impossibility of Isaac's birth, but also the precious value of the love that Abraham had for Isaac. Did he value his son any more than any other father in history? That's mere conjecture, but one cannot deny the circumstances he found himself in could only heighten his awareness of Isaac's precious value.

Man is, by his very finite existence, limited in his capacity to love. It is impossible for any one of us to love with unending passion and perfection; invariably, our affections heat and cool, often with no rhyme or reason. With this in mind, I think God stacks the odds in Abraham's favor: every creaky step, every sag and wrinkle, every quiet, lonely memory reminded him and Sarah both of the exceeding value of their son, the son of promise.

Yet, what was Isaac's purpose but to point to the ultimate, infinitely more precious Son of Promise, Jesus Christ? The circumstances Abraham found himself in were designed to make him all the more aware of the worth of his son, and to make clear to us the worth and love with which the Father views the Son. Any affection Abraham had for Isaac was but a cold shadow compared to the white-hot light of glory that, from all eternity, passed between God the Father and God the Son. The darkened storm that came upon Abraham's heart when he walked the road to Moriah was nothing compared to Light of the World being snuffed out upon the cross. In Abraham, we but dimly begin to glimpse the infinite pleasure the Father has in His Son...that God has in Himself.

This, at the very least, is a part of what I believe John Piper and Henry Scougel have inferred with their writings. The entirety of Scripture reveals, over and over and over again, a holy God making clear to sinful Man the worth and value of Himself. This, though Man does not think it so, is loving. That God uses lives like Abraham's to stretch and stir our sinful and finite hearts is all the more wondrous, as it is in a life like Abraham's that we can identify our own yearnings for love and to be able to love, shriveled and weakened though those capacities to receive and give love may be. It is the LORD's wont and wisdom to take a variety of circumstances, not least of which is Abraham's fatherly love for the precious son whom he longed for, and show petty Man that the Father loves His Son, has loved His Son from all eternity, and will love His Son for all eternity. This love is God-centered, not man-centered, and is central to His glory.

I suppose the reason I share the contents of both of these old posts is because they capture, at least in part, what's going through my heart these days. More specifically, they capture what I'd like to see and feel going through my heart.

Hello, Lovely

2009-06-16T21:57:00.003-04:00

This, my friends, is one of two new Hario TCA-3 syphon brewers to grace my kitchen. The first two brews in this lovely machine were absolutely stellar, and I can't wait to continue to try it out in the coming days. There's a plethora of techniques and theories of syphon brewing out there on the web, just waiting to be employed by yours truly.

Heck yeah!

Linkage

2009-06-15T23:50:00.002-04:00

Just a few quick links. Coffee-related, naturally.

Read the comments...that's where the goods are really at. Of course, Jim's thoughts are pretty worthwhile, too!

I linked to this a couple of years ago, but you know what? It's a great primer on coffee, so I figured, why not?

Hopefully, I'll have a couple of siphon-style pots in here by the end of the week. We'll see.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

2009-06-14T22:23:00.002-04:00

Just got back in from a nice little evening over at the Gronotte household. They now live over on Preston Street, and to be quite honest, I love the fact that they -- along with many other Immanuelites -- are close by. Their boxes have yet to be unpacked, the house has a lot of work still to be done on it, but it already feels quite homely. All that to say that I look forward to many more evenings much like this one.

All Up In Your Grill

2009-06-13T23:40:00.000-04:00

A Coffee Tasting: Menu

2009-06-12T23:58:00.000-04:00

Just about 24 hours ago, I was in the middle of roasting some dry-processed Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley. Four batches, each one weighing 227 grams pre-roast, to be exact. The problem with that? I had only planned on roasting two batches but had screwed up the middle two batches.

I felt quite persnickety about the whole thing, I did. I needed to wake up for work in the morning, and really, would the two degrees of difference really matter? Well, yes. Roasting for espresso, especially single-origin espresso, seems to be quite an unforgiving endeavor, and I wanted to get it just right, you know? These two batches were to be combined and set aside to be pulled as espresso shots that would be turned into cappuccinos, creations of milk and espresso that would sing with dense, creamy berry notes and swirl with hints of chocolate and fruit cocktail.

So yes, it mattered.

Two extra roasts later than planned, I finished my roasting session for the evening, content in the notion that I didn't stop until I was satisfied with the finished product. Those intoxicating cappuccinos will be the proof.

Open Letter

2009-06-11T21:44:00.002-04:00

Dear 30 Year-Old Self,

In approximately one year, when another silvery-white hair or five will have gained greater prominence on your head and you only-kind-of-jokingly begin to look for the phrase, "Inflate to 90 PSI Max" stamped onto the side of your waist, you will hopefully have adopted and followed-through on at least one of the following mid-year resolutions: stretching more thoroughly and regularly; eating a little less cinnamon ice cream from Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen and running a little more; getting to bed before midnight; and calling your mother at least...well...just call her, darn it!

I do realize that the likelihood of you doing all of those is quite laughable, which is why I, your 29 Year-Old Self, am hoping that you will have accomplished at least one. I leave it at that. No more, but hopefully, no less. My tight right hamstring and wind-sucking respiratory system are in league with my circulatory system -- which seems to be threatening to go on strike -- to get you happier, even if it means my temporary misery. Regardless of my body's grumbling, you, at the very least, should have learned to call your mother.

I suppose that's really my responsibility, though, isn't it? Darn.

Unsmugly,
Your 29 Year-Old Self

Lyrical

2009-06-11T07:45:00.002-04:00

"...and this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom..."

Sometimes, I feel more daunted by God's mercy than relieved by and grateful for it. It's a good sign I'm not understanding it well, and I need to gaze at God's mercy through Christ more.

Smeagol is Free!

iFunny

Roasting Excerpt

I Suited Up

Word

In the Cup

Good Morning, Window

Espresso 101: Syllabus

For Crist's Sake

A Letter

From Ryan Fullerton

Lists

Drinking vs. Tasting

Being Awesome Instead

An Observation

Re: Today's Game

My Self...ish

He Made My Day

Thirty-Three

Dwell Time

Setting the Table

Standing During the Stands

We Were There!

For the Future

Back Again

Seattle Visuals: Day 4

Seattle Recap: Day 2

Seattle Visuals: Day 3, Part II

Seattle Thoughts: I Love Starbucks

Seattle Visuals: Day 3, Part I

FYI

Seattle Thoughts: Mediocre Espresso

Seattle Visuals: Day 2

Seattle Recap: Day 1

Seattle Visuals: Day 1

Little Twittle

Red-Eyed

Not Pau Yet...

Hit Me

C-Links: First

Suit Up!

I Said That?

Recounting the Roasting

Archival

Story Time

Not Mine

Wednesday Already?

Linkage

Linkage

Four Words

This Coffee Sucks

Thoughts: Godward

Ben Movement

Go West, Young Man

Not Yet

Word Works

Tomorrow is Friday!

Thoughts

Doubled Up

In Moderation

September in Seattle

"Drinking Coffee"

Gesha in a Syphon

Be Democratic

Gladly Blessed

The Hotness

*Yawn*

Bunch of Kids

Wow

Super Syphon

Tweety Todd

Window Silled

Quick Link

A Nutcase

Linkage

Robista?

Stephen David, Not David Stephen

Quotes of the Day

If Can, Can...If No Can, No Can

Twenty Questions

Yawn