What is Special Roast Coffee

I am a coffee lover and will not drink weak or bad tasting coffee. Larry brought home some Folger's Special Coffee.

I ran out of Hazelnut beans to grind and was forced to make a pot of coffee using the Special Coffee.

I did not expect to enjoy it.

But it isn't bad and is almost good tasting.

Camping Coffee

If you are fortunate enough to have a nice enamel coffee pot to sit on the side of the fire, making coffee is less exciting.

If you get placed into a camping situation without warning, of course, you will need to improvise.  Let's say one of the many natural disasters took your home away and no one came to help.  How would you make coffee, assuming you can locate some ground coffee to use.

Locate a large can, clean it however you can, find some water and coffee.  Place the can of water on the campfire and toss a handful of coffee grounds into the water.  Cook until you can't stand it any longer then pour a cup and enjoy.  Strangely delicious.

Hazelnut Coffee Strong Equals Hot, Sweaty

I now think that if you drink two or three cups of hazelnut coffee, made rather strong, and add whole whipping cream until it is tan in color, will cause you to sweat profusely on a merely warm day.  I may have to give hazelnut coffee up during the summer months.  No can do.  Think I'll just turn on the air conditioner. Here is a list of a few foods and things that cause sweating: Exertion in hot humid weather (which I did), stress and anxiety (got it), smoking a cigarette while trying to cool off, embarrassment or nervousness, and many more I have not named. These however are part of my life right now so maybe it isn't the coffee at all. . .

Coffee:

When I want coffee is when I want to visit with someone, when I plan to work with pen and paper for who knows how long, or just when I want to thoroughly enjoy quiet time on the screen porch.

Twitter Captures Coffee Time

I am but one of nearly two millions internet folks who got hooked on Twitter.  Twitter captures the essence of blogging by making users consolidate words and come to the point fast.  

see my TwitterWall

Hazelnut Coffee

Is hazelnut coffee made completely from the grinding of hazelnuts such as the ones shown to the right?  

In 1995 in Scotland, a midden pit on Colonsay Island, a farmer came across a shallow pit with hundreds of thousands of burned hazelnuts. 

The nuts were radiocarbon dated to circa 7000 BC. Did cave dwellers enjoy fresh hazelnut coffee in the mornings.

 Hazelnut is a shrub grown in Oregan and Washington in the USA and abundantly in England in hedge rows. Hazelnuts, full of protein and unsaturated fat, thiamine and B6.  Most of the hazelnut flavored items sold are made from root sprouts.

Kona Coffee Plantations in Hawaii

As I write this coffee blog I learn so much about my beloved coffee beans.  One thing I have decided is that I'm going to have to order some of these rich pure coffees.  I want coffee that is pure.  No more paying $10 for a can that has ground coffee beans with filler material.

The rich brown coffee beans you see in the bowl on your left are from the Kona Coffee Belt on the Big Island of Hawaii.   Hawaiian Kona coffee farms raise their coffee trees in deep volcanic soils.  The early morning cool mist and the steam from the warm afternoons make for happy coffee trees which translates into a rich cup of coffee.

Coffee plants or trees were introduced to Hawaii from South America over two hundred years ago.  The early planners of the coffee plantations in Hawaii quickly learned that they could only plant on the leeward slopes of the volcanoes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa.  

For more information you can visit www.konamountaincoffee.com

Springtime Coffee Spot

 This is my absolute favorite place to sit when I want to do some serious thinking.  I am sitting on a comfortable bench swing.  There is a small desk sitting next to me on the right where I keep my notebook and pen and coffee cup and water bottle.

Shading the swing is a giant red oak and close by under the oak is a lovely red bud.  The red bud extends out over the pond.  There is a small willow growing in the pond (you can see part of it on the right).

I eagerly await the beautiful spring days when I can do my blog work outside.

Coffee in the Cool Shade

 Soon the greenery will come back out and my watergarden will once again look like this.

When that happens I want to buy a laptop so I can sit by this pond to work online.

We are still working on this pond and have been for at least six years.  Our plan is to have it done before we're too old to work on it anymore. 

Today I am taking my hot fresh cup of hazelnut and cream out to the swing to enjoy.  Come join me for coffee often.

Coffee, the Social Drink

The first thing I say to any visitor in my home is, "Would you like a cup of coffee?" and I am delighted when they say yes. When I serve the coffee and if it is one of those wonderful tasting pots of coffee, my guest and I seem to have a much better conversation. We both feel happier because the coffee is so delicious.

There is nothing as good as a fresh cup of coffee right after a breakfast of eggs and bacon. That coffee is magnificient and the cup that follows is almost as good but all coffee for the rest of the day does not measure up. If you have someone sharing that after-breakfast coffee with you, you know it's going to be a magical day ahead.

Two Coffee Species

Few coffee drinkers know that all coffee is not the from just one species -- there are at least two main species: coffea arabica and coffea canephora. Both are known commonly as Arabica and Robusta respectively.

Naturally, the biggest difference between these two species is taste. Robusta coffee is higher in caffeine and some say has an inferior taste. Nearly eighty percent of the coffee sold in grocery stores are arabica. Brazil grows arabica, or has up until now because profit was in lots of coffee beans over some quality coffee beans.

The coffee plant is a woody perennial evergreen that belongs to the Rubiaceae family. Because it grows to a relatively large height, it is more accurately described as a coffee tree.

The Other Power of Coffee

Making a pot of fresh coffee and sharing it with a friend on a dreary cloudy day is much more than just sipping on coffee.  The very act of preparing coffee says to everyone involved that they are accepted by all.  As I make a fresh pot of coffee during the day after working for hours, I anticipate the joy of relaxing with my feet up and sipping on a hot cup of coffee with real whipping cream added.

I can get a lot done while I wait for the coffee to brew.  It takes about three minutes for my coffee to brew up.  I can get all the dishes put away out of the dishwasher, sweep the kitchen floor, and light a candle before the pot signals it is done.  I work like a streak of lightening but I do get it done and that makes the coffee taste even better.