Knowing What You Know Now, Would You Still Sign Up for Choice Today?

I forgot my favorite mug. After buying all the expensive, heavy stainless mugs with handles, without handles, with carabiner handles, I've gone back to basics.

The best coffee mug out there is the Starbucks $1.00 recyclable. It will take all the pressure you can apply when plunging the Aeropress (If you snug down the Aeropress bayonet-mount filter cover too tight, it creates a very difficult to push vacuum), the lid snaps on tightly, and it will cool the coffee down. When you make a cup with the Aeropress, you use boiling water, so you don't want a mug to keep it hot. You want it to cool down so it tastes good and smooth and flavorful.

 

Your Keurig machine makes you a "steering wheel holder" in the world of FRESH BREWED coffee drinkers.

You do not care to learn about what really makes a real cup of FRESH BREWED coffee, let alone enjoy one. You are content to drive down the road (holding your steering wheel), and sip on your good enough for you coffee that was made from ground beans inserted into a plastic container months ago, getting old and stale (the coffee, not you).

The nifty marketing job by Keurig has made it extremely popular among those who value time and convenience above everything else, especially taste. McDonald's comes to mind (I visit often for breakfast).

https://www.fastcodesign.com/3042831/youve-all-been-had-keurig-coffee-is-the-devil

Fresh brewed coffee means FRESH GROUND beans. The flavor has just been released, and when you pour hot water over them, the coffee "blooms". This is a term I have snickered at myself, but it is true. It involves the release of CO2.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/19/what-is-coffee-bloom_n_6895446.html

I woke up, booted up my laptop, saw your post, (thought THAT sob and made a cup. The Japanese made Hario grinder takes about 200 turns to finish. This takes about a minute (I'm fast). The water is getting hot at the same time. The first couple weeks I used it my forearms were so sore I couldn't believe it. Now I could thumb wrestle with the best of them.

The manual grinding is not for everyone. I just don't want another appliance in the truck. The jar comes with a nifty screw on top for the little remaining coffee. But it's the same as making your own ice cream, or mixing ingredients while preparing dinner. It's actually pleasurable, knowing what is coming...

I use two scoops of coffee, and that cuts the brew time to one minute. Place on top of cup, and push. Add hot water, a touch of half and half, and a tiny bit of raw sugar, or honey. Under five minutes for sure, and it is better than any Starbucks. Very economical too, unlike K-cups. The reward is me sitting here now enjoying my morning brew, that I made, from start to finish. Kinda like that feeling one gets after tarping a load (I would think).

The ritual of the Aeropress is part of the enjoyment. Like cooking. The resulting coffee compared to the K-cup is like comparing a seasoned, experienced flatbed owner operator (not leasee) who hauls jet engines, tarps his own loads, makes $4.00 a mile out of Florida, etc, to a Swift trainee.

 

But that's just it, this isn't fancy. It's grinding coffee beans and pouring hot water over them. The Aeropress is just a variation of the French Press, where you add water to coffee and let it sit, like Cowboy coffee. This also fits in any drawer in your truck!

I'm flattered at the "young" part, but if you have more than a few years on me I'd be surprised. My percolator memories are from my parents, not grandma. We were Chase and Sanborn drinkers.