I was having a conversation with someone saying how I wanted a second cup of coffee and I joked "The World Does Not Need Me On Caffeine".
The strength of the response of "No the World certainly does not!" surprised me.
I think it is how I make coffee and how I "use" the stuff.
I purposely don't drink a lot of caffeine. Coffee, Tea, and Cola all have caffeine in it. If you moderate your caffeine and then have a burst of it just before doing something physical, I have noticed, that there is a definite feedback loop happening.
I always train with sport watch and software. I know exactly how fast I am going in either of my two sports. Both how fast I am propelling myself on inline skates or on a bicycle, as well as my metabolism as reported by heart rate. There is about a 10 percent boost in my speed and/or distance if I have my mug of coffee before the workout.
Yes, it is significant, and yes, I have measured it.
Otherwise, it's a lot of half caff and decaf and so forth.
The thing is that while I have friends who know that I roast my coffee at home, they also bring me some coffees that I can't readily get here. Since the raw "Green Coffee" that I need is uncommon, these gifts are always roasted.
It gives me an opportunity to critique roasters and commercially available coffees from many places.
I will say that I have never had a coffee as good as the stuff I roast at home, in a 15 year old, well used, popcorn popper in my own kitchen.
Obviously, that is subjective. It's my experience. I get beans from a very specific part of Guatemala, and roast them in a fashion to my own liking. I have had others who have had my own roast and truly enjoyed them. And some have not necessarily.
Their loss, more for me, right?
That whole process of Co-Evolution is why it is subjective. I am very particular of how it tastes. The brew is very specific. I place the French Press Mug on the digital scale, add 21 grams of espresso grind, 3 packets of saccharine (Sweet N Low), and no more than 10 grams of non dairy creamer to the mug. Add 430 grams/14.5 Oz. of filtered water at 200F/93C, and stir. Allow to steep for about a minute, stir again. Add an ounce/30 grams of ice to cool it down. Push the plunger into the mug and enjoy.
Others will clutch their pearls and screech about the creamer, the saccharine, or the ice. I do all of that so I get the same mug, every time. I know precisely what to expect. Even with Half-Caff on the sports recovery days, it is excellent.
Oh, and it is better than that giant corporate coffee shop that sometimes is on two corners of the same block in Manhattan or London.
But since I love a challenge, don't be afraid to bring me a new coffee. I will enjoy the thought and the brew.
Especially if it is something that I can't find here. Freshly roasted and ground coffee has a flavor profile much different than something shipped in a vacuum packed bag or can that was roasted weeks or even months ago no matter how expertly done it was.
Right now, my own blend of coffee is in a bright yellow can from Selfridge's Department Store in London even though I have never been there. It looks like a wonderful place, both from pictures, and from the dramatic TV show produced about the founding of the place.
So tomorrow, an hour before sunrise, I will be back in the kitchen. Repeating my ritual. I have a training session scheduled. The intent is to be on the bicycle for at least 26.2 miles, a marathon. 42.16 km in New Money. The caffeine will be coursing through my veins because I will have had that full caff coffee, my own roast of course.
Oh and it does make me a bit more of an, ahem, Assertive Driver, as well, in the car as on the trails.
If you hear "On Yer Left!", that blur might just be me.
On the other hand, since today is not a training day, I'll stick to half decaf. The world might appreciate it.
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