Saturday, December 13, 2003


another chocolate holiday; senses working overtime

as long-time readers know, we here at bccy celebrate each and every holiday across the globe that's with a traditional chocolate component. any excuse is good enough for us. . .

thus, i'm happy to remind everyone that chanukah is on its way. chocolate coins, chocolate menorahs. . .do however try to find versions that made of high-quality chocolate! take this opportunity to support your local artisan chocolate-maker.

for example, this milk chocolate menorah looks cute, but doesn't seem of the superior quality we'd wish for. . .

in other news, an interesting
editorial in the ny times notes the wide variety of coffee now available in even remote regions of china. the author think this may herald major change.

well, he's right of course. traditionally coffee drinking has been long associated with social and economic change, with free-thinking, with political discourse.

coffee lovers know that lloyds of london began as a coffeehouse; that the nyc stock market business began in a coffeehouse; that voltaire wrote in coffeehouses; that the american revolution was fomented in coffeehouses; that beat poet allen ginsberg frequented coffeehouses; that even the sufis drank coffee to help speed their mystical religious experiences, which put them at odds with the orthodoxy of their day; in short, coffee will spark a new direction in all human activities.

finally, i received the most overwhelming (literally!) gift from the amazing scaa chief ted lingle -- le nez du café. this gorgeous japanese-inspired case contains 36 vials of important coffee aromas to help coffee people sharpen their sensitivity to these component scents.

how do you thank people for such generosity? how to express your overwhelming emotion? for a coffee lover, this is close to the ultimate gift. it just once again proves that coffee people are the best!

the visual design is stunning. mr. right immediately coveted the box; he even loved the typeface on the flash cards that discuss each vial.

i sampled a few today. whoa! they are intense. just a few left a physical sensation like someone had taken my brain right between my eyes at the top of my sinuses and shaken it hard. . .

scent never seemed so embodied to me before as some of these do. not only does the box contain lovely scents i do recognize from coffee, it also contains some defects, or taints.

ouch! avoid the rubber! i was immediately transported back to the worst moments of my robusta tasting last april. . . .i thought that vial was gonna leave me flat on the floor.

of course this is only a sample kit of some of the most common aromas/flavors in coffee, but i was still surprised to see that some of the ones i am most familiar with were ommitted.

like, that kind of fresh basil-y one, or that cardamom one, even that one i experienced recently at the counterculture remote cupping, which cindy chang described as "paperwhite narcissus," a spicy, powdery smell. . .

but i am so appreciative and grateful for this gift, i wouldn't dare complain. now, to sniff at will!

thus dear readers if you see a blonde passed out on the sidewalk, pry open her hand and look to if the little bottle clutched therein is labeled "36". . .

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