Saturday, August 13, 2005


surprise & the almighty yrg

i do love surprises, which is why i was thrilled to return home yesterday and discover a great gift from lon-time bccy pal don
schoenholt of gillies coffee. yes, 1/2 lb. of the fabulous yrg, whose praises i have sung here so often, the yrg that ken davids once called the best ever.

ooh ooh: that lovely wine-y, lemon candy yrg! but the surprise got even better -- don had included a 1 liter bonjour cafetiere, a new model french press with a couple of small engineering improvements over my classic bodum plungers.

the bonjour "monet" features just one ultra-fine mesh screen with a silicone edge to help keep even the finest coffee particles down. this is a big improvement over the classic bodum two-layer metal screen with wire coil setup.

also, the top of the pot offers a handy splash shield you can rotate into place to keep from being burned by splash through the pour spout as you press down. finally, opposite the splash shield there's another little super-ultra-fine mesh screen to ensure that not a single speck of grounds will make it into your cup.

and did i mention it's made of lexan, so it's unbreakable? this is a plus for many people, altho' i'm rather a purist and generally believe coffee should be made in either glass or porcelain.

maybe i worry too much that the plastic could possibly absorb odors. ..so i rushed this morning and after the usual cappuccini with jessica's marvelous fresh batdorf dancing goat, i made up a pot of the yrg.

it was remarkably clear, undoubtedly the clearest french press coffee i'd ever had. obviously this is the solution to dilemma i face with andrew's ecco nicaraguan cup of excellence: now i can max out the body in the press, without muddying the flavors. . . .

must check this out, if i have enough of that fine coffee left! if not, gosh gee whilikers, i'll console myself with my delightful old friend, the delicious yrg!

thanks again, don.

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