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Saturday, October 18, 2003


no no nespresso

"it's all simple and very fast and belies the theories of one amongst the gizmo crew who was adamant that the most significant ingredient of good coffee is the love and attention when it is being made."

frankly, dear readers, i couldn't disagree more. today we find a sad article praising the dreaded nespresso capsule machine.

not only are the machines themselves ugly and massively overpriced, but you are locked into buying the amazingly expensive capsules. i don't care how they seal 'em: pre-ground coffee is stale coffee.

A$0.57 for a shot of coffee that would cost you -- lemme do my currency exchange -- A$0.18 to buy fresh whole-bean. wow! and who knows the quality of the coffee in those capsules, anyway?

but it's so easy to clean, the article claims. for 3 times the cost of fresh, specialty coffee, i hope it does the dishes too. . .that you can't adjust the strength of the coffee to your preference for all that cash is pretty striking too!

so put me with the gizmo staffer who rejects the nespresso; except of course while i agree that care and concern are paramount in coffee-making, i actually believe the most important aspect is freshly roasted, freshly ground specialty coffee. which you should purchase fresh from your local independent roaster/retailer or coffeeshop!

take all the care you want with your supermarket brand x; it won't help that much. . .

"last year, she and husband kenneth hamrick purchased a drive-up espresso shop, coffee with a cause, for the sole purpose of donating the net proceeds to alaska food bank and habitat for humanity."

oh, this woman is a bccy kinda girl. i love this woman.

coffee and karma yoga! elaine hamrick rules.

posted by fortune | 11:38 AM | top | link to this | | email this:   |


Friday, October 17, 2003


don't forget sweetest day!

long-time readers know we here at bccy will celebrate any holiday related to chocolate! in this inclusive spirit, i'd like to remind you that tomorrow is sweetest day.

distribute chocolate to all! readers, if one of your local holidays with a chocolate tradition is coming up, please email me pronto. don't want to miss a single one. . .

and here's a great article on the push by several churches to encourage fair-trade coffee consumption.

on a personal note, i am just fascinated by the last track of manorama's new yoga cd, which is a spell-binding version of panini's maheshvara sutras. you really can't translate it into english, since it's a re-arrangement of the sanskrit alphabet sounds.

panini is said to have composed it from hearing shiva nataraja's upper-right hand damaru sound 14 times, once for each line in the sutra. . .

manorma calls this piece "quite cosmic;" i just think it's an incredible example of her dynamic a cappella singing style.

posted by fortune | 8:43 AM | top | link to this | | email this:   |


Thursday, October 16, 2003


wonka advice

if i could say but one thing to them, it would be to quote willy wonka's famous line: "don't. stop."

and why friends should never give friends folgers.

oh please: i spill 195 degree espresso on myself all the time and have never suffered more than the most minor discomfort. . .

finally, david haddock's organic sumatra from counterculture coffee is wonderful, tremendous stuff -- amazing thick body, yummy sweet taste with just a teeny touch of earthiness. i've already turned 2 people from work onto it.

posted by fortune | 1:00 PM | top | link to this | | email this:   |


Wednesday, October 15, 2003


in moderation, ladies!

the media always loves to prey upon women's fears with these health horror stories. so dear lady readers, when you see the screaming headlines, take a deep yogic breath and realize they say nothing we didn't know in 2001.

"coffee increases miscarriage!" the papers now cry. what the study actually says is that a large amount of caffeine may increase the risks.

this is why we here at bccy have always advocated a moderate coffee intake -- about 3 6-oz. cups a day. and this is what i myself drink.

more does in several studies seem associated with a risk of increased miscarriage and fertility problems for women of child-bearing age. so if you're now expecting or just looking to have a baby, keep your coffee consumption to 3 cups.

and avoid those soft drinks; that's a large source of caffeine! i'm constantly surprised at women who tell me they won't touch coffee, but then gulp 10 caffeine-laden diet sodas a day. . .

of course if you drink decaf, you're golden. so despite the scare-stories, there's no need to foreswear your morning and afternoon coffee break.

as we learned yesterday however, guys apparently should start drinking coffee like fiends. so go ahead and make that 10-cup pot at home every day.

just make him drink most of it!

and in more encouraging news, german scientists now say coffee drinking, especially espresso, seems to actively protect against colon cancer.

here at bccy we've been talking about the anti-oxidant benefits of coffee for years. this is important since colon cancer is one of the top 4 or 5 kinds of cancer in the u.s.a.

the hope is the coffee phtyochemical that scientists suspect might be protective, methylpyridinium, might also help fight other kinds of cancers. this german study follows other studies this year that seemed to show this substance inhibited tumors in the test tube.

posted by fortune | 9:44 AM | top | link to this | | email this:   |


Tuesday, October 14, 2003


why every man you know will suddenly take to coffee. . .

"caffeine appears to be the only drug that is good for sperm," scientists discover.

several people have kindly sent me this new york article. and while i thank all of you, i have to confess i'm indifferent.

why? because the article fails to mention any of the decent coffee in the city; thus i really don't have anything to say about it. . .it's just another piece of proof that the self-proclaimed "foodies" know nothing about coffee, nothing at all.

i mean, it's as silly as recommending wine-in-a-box for a wedding dinner.

i'm still waiting for gimme to open in billburg. that will be coffee worth mentioning!

speaking of coffee worth mentioning, don schoenholt of gillies saved my life by sending me coffee: his cult deluxe dark 2 espresso; his darker-roasted guatemala; his carioca espresso; his incredible, incomparable sumatra "kudo mas;" the famous leg; some real kona; and a jamaican blue mountain. . .

posted by fortune | 12:22 PM | top | link to this | | email this:   |


Monday, October 13, 2003


the archangel david

let's start out with london's chocolate week. . .

and then i must simply worship the awesome david haddock of the innovative counterculture coffee, who heard my plea. understanding that i lacked coffee, he immediately sent me some certified organic kosher sumatra, certified organic kosher nicaragua that may also be bird-friendly, and some kosher moka harrar whole bean.

what a sweetie! this is why you have to love the coffee community. they feel your pain; they understand we all have our own personal coffee crises from time to time.

alas, he sent no espresso per se. thus i pray don schoenholt will come thru for me. . .

incidentally i am today finishing up the tiny remnants of gillies deluxe dark 3 espresso in my press pot. yummy as espresso; yummy as a cup with a touch of turbinado sugar and a spoon or two of light cream. . .

posted by fortune | 10:52 AM | top | link to this | | email this:   |


Sunday, October 12, 2003


another pro discovers yoga & grout

so here i am typing away when mr. right plomps a 10 lb. brown paper bag of latex wall grout on the desk. he's looking for his trowels.

but what am i supposed to do with grout? it doesn't look like coffee, you can't brew it. . . .i guess it's a conversation piece while he goes about his bricolage.

what's really interesting is 76ers player aaron mckie, who has taken up yoga after a couple of seasons of injuries that caused him to miss camp last year.

it's his 10th year playing pro basketball and he's now aware that to stay healthy and competitive, yoga has to be a crucial part of his playing strategy.

i think he'll find the mental benefits that come with yoga -- increased concentration, better ability to handle stress -- of great help on the court as well.

long-time readers know every sunday is pizza day around here. mr. right has lately taken to requesting pepperoni pizza, which brings to my attention that i don't (even here in moonstruck brooklyn!) have access to pepperoni of sufficient quality.

must see what mr. caputo has next week. . . where is the authentic and delicious pepperoni? this realization came upon another difficult situation, that of running out of coffee at 10am this morning!

yikes! i need a mercy shipment from don schoenholt of gillies immediately. i was reduced to breaking into my frozen emergency stash of gavina's old havana. . . .

luckily mr. right was willing to accept the substitute for his beloved batdorf. but it was dicey there for a bit, i confess.

posted by fortune | 5:48 PM | top | link to this | | email this:   |

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