And a dash of the secret ingredient

As much as I love a plain shot of espresso, my sweet tooth steers me to try flavored coffee. The Holiday Season sets off special winter-flavors at the coffee shops and grocery stores. I have been swigging Pumpkin Spice & Egg Nog Mocha's from Dutch Bros and Cinnamon Roast at Black Rock which opened its window just under my hill. At home I have been trying sample packs of Cascade Pride's Winter Spice, Ginger Bread & Pecan Pie. 
My most favorite however still remains Moose Munch which is a blend of chocolate and some other heady flavor. Search through online on forums confirms that Harry & David's recipe will remain a secret for some more time.
The search seeded a germ of an idea to make my own flavored coffee. So, I have started trying a different ingredient each time I put on the mocha pot. So far, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and fennel seeds (saunf), all which are used in masala chai, have successfully added to the bouquet of flavorings in the coffee. I am yet to try them all together. 

Counsel from Seasoned Advice cheers me to try additional flavors

You can also add flavorings into the coffee grounds when in the filter: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, orange rind, crystallized ginger, etc. As the coffee brews, it picks up the flavoring.
I've also roasted and ground almonds with the beans, which makes a very nice almond-flavored coffee (almond extract doesn't even come close to how good this is)

And if I want to go the pro-way, Lifehacker has ideas to infuse Nutmeg, AllSpice and Coriander (why, I ask?) among the usual suspects through the bean-roasting process.


But I think I will stick to the basics, and next try InBru, a more natural way of adding flavoring before starting the brew.



Aaj ki Seekh (today's lesson) The secret ingredient is... nothing!

Making your coffee work

Unless you are more absent-minded than I am, or you have been on planet earth for less than 10 years, you have a good idea of how to make divisional calculations, and accurately guess
'How Long Will My Coffee Last?'
If you fall in the other side of the population, here's a no-brainer app to tell you how many cups of coffee your pantry holds howlongwillmycoffeelast.com

You can use this calculator to work out how long your coffee supply will last, or to calculate how much coffee you need to buy.
Adjust the sliders to reflect your situation and preferences, then see how many days your supply will last - calculated in front of your very eyes. 

OMG! I'd have never guessed what the name of your site stands for. Thanks for that blurb of explanation.

Hungover

This week began with a whirring drone in my head. Drenching in the bright sunshine, nor heart-thumping music seemed to inject energy in my buckling knees. All signs of an ageing body (wink!) after an adrenaline-pumped week-long vacation. I didn't need much caffeine, since each day was invigorating by itself.
Commencing the journey with a red-eye flight from Seattle, I wanted to try Seattle's Best Coffee. What I received was a dose of extra-hot, extra burnt black liquid; oodles of milk and sugar couldn't mask the bitterness. After consuming 1/10th of the acrid liquid, I dumped it.

Fast forward, next morning at Dulles Airport, rushing to catch a connecting flight, I stopped at Maui Wowi. A colorful Hawaiian shack, I'd paused here because there was just one other person in queue.
Having never tried a Hawaiian concoction, I decided to try the most tongue-twisted concoction, which I kept repeating to myself, before I reached the counter.
"I'd like a Coco Loco Mocha," I said triumphantly aloud, before a smile crept onto my face. Just the sound of it transports me to a beach-bench.
The coffee was superbly prepared - coconut liqueur, coffee, cream and loads of chocolate sauce and sugar - my diet caution was thrown to the wind.
Most friends we visited are zealous tea connoisseurs. Sipping on cups of warmth, conversations were endless, and laughter rolled easily. Of them, one is particularly keen about her tea, especially right amount of ginger. Since she reads this blog, she made sure I had my morning cuppa of coffee, smooth and flavorful (thanks Urvi!)
Back at my work desk, the coffee is back to its measured customs, but without company to share, it just doesn't taste the same.

A Pilgrim's Journey

I always like to save the best for last, logic being that the flavor remains titillating the senses for much longer. The sampler pack of Gourmet Coffee was down to the last sachet of Moose Munch, by far my most favorite of coffee flavors.

When I opened the 4-cup sachet, the aroma of the ground coffee reminded me why I love Harry & David's signature coffee Moose Munch. Determined to get a refill on the scarce supply of yummy-in-a-cup, I found 3 locations, and insisted on going to the furthest location.
I flew across the United States (about 6 hours) to get my first bag of Moose Munch, which filled my cabin bag, and delighted the TSA security ruffling through it. And the sampler pack I mentioned above needed a 2-hour drive from Erie, PA to Grove City, the only passable shopping center in those chilly recesses. Reasoning is that 'happiness is a sense of fulfillment which comes from hardwork'. If Harry and David is achievable in 15-minutes, I'd surely enjoy the coffee less than my presently perceived measure, which is Cloud No. 9.

And I was glad I went all the way to Lincoln City. Besides ample of Moose Munch flavor coffee, and a trunkful of shopping, I attained an EyCatcher, a colossal Wind Spinner for the porch.

What's Balls Got to do with Preparing Coffee?

Rollin' Justin Robot can play catch with you. And 1:50 secs later in the video, he makes a fresh brew of coffee too.

Your very own personal Barista.

Cold Brew System

While exploring the nooks & corners of Portland's suburbs, I came by a kitchen appliance store - Williams Sonoma. A very well-stocked variety of appliances, displayed with matching elan, got me interested to inspect every display area. And is the case, a house is always wanting for a new accessory; I picked a pair of tongs.
The warm-hearted lady at the counter cited at the booklet I'd picked up from their coffee-pot section. Believe you me, they have the largest variety of brewing devices (not electrical machines) in one place I have ever seen together. French Press, Single Cup Filter, Chemex Brewer, Vacuum Pot, Italian Moka Pot, Hand Drip Coffee Maker, even a Turkish coffee grinder.
I promptly signed up for their email newsletter. And glad I am; their earliest update had a new coffee brewing system which needs no hot water. Known as the Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System, it uses a large carafe to let the coffee slowly bloom; you can leave it overnight too.

Courtesy williams-sonoma.com

I recently acquired ingenuiTEA Loose Leaf Tea Teapot from Vat19. Although the product demo clearly uses tea leaves, I wanted to hack it for making medium-ground coffee, without the hassle of changing filters each time. I (16 oz), and is mobile enough for me to keep in the fridge. The next morning, I drained out the coffee, and stored it in a small jug. With brewed coffee readily available to drink, I merely heated the milk & water mixture to mix with a small portion of the cold brewed coffee.

If you are deuced with a delicate stomach, or suffer from acidity frequently, this would be the solution for enjoying your coffee without all that heartburn.

I found the cold brew coffee strictly okay. I tried increasing the proportion, but never got the caffeine kick, nor the enticing whiff of a freshly brewed cup of coffee. Once the concentrate was over, I am happily back to brewing steaming cups of coffee.

Do you have an ingenious hack  for coffee-making? Please share it in the Comments.

Sips of joy

I can never make up my mind when I go out to eat. Not because I love to eat, and am unable to choose one dish over the other. I'm very picky about what my mind perceives as yummy. This is mainly determined by smell, and then by how it looks. 

My mom knew how to play these 2 factors to get me to eat a lot of things, mainly vegetables like gourd, cauliflower and cabbage. Once cooked, the stench of these nasty veggies can wake me from the deepest slumber. So she would mash them and stuff them into parathas along with delectable potatoes and mint chutney.

The same is true for the other end of the spectrum. On a lazy Sunday, the only way to get me down from my room (I lived in the loft), was to fry a Pomfret fish or juicy pieces of goat liver. The lure that they won't taste good once cold, would bring me to the table in a jiffy.

You must be starting to wonder why I am rambling about food in the Qahwa Room, which is devoted to the pilgrimage to Perfect Coffee Land. 

I have made a recent pit stop in Portland, Oregon which has a local coffee chain Dutch Bros and they lured me fast and dirty, so that I am now their avid devotee. Driving on the highway, I first noticed a standalone cafe, with half a dozen cars driving through for coffee. The size of an outhouse, the popularity of this tiny coffee shop caught my fancy. It was after several hit and misses, as it is just before a major freeway entrance, and needs a whole bunch of convoluted turns to enter, that I finally got to sample their brew.

You will notice that unlike conventional coffee cups this one has a protruding sipper, which is super-convenient, as it allows small sips, and avoids spills. 

Their tagline makes a tall claim - Guaranteed to satisfy" - and they did. The white chocolate mocha I ordered was Delicious, to the last sip, even after I'd let it sit and get cold! With a courteous Barista each time I've driven through (and its just one guy running the show at any point), I scheme plans to get to the other end of the highway to relish their fresh brew. So far, I've only managed to get one visit per week. But that will change soon. How soon? As soon as I have my license to kill...I mean drive.

That Cup of Coffee can Land you in a Soup

Coffee shops have long been a haunt for fabled novelists. Before the advent of roving technology, a barnacle with ruffled hair, chewed pencils and dog-eared notepads were alright, but modern laptop squatters are resented by Baristas for their patronage. This necessitated rulebooks to be set for Laptop in Coffee Shop Etiquette, with obvious pointers like

Keep buying things at the cafe.
Don't steal the bandwidth.
Don't hog the electrical outlet.

To read the rest of the list on coffee shop etiquette, go to Suite 101.

One of the coffee-shop chains in New York City has become infamous for attracting nabbers who make off with your laptop, along with that Pulitzer-worthy work.

During my 10-day visit to New York City recently, I barely had time to sit down for a minute’s rest, let alone squander it with my laptop in a coffee shop, which takes 5 minutes just to come alive. Way longer than my coffee lasts.

Wake up call, where art thou?

Moving home is fun, what with all the clothes and things you get to give away, and start a fresh chapter of life with one and a half bag by your side.

On the other hand its stressful as hell, as you keep cleaning and ruthlessly discarding the incomplete puzzle pieces. The least you expect after zipping about town and airports, is a decent cup of Joe to stay afloat through the 16 hour journey (with 12 hours of layover) from coast to coast. I've had worse experiences.

Like tugging around 20 lb bags across 2 miles from one wing of Detroit airport to another looking for my caffeine fix wasn't enough, what was handed to me was a weak and barely warm cup of coffee. I muttered curses under my breath to the bimbo behind the counter and emptied the glass in the coffee shop's trash can, as if I was pouring the poor excuse over her head.

Glass - Bicchiere (Photo credit: funadium)

With 7 more hours to kill, and sleep eluding despite the aching muscles, i wandered to spend some $$, a surefire way to replicate the rush a $2 glass of coffee could have easily managed. The salesperson at the memorabilia store recommended I take the express train and head north where I'd find a Starbucks. My hopes were raised, and I  quickened my pace. Their vanilla latte was hardly passable by Starbucks' own standard, whether it be their cafes in New Jersey, New York city or Erie. Completely disillusioned by now, I switched to sipping ice cold water and orange juice.

Ikea

Even coffee poster in IKEA rocks!

Clicked this while drawing long sips from my Java cup, after a hectic afternoon of shopping.

Inst a Java

Habitually, I prepare my caffeinic mug late afternoon, when that 2:30 feeling is creeping up on me. It makes for two double espresso shots, which ensures that I stay awake until dinner, and not zonk out on the keyboard.
I made the usual measure, poured out the first double espresso shot, leaving the second dose on the Mug Warmer for demolishing evening sluggishness.
Work engrossed me more than I realized, so by the time I left my desk late in the night, the coffee had condensed to paste at the bottom of the pot. I was tempted to add some cream and sugar, and sample this residual shot. (I refrained from taking the bait).
Instead, I decided to investigate on the question which had materialized in my head - How is Instant Coffee produced?
Wikipedia says

Instant coffee is commercially prepared by either freeze-drying or spray drying, after which it can be rehydrated.

 

About.com states

In 1906, English chemist George Constant Washington, invented the first mass-produced instant coffee. Washington was living in Guatemala and at the time when he observed dried coffee on his coffee carafe, after experimenting he created "Red E Coffee" - the brand name for his instant coffee first marketed in 1909.

Appears that I also stumbled on the same path as George C Washington, a century too late though. Hmmph! The experiments shall relentlessly continue, until I have something which can be patented. Any bright ideas you have? I'm open to partnering with someone equally adventurous.

Some More Coffee Facts

A crafty visual representation of the times & tides of coffee in a limning feature. Check it out at 15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee - The Oatmeal

Coffee Metrified

Courtesy Brewed-Coffee.com

Me and my cup of coffee,
Often get into a banter;

If I'd added more sugar,
You would percolate slowly,
You'd be much creamier;

If the water was crisper,
You'd taste stronger,
And I'd remain awake forever;

Me and my cup of coffee,
Often get into a banter...

Inspired by Hindi song lyrics "Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum" of movie Silsila.

This is my first stab at verse; it may be the worse of my composition. So bring out the brick-brats!

Ne Plus Ultra

My thirst for a better, and a more refreshing cup of coffee bumbles me to a whole bunch of websites, blogs, and videos; let me not start out about the cookhouse tryouts, which are a pinch of this, a dash of that. There is no real method, and mainly just madness to my preparation (I blame it on my busy work schedule).

Courtesy iOffer.com

I sometimes boil the water in a ceramic cream ewer, over a hotplate or just set it up for brew in my Cappuccino Maker; use a filter sometimes, or just let the unfiltered particles settle down.
Reason given by Stumpdown Coffee Roasters has led me to believe that I may be doing it all wrong. Their 8-step process for How to prepare the perfect Press Pot relies on precision tools like a timer et al.
I can hardly imagine myself adopting such restraint, yet enjoy its fruit of labor. I prefer working towards the elusive beau idéal, celebrating the element of surprise every time.
What do you prefer - perfection or the unexpected?

Ah, Maze

Every summer holiday, I'd go to Essel World, the only Amusement Park worth its salt back in the 90s, besides Appu Ghar in New Delhi. After frolicking about the whole day in the stomach-churning rides, our gang of cousins would go to the Mirror House, Haunted Hotel & Hedge Maze. A group of over 12 kids of varying ages, we'd split into groups of 2s & 3s, and keep bumping into each other, as we tried to find our way out. Eventually, a bored adult would come and frisk us out from the Entrance; so this time we'd enter from the 'Exit' so we could weave our way back. Cupping my palm over on the cheek, I smile reliving those 'care-free' days.
Those annual bizes fixed me with an attraction for labyrinths. With this reasoning, even though playing with your food is not genteel behavior, I make exception in this case.

Saucer's have long become redundant since we all upgraded to drinking coffee from mugs or travel-cups with cozies. Bestowing fun back to the cherub saucers is Fred & Friend's Maze Cafe. Essentially, your boring white cup, with a not-so-boring dish, so you can fill your cup till it 'runneth over', and play about with the spillage.
I can picture myself easily spending an entire afternoon watching the liquid swish about until it runs dry and sticks the cup to the saucer.
Aaah, I love lazy weekends.

Dessert in a Cup

After the weeks of toothful drama, which included visit to the Emergency Room, and extraction of all my wisdom (I had only 2), I am thankful for every mouthful of food I eat. Sweet things are still off limits since they shiver me timbers in all the wrong parts of the jaw.

Image Courtesy 123rf.com

As an impro, I decided to treat myself with a luscious dessert coffee. A quondam sampler pack of Gourmet Coffee from David & Harry was beaked. I percolated a Tiramisu flavored double espresso shot into a frothy mug of steaming cocoa milk leaving out the saccharinity of conventional treats.
It was still delectable, as I sipped it while staring at my unopened pack of M&Ms.

Back to Tradition

Early in the morning today, my doctor told me that I have SAD, which stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. This was an unexpected discovery for me, but I'm quite pleased with her theory, since I can't keep blaming PMS all the time. To celebrate this newly-chanced Western-world malady, I decided to brew myself a desi-cup of  kapi.

Courtesy Uma's Kitchen

My coffee teapot

Out came the coffee beans from Philips Coffee & Co, my preferred choice in Bombay. Instead of my modern coffee machine which jets out 4 shots of espresso at the click of a button, I fetched my drip coffee filter. While regular assemblies look like a tube, my mom found me this cute unit which looks like a tiny teapot, with a convenient spout, suited for my earlier custom of one cup on Saturday afternoons. The Sainsbury's coffee filter paper cones my brother had bought for me during a visit to UK also made it to the front line.
While most directions on making this South Indian style coffee state that after the water reaches boiling point, you let it cool for 30 seconds, and then pour it into the drip coffee filter canister, and let it stand for 3-5 minutes to get a stiff shot of steaming coffee which requires merely 2 tablespoons of milk, and a heap of sugar.
Except I prefer to place my coffee, or should I call it a teapot?! on a hot plate even as the brew slowly drips into the container below. This ensures that I see swirls of steam coming from my cup even if I forget about it for more than 5 minutes. I also substituted whole milk with flavored Vanilla creamer, and smack! It was de.li.cous.

Coffee PoV

Black as the devil,
Hot as hell,
Pure as an angel, 
Sweet as love.

- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

The only way coffee should ever be served.