There is no hiding it, I really love coffee! In fact, I tend to think about it an awful lot and have been known to walk in the rain to get a cup. I've had a love affair with the java bean for some time now but it has really changed over the years.
1999: Studying in college I'd occasionally grab a flavoured coffee from the likes of Tim Hortons (sort of like Dunkin Donuts for those US readers).
2003: Living in the city and started shift work at the hospital. I bought my very first tiny drip brewer and a bag of grinds I kept in the freezer. I'd mostly buy coffee at the Starbucks next to the hospital and usually it was a latte or some fancy flavoured coffee that was not really coffee.
2005: Started to live with my now husband. We'd go out to grab a drip coffee at the local Tim Hortons or Blendz. It was a little ritual for us to have a cozy walk down the city streets to the coffee shop. I was drinking about 1-2 coffees a day but I wasn't that obsessed yet.
2006: We got a Cuisinart coffee maker as a wedding gift and started buying different grinds to make our own stuff at home. We became disappointed with middle of the road coffee, so we bought our first bean grinder and started buying fresh batches of locally roasted beans.
2007: Moved to an apartment located next to the high quality Caffe Artigiano and fell in love with coffee and all things related to coffee. We started to pay more money for coffee beans and my husband invested in a fancy coffee bean grinder and switched to a french press. The drip brewer moved into storage, along with its filters. We now knew random coffee facts and the snobbery started.
Making a french press in our Bodum is so flavourful and easy.
2008: I was pregnant for most of this year and cut down on my coffee consumption. I still drank coffee once in awhile but not at the same level as before. As soon as Ben was born, I sent my husband to Caffe Artigiano for a latte. He delivered.
2009: I spent most of this year chronically sleep deprived and on maternity leave. Started going for coffee walks in the city and became an official coffee lover and can not drink just any coffee anymore. I'd make a trek to a coffee shop that I knew had high coffee standards with their coffee preparations.
The rest is history! We've been doing the same coffee routine for some time now, and occasionally talk about wanting to roast our own beans. We only buy whole beans that have been roasted within the last 2 weeks and usually from either Salt Spring Coffee Co. or 49th Parallel. We grind them fresh each time we make a press. While my husband can drink his black, I enjoy a splash of full fat cream and a bit of Splenda mixed in too!
One perfect latte. Come to mama!
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Well, Hello There!
Mama in the City since 2008 and blogging since 2009!
My first apartment baby is now a full on boy and we struggle with finding space in our condo for his growing toy collection. I'm also a new mum to our second apartment baby, born January 13, 2012!
I have a husband who is an excellent cook and takes amazing photos. I work as a labor and delivery nurse and really love the work that I do and gave birth to baby #2 at my work place.
I use this space to write about my family and to share my passion about breastfeeding, birth and parenting. I have a fantastic purse collection and have loved watching it grow, mostly lovely gifts over the years from my husband. I currently have a closet full of purses that are too small or impractical to fit a diaper or sippy cup in, and so they are on hold for future years.
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11 comments:
I went to Ohio for college and there was a Tim Horton's right down the street from me. I miss it so! Not because they had great coffee, of course! But there are no bagel/donut places in Colorado. On the coffee note, I love french press coffee, but I need to invest in a good press!
May 1, 2011 at 6:34 PMOh~ I love that you knew what Tim Hortons was. I'll still grab a coffee there from time to time. Sometimes I just need a coffee like now!
May 1, 2011 at 6:59 PMI was back in Ohio in April and cleveland doesn't have Tim Hortons. I was so
May 1, 2011 at 9:30 PMdisappointed! But no one in Colorado knows about them so I had to pop in on
this!
YUM. I'm having some coffee right now! I usually go to Starbucks because that's the closest to me.
May 2, 2011 at 9:46 AMMmm, Caffe Artigiano - they do coffee right! Until my daughter was born, I was happy to pay for a good cup of coffee in place of home brewing. Of course now routines have changed and I rely on a solid caffeine kick (or two) each morning without sacrificing quality. In my city, Transcend coffee fits the bill and the Bodum press is simply the best french press ever! I've learned to treat my coffee beans more like a loaf of bread and now wouldn't dream of storing them in the freezer. I've become a tad finicky about my java ... like I once was about wine. How times have changed. :o)
May 2, 2011 at 11:00 AMps. I'd not heard of 49th Parallel - thanks for the suggestion - I will check them out!
Yum! I'm not even a coffee drinker but I feel i should start after reading this post! Have you tried Milano on 8th & Columbia/Manitoba? They have a cute little coffee shop across from the big park, they roast their beans locally too!
May 2, 2011 at 11:30 AMI've never been to the shop but I have bought Milano whole beans at the grocery store. Also very delicious! I'll have to have a coffee walk to their shop very soon :)
May 2, 2011 at 6:03 PMApparently, Caffe Artigiano sold to someone else and the original people now do 49th Parallel. :)
May 2, 2011 at 6:04 PMIf you ever take a weekend trip to the Okanagan, I'll have to show you the Beanery cafe in Summerland. The beans are roasted locally and sweet mercy! I would kill a puppy for one of their mochas. So delicious. (I wouldn't really kill a puppy. Maybe just kick it if I had to.)
May 2, 2011 at 7:53 PMI'll take you up on that offer Amanda! First, who doesn't love the Okanagan..and knowing there is a good coffee shop. I'm set! :)
May 3, 2011 at 9:01 AMLOL!! I love this post. Almost made me want to drink coffee! I'm a tea junkie, but I can so relate to your progress from mediocre to coffee snob. I'm totally a tea snob now.
May 6, 2011 at 8:01 AMPost a Comment