One of my favorites said recently that her life had been a bit of a dumpster fire recently, and followed it with a footnote that said, “It's been a dumpster fire but it's, like, a contained dumpster fire that will hopefully be just a heap of ashes very soon.” If you haven’t checked out her Sorta Awesome podcast before, you definitely should, but the point is I resonated with that sentiment.
A few weeks without a blog post around here usually means travel, working extra events, sick kiddos, and sometimes all three. This time it means a major announcement: we’re moving! Not too far, but it means weeks of packing, storage, showings, inspections, appraisals, repairs, paperwork, meetings… you get the idea. For some reason life doesn’t just stop when you have a gigantic project to tackle *shrug*.
Thanks for hanging in there with us and following on our newly minted Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for continuing to shop small in our Etsy store. And thanks for supporting small businesses everywhere this time of year, so they can do crazy things like deciding to move by accident (more on that later). More adventurous mom blog posts are forthcoming, I promise. In the meantime, please enjoy my thoughts on coffee and how it’s the best.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.
Coffee Is Life
Sometimes we just have to thank the poets, because there’s no one else who can truly express a feeling in your heart like they do. When you drink a cup of coffee in the morning, you know that satisfied peace you feel? Clearly other people share that feeling, because there are coffee mugs that say things like, “Less Mondays, more coffee” and “Life begins after coffee.”
But the one who said it best is the poet Shaikh Zaid bin Muhammad bin Haadi al-Madkhali. He wrote this poem in 1587, which you can read in its entirety here. Please go read it, this is not an affiliate link, and no one puts it better than he did. In case you don’t have time, I’ll just include a snippet here:
“All Cares vanish as the coffee cup is raised to the lips. Coffee flows through your body as freely as your life’s blood.”
Okay, the cheese factor is a little high, but this dude loved coffee like I love coffee. I can relate to these words.
Which Coffee?
Speaking of coffee, my journey has been long. With health issues that have been hard to figure out, I’ve tried giving up coffee altogether, switching to decaf, and finally going chemical free. I’ve tried local roasters, organic, fair trade, straight espresso. We’ve used French presses, drip coffee makers, espresso makers, cold brew, and pour over, and watched videos about the best way to make a cup of coffee (check out this world champion’s method).
I’ll give a few shoutouts to my favorite coffee providers:
Our local favorite is Steelyard Coffee. They buy their beans from Goshen roaster The Refinery.
I’d also recommend Sagebrush in Arizona; I had a subscription for a long time, until they ran out of my favorite bean.
Now we use Tico Coffee’s roast of the same bean, a natural processed Brazil Cachoeira, which we buy in bulk. You can use code KATE01730 to save 10% if you want to try our current favorite. It’s a medium roast with hints of nut, caramel, and cocoa, and the beans are grown by farmers who have been doing this for generations.
My preference trends away from fruity notes, which eliminates a lot of acidic nonsense and most African, or at least Ethiopian, beans. I think it has something to do with the soil itself, whether the nutrients or the elevation.
Caffeine
If I’ve lost you and the sole reason you drink coffee is for the caffeination, I hear you. Jump starting your morning is an essential part of your routine. Folgers, Maxwell House, and even (gasp) McDonald’s coffee will all get the job done. I drink my coffee black like a 60-year-old construction worker in dirty overalls (here’s to you, sir). I like it strong enough to stand up a knife in it. If you have no idea what flavor notes are and you don’t care in the slightest, I understand completely.
The book Caffeine by Michael Pollan was recommended to me recently by one of my favorite musicians. The idea that we live in a constantly caffeinated state, which is one of psychoactivity, is certainly something to explore and consider (maybe not enough to make me give up my morning cuppa, though).
Drink Up
For now, I can’t spend any more time talking about coffee. My cup is empty, which means it’s time to get up and get moving. Here’s hoping no one forgot to turn on the coffee pot this morning in your house. Cheers!
For more delicious posts about food and drink, try these:
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.