Mr. Efficient, Paul Goldsmith, grinds the coffee beans the night before. We only need to push the button on the drip coffeemaker to start production of the delicious nectar. Paul leaves for his job with the City of West Des Moines (WDM) Forestry Department at 6 a.m. My retiree is currently working four ten-hour days trimming trees, mulching and spraying - all while avoiding people. He says he misses sleeping in, but admits he'd be bored if he didn't have something to do to fill his weeks. Townhouse life doesn't leave many chores to do. The beauty of his job is that it's seasonal, and he can take off whenever he wants to. Sadly, like all of you, we've not traveled like we planned to so far this year.
Back to coffee. I admit we are novice (we have not continued to evolve past grinding beans and being amazed) coffee snobs. Just above Folgers, really. One can get Starbucks beans at our grocery store, so we usually go with those - creatures of habit. I did go a little off-script recently and ordered Peet's beans for delivery. I'd had that delicious brew on my Homegirl trips around the country. DSM doesn't have Peet's stores. I may need to check Whole Foods for the beans - the Organic French Roast was fabulous. Paul liked it too. There are some local places in the area I could try when I'm feeling more adventuresome and less quarantinesome.
I have always liked my coffee with creamer. I trace it back to the way I learned to drink coffee as a child. Those were the days of percolators. I loved that noise of the coffee churning through the pot. One time Dad started a pot and forgot to put on the lid - yep, it perked up to the ceiling! When I was in high school, Mom became more sophisticated and got a fancy pour-over outfit that she put on the stove.
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| Mom could be a bit exotic for her time - later daughter Amy bought this same system! |
When I was young, every once in a while, Mom would let us add milk and sugar (lots) to a bit of coffee and then dip in "buttery buttery toast". It had to be white bread for this breakfast treat. So good! There are so many fab creamers available today. I'm usually a one cup a day person. I try to avoid caffeine later in the day.
I am surprised that in college we didn't have a coffee-maker. Instead, I remember little hot pot water boilers that would rapidly boil water. Then we'd add Folgers Instant Coffee crystals. I can't imagine now how that mixture tasted anything like coffee, but our goal was to stay up late to write a paper or study. We even purchased caffeine pills called "NoDoz". Hey, that stuff is still available! No Adderall or Energy Drinks back then - to keep us awake when we needed to re-type (yes type - but at least we had a cool electric typewriter my grandparents gave me for graduation) papers when we spilled Pepsi on them.
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| Pic from the Bunn website |
I don't remember what kind of coffee-maker Paul and I had early in our marriage. I wasn't a big coffee drinker, but Paul, due his Goldsmith genes, is a guzzler. His wonderful parents George and Laura had a pot going all day. Paul can drink it all day, will drink it cold (not to be confused with Cold Brew) and with grounds in it. For sure, when we moved to Creston, we couldn't call ourselves natives until we purchased a Bunn-O-Matic, because Creston is the home of the Bunn plant! I've toured it several times, and one summer, Jud was on the refreshment crew there - pushing around cool water for workers during the sweltering Iowa summer. There was no air conditioning in the plant. Those things last forever! We only went through a couple units during a thirty-year timespan. Sadly, when we moved to WDM, we lost our Bunn connection and bought another brand. When I travel, I always check out the beverage area and smile when I see that Bunn name on their coffee/tea units.
I'd love to hear your coffee stories. Even how much you hate it and what you drink instead. I know people who start the day with a big 'ol Diet Coke!
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| Kitchen table - family with grandparents. I learned to drink coffee at this table |
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