Tag Archives: coffee

Well, take a look at this giant concrete coffee cup

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Concrete Coffee Cup statue

I spotted this on Saturday during my last stop at Mercury Espresso Bar in Leslieville. I should have asked about more details in regards to this piece, but I was just too ready to devour my iced americano instead. There also appeared to be scotch tape shells of this statue in the window as well. Whatever it is, I love it. I would be proud to have this as a yard statue or maybe a decorative lamp stand.

(The title under the statue says “Large Coffee Cup, Cement, 2005).

Kudos to you, unknown artist. Once I find out who you are, I’ll update this post accordingly.

For the love of coffee: The joys of the siphon method

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vac

These days, I’m finding it harder to enjoy the simple drip brew coffee, especially made at home… between my beloved siphon coffee setup and my new stove-top Moka pot, I just can’t bring myself to fire up the old drip anymore.

Sure, I’ll sometimes whip down to Coffeetime or True Brew or even Starbucks when I need a cup in a jiffy, but on a Saturday or Sunday morning, or on vacation, I’ll take the time to set up the vacuum.

The siphon, or the vacuum pot, which looks suspiciously like a bong or underground meth lab when it gets set up is pretty simple in concept: water boils in the lower chamber, passes into the upper chamber where it makes contact with the grounds for about a minute (I prefer shorter contact time with a finer ground: your mileage may vary), and then passes through a cloth filter on it’s way back down.

When finally sipped, the coffee is clean and powerful, free of any grind and other impurities that come with other setups. Maybe it tastes better because it takes a little more work to get going, and clean up is definitely a hassle, but for the outcome, all the effort is worth it. (It’s called a siphon because of the way it uses pressure to pull the liquid between the chambers. It’s also called a vacuum, because it vacuums all the moisture out of the grounds in the top chamber).

I’ve seen vac pots behind the counter at both Dark Horse locations here in Toronto, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone brave enough to take the plunge. I got my pot from the Green Beanery in the Annex, so if you want to find out more about the process, go in and ask them.

Or, if you stop by the apartment, Ill happily share a pot with you.

The first day back to work (and reality) after vacation

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Is there a work day no sweeter than the one after some time off, like the one after a long weekend, or a month off to travel to somewhere exotic, say Thailand or Paris? (Actually, I wouldn’t know the latter, but I digress).

There’s nothing like those first few minutes, back at your desk, piping hot coffee in hand, eagerly logging into Outlook and loading up a heaping pile of email, some urgent, some miraculously solved before you’re needed?

People will say, “You look refreshed,” or “Hey, you got some sun,” and you’ll regale your office-bound buddies with stories of the exciting and not-so-exciting adventures you had, with that bright and perky enthusiasm that accompanies a totally clear-headed worker bee.

Sure, you could say that the time right before a vacation is perhaps more sweet — but I would disagree, for those days are often stressed, packed with piling up instructions to less enthused coworkers, all the while the clock seems to tick more slowly, as if trapped in a warped fourth dimension of time.

No, I’ll always enjoy those mornings back on the job… even if it only lasts about 15 minutes or so.