Morning Antioxidants and Caffeine

One of the many things I cherish over the weekend is the morning.  Waking up at 9, 9:30, 10 (11 if it was a long night) to not having to do anything productive in particular just yet is a great way to relax.  What's even better is having a 3-day weekend to help extend the morning ritual to a day where normally, I would already be at work, probably fighting fires and quickly sipping down tea to warm my bones after traveling to Oakland via public transit (hence the Monday morning blog post). My Saturday and Sunday mornings usually consist of waking up, snoozing in bed while Zolite attempts to drag my bottom out of bed by sticking her nose in my face, licking my face, pawing at my face and sitting on my stomach purring until I actually move.  Maybe not the best way to be woken up in the morning (I can think of a few more preferred methods), but it's better than an alarm clock.  Once I actually get up, I feed the kitten and get my coffee started.  On the weekends, I make a slow drip coffee that really absorbs all of the coffee flavors and produces the best cup of java outside of a pristine coffee shop.  The pot I use is called, Chemex.  


Chemex pots have been around in the consumer space for about 5 decades and of course, they were designed by a German inventor, Peter Schlumbohm.  Germans just know how to make everything -- fantastic cars, coffee pots, beer -- maybe they have a bad rap from the whole Nazi-Hitler nonsense, which was indeed a very dark time for the Germans; however, I will give them props for their mechanical skills and methodical common sense.  Anyway, the pot is made out of glass and has a very distinct shape in order to brew the perfect cup of joe.  I'm not going to give a historical lesson on the pot, you can read up about it HERE or on Wikipedia.  


This is what my pot looks like:

Image courtesy of me.

Growing up, my parents always brewed coffee in this pot over the weekend, so of course, when I moved out and got a place of my own (and broke my old Melita pot...twas quite the tragedy), I wanted one too.  My Mamiņa picked up on the idea and bought it for me as a housewarming gift when I moved into my SF apt.  It definitely makes my morning.  Now granted, I'm a slight coffee snob.  I don't buy Starbucks or Folgers or any of that terrible tasting coffee you get at the mass market grocery store.  Instead, I buy my coffee from Trader Joes (they do indeed have a good coffee selection) or when I'm lucky, I get specialty coffee from a coffee shop in Berkeley (which my Mamiņa snags for me sometimes when she goes to Monterey Market since it's just around the corner).  It is incredibly important to have good, quality coffee, stocked full of grade A antioxidants and caffeine.  How else are we supposed to excuse our caffeine addictions if not with a high quality beverage?  My favorite beans come from Kenya, Papua New Guinea and Peru -- locations generally growing beans ideal for medium to dark roasted coffee.  I like it strong, what can I say :) 


The Chemex pot is a great alternative for those of us who don't want to run out in the morning and fetch a cup of coffee, but prefer a home-brewed method allowing us to enjoy our extended mornings.  The pot does require a little more attention than the standard auto-brew pot (I have one of those too for the weekday morning coffee fix while I put on my face), but on the weekends, we have time, so mind as well make the morning that much more enjoyable.  


Cheers to coffee!

Image courtesy of me.  This is one of my larger coffee cups, perfect for the weekend coffee.  It also was a gift from Latvian relatives, so it's extra special :)