A cat (who loves you and is loved in turn), a warm blanket to snuggle under, and a pot - a Le Creuset pot - of freshly ground hot and warming coffee……what more could one ask for on the night of the year's first winter snow fall?
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A cat (who loves you and is loved in turn), a warm blanket to snuggle under, and a pot - a Le Creuset pot - of freshly ground hot and warming coffee……what more could one ask for on the night of the year's first winter snow fall?
Can either of you spare a shot of the plunger assembly on the inside? The professional culinary stores I mentioned earlier don't have that press in stock, only online.
You'll have to ask @SandboxGeneral to do the needful, I'm afraid, as I am unable to help you.
My camera still runs on film, and I have absolutely no idea how to use the camera function on a phone, because my phone is an antique, too. One of the antique Nokias from around the time of the millennium. Someday, someone who is not too condescending may choose to teach me how to use a camera phone or a digital camera.
Firstly, thank you for stepping up to the challenge I was unable to meet. Bravo.
And secondly, the picture I want to see is one that features a mug of steaming coffee, alongside a Le Creuset coffee pot, and Puma and @SandboxGeneral tucked up cosily under a warm blanket as the snow stifles sound outside…..basically, a coffee lovers version of a cosy selfie…….
It appears I suffered from a massive brain "fart" when I composed my post and made that request. For some reason, I believed the plunger assembler was physically tightened on to the top of the French Press and was wondering how strong the stoneware was. From this picture, I've only just noticed the ball handle plunger too. Funny I wasn't paying attention to that and only the vessel. I blame @Scepticalscribe for suggestion functional art.
All is good. That is quite thick for stoneware though.
It appears I suffered from a massive brain "fart" when I composed my post and made that request. For some reason, I believed the plunger assembler was physically tightened on to the top of the French Press and was wondering how strong the stoneware was. From this picture, I've only just noticed the ball handle plunger too. Funny I wasn't paying attention to that and only the vessel. I blame @Scepticalscribe for suggestion functional art.
Believe me, when I say it makes wonderful coffee, and is easy to use, (and clean); and it looks terrific, and all of the parts are beautifully robust and sturdy. In fact, you could say I'm a fan….
Actually, it looks equally handsome and impressive and downright beautiful sitting on the windowsill (where mine currently is), on a stove top, or on the table between pouring out cups of coffee…..
It keeps the coffee warm for an age (much longer than would be the case with a glass French Press), and is exceptionally easy and forgiving to use…...
It keeps the coffee warm for an age (much longer than would be the case with a glass French Press), and is exceptionally easy and forgiving to use…...
Stoneware is quite good in the thermal department. Arguably better than the double walled Bodums, which they haven't made in years. If we have company over, we usually employ the use of 3 52 oz thermal carafes which keep the coffee piping hot, with only a 18* drop over 3 hours. We submerge the carafes in hot water and then fill the inside with 212+ hot water and close it up, and only dump said water just prior to dumping made coffee into them. Exceeding the manufacturer's specifications. A few dozen bone china cups and saucers as well. 5.5-6 oz volume. It's almost 3 dozen cups at 5.5 oz. Presses, drippers and espresso machines, it's covered.
Anyway, I did pick up a 1.5 lb wheel cutting of English Stilton. The rind leaves a lot to be desired...
Anyway, I did pick up a 1.5 lb wheel cutting of English Stilton. The rind leaves a lot to be desired...
The thing about Stilton is that you really need to be absolutely sure of your source. This is the time of year when the good stuff is superlative; it is also the time of year when you need to be somewhat vigilant about your producer.
As for stoneware, well, it looks great, holds heat well, makes great coffee (or food), is easy to use, - and clean - and is almost idiot proof…..
It's a quality producer. And to tell you the truth, I quite liked it. It's not like a blue cheese. It's more mellow, almost like the 'skin' of a brie, which I happen to like. And earthy taste if you will. It was quite tasty on some bread with fruit or a few lattices of imported balsamic glaze. Just one question... are you supposed to consume the rind? I did but it just tasted stronger than the innards. I mean, it does look very funky...
I think it would pair well with some pears (see what I did there?). Specifically of the bartlett variety.
No, actually, I don't consume the rind of Stilton. I cut it away.
However, at around this time of year, when the Stilton cheese is fully mature and ripe, and comes with the colour and texture of rich Jersey double - well, quadruple - cream (rather than the white colour and crumbly texture of young Stiltons) dappled with glorious veins of spreading spidery, bluegreen mould, unctuous and rich and buttery, with a taste that is sweet, salty and savoury all at once……ah, that is about as close as you can get to blue cheese heaven. And the traditional pairing with (aged tawny) port works a treat…..
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Well, re coffee, this morning, nice and early, two parcels were delivered from The Ethiopian Coffee Company.
One contained a few packets of pre-ground Ethiopian coffees - three different ones. This is for the mornings when I am in a hurry - as I was this morning and I made a fast pot of coffee for my brother and myself - I hadn't time for grinding beans and so on - as we had to bring Mother for an appointment with the consultant.
Now, as it happened, we arrived on time, bang on the dot of the scheduled appointment. As had everyone else in the packed waiting room.
As the consultant was running late, too, - he had greedily over-booked his appointments - we were seen two hours - actually closer to three - late, which left us pretty underwhelmed.
Anyway, the other parcel (which I have yet to open) contains several different packets of Ethiopian coffee beans. My blending experiments are set to continue, but, for now, this morning's coffee was from a single packet, the packet of pre-ground Yirgacheffe Dumerso, which was rich, and had a pleasing depth of flavour, and went well with the French press preparation method.
One contained a few packets of pre-ground Ethiopian coffees - three different ones. This is for the mornings when I am in a hurry - as I was this morning and I made a fast pot of coffee for my brother and myself - I hadn't time for grinding beans and so on - as we had to bring Mother for an appointment with the consultant.
Now, as it happened, we arrived on time, bang on the dot of the scheduled appointment. As had everyone else in the packed waiting room.
As the consultant was running late, too, - he had greedily over-booked his appointments - we were seen two hours - actually closer to three - late, which left us pretty underwhelmed.
Anyway, the other parcel (which I have yet to open) contains several different packets of Ethiopian coffee beans. My blending experiments are set to continue, but, for now, this morning's coffee was from a single packet, the packet of pre-ground Yirgacheffe Dumerso, which was rich, and had a pleasing depth of flavour, and went well with the French press preparation method.
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I see. Safe to eat then if you wanted to? Mine tastes stronger than the cheese innards. And yes, my stilton resembles that. I was, admittedly, confused at the store because I saw fruit infused stiltons that were as white as fresh mozzarella, but I figured they were a different variety of stilton or mislabeled.
I made a sandwich of thinly sliced tomatoes, smoked chicken, thin slices of said and bought stilton and some thinly shaven pear. I consider this to be a very healthy lunch.
Did it taste good? That is the test. Candidly, if it fails the taste test, irrespective of robust health merits, I have little interest in pursuing it further.
Ah, just noticed what you did (pear, pair) in post #5236; touché. Apologies for not having spotted it earlier.
Yes, there are those 'fruit' Stiltons - cranberry and apricot are the best of them, in my opinion; both can be excellent.
Personally, I quite like them, - they can add a tart sweetness to the cheese, and they lack that blue appearance that some find off-putting. A lot of non-blue lovers will also take to them, so they are useful on a cheeseboard.
However, firstly, these are a more 'commercial' offering (seriously good cheesemongers will only stock these at the Yuletide season, mainly because they tend to sell well - and that is no bad thing) and secondly, deep down, I far prefer the texture, taste and appearance (that quivering wobbling not-quite-yet-liquid like an almost solid Greek yogurt, rather than the crumbly certainty of a young Stilton) of the aged, matured, dark buttery yellow creamy Stiltons. These - while not quite oozing, can be spread, or crushed on crackers, or bread. And are amazing….at this time of year.
Still roasting through my stock of Yrgacheffe Kela Kachore and it is drinking mighty fine. I'm starting to get low though, time to find a new bean...
I know that feeling when you are down to your last packet (or two) of Ethiopian coffee.
That means that it is time to stock up. However, does one stock up on a new (perhaps untested, and more relevantly, untasted) bean, or a revert with happiness to something known to be liked, something which is true, and has been tried and tested?
Nevertheless, you cannot go wrong with something that calls itself Yirgacheffe..
Well, I'm still drinking my way around Ethiopia, and I plan to stay there for a while. It's just too good to my taste buds.
Oh, agreed. Completely.
My taste bud have come to a similar conclusion, to such an extent that any time I stray away from what Ethiopia has to offer, I end up regretting it (as recently happened when I bought some Kenyan coffee).
However, on the topic of Yirgacheffe, there quite a number of different coffees to be found in that region; and all tend to be very good while some are excellent. So, I, too, am stlll drinking my way around Ethiopia. And I think we may have our friend @Kurwenal to thank for our collective discovery of, epiphany re - and introduction to - Ethiopian coffee.
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I've got a 7 YO pu'erh disc that reminds me of Ethiopian style coffees with a hint of chocolate. Thankfully I only break out the disc (see what I did there? LOL) for just us. I've been told with care, these discs can last for years and get better as they age. I've had a sampling of a 30 some odd year pu'erh at a high end tea shop overseas. Quite delicious and nothing at all tea like. But at over 600 Euros, I thought that it was a little too much. As much as I enjoy tea, coffee is more diverse.
Yesterday, I ran into one of my favourite cousins unexpectedly, and we had coffee together in an elegant city centre spot that she hadn't been in before.
Normally, I have espresso, or espresso macchiato when I am out, occasionally interspersed with with a cappuccino or café au lait. And, between November and early March, I will sometimes have a mug of hot chocolate, a drink that goes awfully well with dark, depressing days, (although yesterday was an unexpectedly delightful early winter's day, with a shining sun, and stunning skies, and extraordinary lights and shadows).
Anyway, the menu mentioned a thing called 'chai latte' and what it described as a 'dirty chai latte'. I had never heard of either, and had to request supplementary information from the charming young waiter (yes, real table service, bliss….) In any case, it transpired that the latter was some sort of chai latte with a double shot of espresso. Curiosity compelled me to try it out, as I had loved the spiced teas of central Asia. This was sublime - a perfect winter drink - and one that didn't even require sugar.
Normally, I have espresso, or espresso macchiato when I am out, occasionally interspersed with with a cappuccino or café au lait. And, between November and early March, I will sometimes have a mug of hot chocolate, a drink that goes awfully well with dark, depressing days, (although yesterday was an unexpectedly delightful early winter's day, with a shining sun, and stunning skies, and extraordinary lights and shadows).
Anyway, the menu mentioned a thing called 'chai latte' and what it described as a 'dirty chai latte'. I had never heard of either, and had to request supplementary information from the charming young waiter (yes, real table service, bliss….) In any case, it transpired that the latter was some sort of chai latte with a double shot of espresso. Curiosity compelled me to try it out, as I had loved the spiced teas of central Asia. This was sublime - a perfect winter drink - and one that didn't even require sugar.
Dirty is where the espresso comes in or so I read about a week ago. Anyway, I had some used up vanilla beans (scraped) left over last night prepping some desserts and decided to make a couple of London fogs. This and the other thread are bringing back old habits of overdoing it on the caffeine front.
I've been eyeing up a 36 oz. 18/10 French Press by Frieling on Amazon like a rabid dog. Suffice to say, I've spent well over $150 on coffee making supplies in the last 2 weeks when I already had very good hardware. Next thing I know, I'll be swiping my bank card for a $20K espresso machine because of you lot. I did spend about 3K on my current one back in 2009 or 2010 after my previous one died on the same day my old drip machine fried and the same day I managed to break my precious Bodum press.
Never in my life had I dropped so many F bombs as that morning.
I've been eyeing up a 36 oz. 18/10 French Press by Frieling on Amazon like a rabid dog. Suffice to say, I've spent well over $150 on coffee making supplies in the last 2 weeks when I already had very good hardware. Next thing I know, I'll be swiping my bank card for a $20K espresso machine because of you lot. I did spend about 3K on my current one back in 2009 or 2010 after my previous one died on the same day my old drip machine fried and the same day I managed to break my precious Bodum press.
Never in my life had I dropped so many F bombs as that morning.
Thank you for your explanation. Yes, yesterday, it was explained to me by the polite young waiter that the term 'dirty' meant espresso in that particular context. Nevertheless, it was delicious. He further informed me that they had offered something similar - a 'pumpkin chai latte' over the Hallowe'en period which he adjudged as having been superb.
Now, what is a "London fog"? As understood in the world of espresso and coffee...
Let us know about the Frieling French Press, if and when you decide to get it. (Having googled it, must admit it does look rather attractive..)
Earl gray, steamed milk and vanilla. I don't like anything with my tea but I did like this and it wasn't the first time I'd made it. It's much more delicate tasting. There's also a green fog, but seeing as I dislike Chinese greens, I'm not exactly going to use $60/lb Sencha.
Turkish green tea is surprisingly good green tea, (actually, all of the tea and coffee that I have ever had in Turkey was outstanding) and there were versions of green tea from some of the central Asian countries that were excellent.