Kat's Birthday Party

[Dr.Brain Coral]

I am not to much of a coffee drinker either, I always have a cup at church and sometimes during the week but not to often. But tea and Cappuccinos are the $hit. I remember when my brother still lived with me and he went through this tea craze. Those where the days, drinking hot tea while my brother read to me.

[Acielot]

I like coffee but avoid it because I get crazy jitters afterwards.

 

Citrus teas are my favorite but they have to be chilled and sweetened

[natalia_la_loca]

Mate always gives me a headache.

 

I'm a big coffee snob too. It's gotten so bad that I almost never drink coffee at coffee shops anymore. although when traveling I'll drink whatever nasty motor oil is available. I just hold my nose and drink it like medicine.

[GHill762]

cappuccino is not coffee. where I come from coffee is strong and black, no sugar no milk no nothing.

 

starbucks is okay at best, there is a roast or two there that I enjoy though. part of the problem is that I've never been much of an espresso drinker, I just like normal coffee. really prefer carribou coffee, preferably from a french press.

 

if I were to try some different teas, where would I start? what's a good starter "exotic" tea?

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Thats how I like my coffee and tea, no sugar or anything. Kenyan Black tea is a alternative to coffee and is really good

[natalia_la_loca]

If you like french press, you should try an Aeropress. It has a finer filter so you don't get that awful last sip of mud. Also it eliminates almost all the bitterness.

 

It even makes Eight O Clock coffee taste almost halfway decent.

[GHill762]

If you like french press, you should try an Aeropress. It has a finer filter so you don't get that awful last sip of mud. Also it eliminates almost all the bitterness.

 

It even makes Eight O Clock coffee taste almost halfway decent.

looks like a variation on the french press.. if you don't like the "mud" you could always pour it through a paper coffee filter.

 

we tried some carribou beans the other day in the french press that tasted kind of light and nutty. mmmmm...

[tibbsy07]

I like most tea (not mate or genmaicha, though), but coffee is my drug - I mean drink - of choice. Pour over. I'll drink it any way, but I prefer it black and from a pour over set up. Very nice.

[natalia_la_loca]

looks like a variation on the french press.. if you don't like the "mud" you could always pour it through a paper coffee filter.

 

we tried some carribou beans the other day in the french press that tasted kind of light and nutty. mmmmm...

 

eh, that would take too long. Our local "fancy" cafe does the pour-over method, I still find it too bitter.

 

Yes I'm a raging coffee prima donna...I'm not proud of it

 

I like tea, but coffee is my drug - I mean drink - of choice.

 

yes, it's a drug for me too...a tasty drug

[metrokat]

cappuccino is not coffee. where I come from coffee is strong and black, no sugar no milk no nothing.

 

starbucks is okay at best, there is a roast or two there that I enjoy though. part of the problem is that I've never been much of an espresso drinker, I just like normal coffee. really prefer carribou coffee, preferably from a french press.

 

if I were to try some different teas, where would I start? what's a good starter "exotic" tea?

Some starbucks have the clover machine which is a french press. So the same brewed coffee that you get, on the clover machine is double the cost of the regular brewed. So a cup of coffee is $4 from that machine at starbucks. But does it taste unbelievable? Yes!

 

How do you like your tea? straight/dark with nothing added or do you like chai teas with milk and sugar?

[natalia_la_loca]

if I were to try some different teas, where would I start? what's a good starter "exotic" tea?

 

Mutan White from Harney and Sons (harney.com) is really yummy, fresh tasting and inexpensive. Harney has a fantastic selection of good loose leaf teas. Bancha is a decent day-to-day green tea. Lung Ching is another one that is a little more expensive but not too terrible. Yanagi Green is a very nice Japanese green tea.

 

You can also get 2 oz sample packs of really expensive luxury teas like Chinese Silver Needle there. It's a wonderful, affordable way to try exotic teas.

[metrokat]

These days I'm into bubble teas. I'm not a fan of very sweet tea, and in fact I like my iced tea unsweetened just like my Jasmine tea. But this bubble tea is SO good.

[natalia_la_loca]

yup, bubble tea is super yummy. love the texture.

[tibbsy07]

eh, that would take too long. Our local "fancy" cafe does the pour-over method, I still find it too bitter.

 

Yes I'm a raging coffee prima donna...I'm not proud of it

 

 

yes, it's a drug for me too...a tasty drug

 

Pour over is very similar to the other ways of making coffee. Bitter coffee usually means crappy beans, a roasting choice, or steeping too long. Pour over is wonderful, but to really get the best cup it requires a very specific way of pouring, etc. I like french press minus the grinds. I have not tried aeropress only because the filters cost $$, and I usually drink multiple cups.

 

I have a nice coffee machine that is basically a big pour over cup. Very nice.

[natalia_la_loca]

Pour over is very similar to the other ways of making coffee. Bitter coffee usually means crappy beans, a roasting choice, or steeping too long. Pour over is wonderful, but to really get the best cup it requires a very specific way of pouring, etc. I like french press minus the grinds. I have not tried aeropress only because the filters cost $$, and I usually drink multiple cups.

 

If you get it on Amazon, they send you a bunch of filters. But I got a reusable metal filter with mine that works really well. The only thing I don't like about Aeropress is that it's super annoying to make cups of coffee for multiple people. But the taste is better than with any other preparation method I've tried, and the price is great.

[patback]

my mom gets big things of flavored teas when she goes to the indian pow wow every year. its the only type of tea i like.

 

 

now coffee.... i used to add a little bit of dark colored water to a big cup of french vanilla creamer and sugar, but i am a big boy now and actually enjoy my coffee black.

[metrokat]

TS makes cappuccino on demand.

For this cup he used Nespresso Dharkan. My new fav.

https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/order/capsules/original/dharkan-coffee

[Veng]

Any one else see this in the coffee?

 

[hypostatic]

I hate starbucks coffee.

 

If I really wanna wake up I'll make some guarana tea. 4x the caffeine of coffee

[GHill762]

I drink too much coffee to use a french press on a regular basis, I put down about a pot a day. that's the only problem with french press, imo. 98% of the time I just use a standard drip coffee machine and some folgers or whatever. and I'm definitely not going to pay for coffee by the cup on a daily basis.

 

people put milk in tea?

[metrokat]

people put milk in tea?

Chai teas are milk based. I grew up with black tea with milk so that is my first cup in the morning. I use black tea, and it has herbs like holy basil, ginger, ashwagandha, cloves. Sometimes I add fresh ginger. Brew. Then add milk and sugar. Yummy. I like my green teas without any additions though. Just my black teas are with milk and sugar. The asian bubble teas are all with milk BTW.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Has anybody had sumac tea?

[natalia_la_loca]

Has anybody had sumac tea?

 

I had it once, strained from fresh sumac berries in the woods during a day camp thing when I was little. I seem to recall it tasted kind of like bitter pomegranate or cranberry.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Yup, very tart

[metrokat]

PAR meter woes.

 

So Benny was kind enough to lend me his PAR meter for testing my light. I was going to keep it for several weeks till my light came in and then send it back to him. Since my light was delayed the PAR meter was sitting with me a lot longer than I originally thought.

 

In the meantime Tron asked to borrow it and Benny was okay with it so over 10 days ago I shipped it out priority mail to Tron. It never got to him.

 

Tracking shows it is still in my state. I have been calling, leaving messages for sorting facilities, supervisors, I have filed online claims, I've put a tracer on the package. No response.

 

Finally today somebody called me back with crazy news. The trailer that was dispatched from my sorting facility to Florida caught on fire! FML. 80% of the packages inside were destroyed! The remaining 20% are damaged but could be salvageable (yeah right) but they can't read tracking numbers on the boxes so I have to fill out a "mail recovery search" form which should include a very detailed description of what is inside for them to physically look for the damn thing.

 

After that (however long THAT takes) I have the "option" of filing a claim.

 

I should have known better and insured it but I forgot. Although dealing with USPS claims isn't what it is chalked up to be. I can hope to get the automatically insured value which won't cover the cost of the meter but it is something. There seems to be a debate whether the automatic insurance is $50 or $100.

 

So anyway, I'm not particularly lucky with dry goods this go around with the tank. Obviously I'm getting Benny a replacement but I thought I should buy one for myself too.