Bean Chaser

I was so sore last night, I took a muscle relaxer and three Advil to go to bed.  I woke up this morning stiff as a board.  But, I percivered and took it out the door this morning.

I swear that Nike+ website flat out rocks.  It makes me want to keep running and running.  It, in and of itself, is a motivation.  They really did a good job with the site.   Congrats!

I will be running in down town Ann Arbor, Mi tomorrow morning.  Can’t wait!  I will also be doing a “photo shoot” (I will explain later) of sorts with a friend of mine in Goodrich, MI tomorrow afternoon/evening and I will be running there on Wednesday.

OK, when I got married on June 21, 2000 I was 200 lbs and could not get any thinner.  I ran two to three miles per day (2 on a tread mill and 1 on a gym floor).  I would also swim a mile per day, as well.

Now, I am 250.5 lbs and I am sick of it.  Flat out sick of it.  I am wearing XXL shirts and the last time I went to Brooks Brothers to get a suit made it just made me furious.

So, yesterday I was on the way back from Michigan and I stopped at a Nike Outlet and picked up a pair of Nike+ shoes that works with an RFID puck in the shoe with an iPod Nano.  I had hear of RFID before, but this is an incredible use of the technology.  It keeps up with everything like calories burned, distance, and tons of other stats and if you desire you can share that information with people around the world or just people that you want to work with (called teams).  Read up, it is incredible!

I ran a mile today for the first time in eight years.  It hurt, but it was the best hurt of my life.  I love the way running feels.  It hurts all the time, there isn’t any “getting used to it.”  There never has been any getting used to it.  It hurts as you push yourself towards the next goal!  It hurts to slow down if you can  do more.  But, it is a feel good hurt that I love.  In high school I loved, absolutly loved, running.  I just wasn’t that fast, like Levi Faison who would lap me twice in a mile on the football field (he was incredible and more than likely a damn alien).    I ran it in 17 minutes.  That, I know, is slow as hell.  But, I will get better and better fast.  The last time I ran it was a seven minute mile, that was fast for me.  Faster than when I was in high school.

I am going to make a blog page that will still be a part of the Bean Chaser blog and you will be able to follow my progress.

I can’t wait to make a difference in my health.  My wife wants to start running as well, as if she even needs too.  She has had two children and weighs 10 lbs more than when we first were married.  That is incredible to me.

I have got to go now…Anna said she wanted to run with me this evening and she has even called me on the cell phone at 3 PM to ask if it was evening yet!  So, out the door we go.

I have recently changed a couple techniques in my dosing, tamping and shot making.

The DOSE: With the dosing, I have been using the Schectermatic Laboratories Schectermatic Shnozzola (tm) developed by the (in)famous Andy Schecter.  I must say, Andy, this is a very simple and very effective modification for a Mazzer grinder.  Everybody knows that the doser shoots hard left and makes a mess.  This really tames the Mazzer.  This mod has allowed me to let one chamber on the doser wheel “fill up” and then dose it to the portafilter’s triple basket.  It puts about a 40% fill in the portafilter and then I tap the portafilter to the bottom of the Mazzer’s forks, settling the grinds (hoping to avoid channeling) and then proceeding to fill the portafilter up.  Now, with the Scectermatic Scnozzola I have less (much less) than a gram of waste.  If I am watching what I am doing, it is no waste at all.  A 12 oz bag of espresso actually last me a couple days now.  Wow, Andy you have revolutionized my dosing while effectively increasing my productivity, reducing cost to a bare minimum and streamlined my supply chain while providing monolithic output.  All giving Mrs. Nikki more grocery and gas money.  Andy, you are Superman!  Thanks Andy!

The TAMP: When I took the beginners Espresso class at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham they really discouraged the timeless “tap” many baristas have been doing for years.  Among Third Wave baristas (Google that and read up) many people use the tap (video) to get rid of channeling in the puck, therefore reducing bitters or sours in parts of the espresso puck, all making a great cup of espresso.  Well, I started tapping the thing with the handle of my Espresso Craft Tamper and I am here to tell you, I am getting a better extraction!  I am getting better espresso and that is what CCCOUNTS!

The Shot Making: I NEVER used the thermometer with the milk.  I just thought it was cheesy, amongs other things, and rather Starbuxy to be using that thing.  When I walk into a coffee shop and see a thermometer in the milk pitchers I immediatly put my guard up and my expectations down!  IMMEDIATLY!  The result is I have always had a very good ear and hand finely tuned to the point that I rarely over steam or under steam my milk.  The very first time I steamed milk at the CCC training  the girl just knew she was going to have to correct me and make an example out of me so when the milk came out … “perfect” (her words) … she said … OK, you try it (to another trainee).  So, why in the heck am I stuck on a timer for getting the best espresso extraction? Today I pulled a lot of shots using the bottomless portafilter just trying to visually stop the pump when I saw the least bit of blonding going on.

The result where impressive.  I would pull a shot with the timer and then pull a shot with “my eyes!”  The difference is amazing in the taste and look in the cup.  I bet I have really been missing some good espresso. The question I now have (your input is appreciated) is how in the heck can I “see” what is going on with a standard portafilter with a double spout.  I mean, I know I can see it coming down out of the double spout but I imagine it will be harder to tell.  Oh well, I guess I will have to try that, too.

Recently, Jason Dominy, who works with DIlworth Coffee in Charlotte, NC, spent a couple days in Eastern North Carolina doing training and sales calls and had intended on stopping by the hacienda.  Due to his schedule and such, it just didn’t work out.  So he shipped the coffee he had intended on bring by personally.  This isn’t the full review that I had in mind, but I have to go to work this afternoon (darn it) and I will intend on doing a full review in about a week.

There was about 1.25 lbs of Dilworth espresso and then a Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, a Guatemalan and a Puapa New Guiena.

Nikki and I were impressed with the Guat and the Puapa had alot of pepper in it and was a darker roast.  The Yirg hasn’t been tried yet, but I bet it will stand up well.

Now, on to the Espresso.  The espresso is a lot like CCC Espresso Tuscano.  Surely a sweet espresso and rather forgiving (which I don’t think Tuscano really is, although a lot of people do think it is).  Something that I do miss with this espresso (and this may be the user) is I don’t get the stiping that I get out of Aficionado, Tuscano and LaForza.  I am not experienced enough to know why so I am not going to blame that on the espresso.  I do know it hasn’t hampered the taste.  I have been getting away from the timer and doing the visual shot with the bottomless portafilter lately, and I see it initially pour with a beautiful striping.  It just doesn’t make its way into the cup.  BTW, when I am using the bottomless portafilter with this espresso it gets me excited, it is just really nice coming down.

While close to Tuscano, it isn’t 100% like Tuscano, either.  But, I really like it.  Smokey, vibrant and peppery; it is more like a cross section between Aficionado and Tuscano.  Any consour would enjoy this espresso.

Twitter?  I wonder if that is even worth bothering with.  I guess if you look at the video and read up on it, Twitter is just for messages like I am doing right now.  …….

But, I don’t know anybody using Twitter.

We purchased the Bodum Santos Electric from my friend Shannon at Coffee and Crema of Greenville, SC.

We took this with us along with our Kitchenaid ProLine Grinder and we have just had a ball with this Bodum. It makes a clean cup, but I do miss the body of a French Press. We have really enjoyed the Ethiopian Yirg Shannon sold us, it just wreaks of blue berries.

Our little vacation to the mountains of South West Virginia (Jonesville, VA) has been fruitful. We have educated the masses on extremely fantastic coffees. Everybody just stares at our Bodum Santos!

Please take a closer look at the picture of the coffin of Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor.  Monsoor was a Navy Seal who was killed in Iraq in 2006 and posthumously awarded the MOH.

Read the story here on Foxnews.  The way those Seal “Tridents” got on that coffin says all that is needed to be said.

Please, have a happy 4th and a 4th of solomn rememberence.  Remember the fallen, from the minute men to our men and women in Iraq, Afganastan and around the globe in harms way in places we don’t even know about (or want to know about).

May God bless the United States of America.

Geoff Corey is a friend of mine from the Apex, NC area.  He is a professional Barista who used to own a fantastic coffee shop in Apex and he is a professional IT developer.  I saw this link to a blog with the title of a post “The Five Stages Of Early Adopter Behavior.” 

I just thought this post goes well with my previous post “Firefox 3 is out and a man that is growing older…by the day..”

Firefox 3 is out!  The long awaited browser by many is just another headache for me.  Don’t get me wrong; I want Firefox 3.  However, the older I get the more I find myself not interested in “upgrades.”  

First off, let me say I do love Firefox.  I am currently in Morristown, TN at my in-laws home and one thing is for sure: I am using my Father-in-law’s Dell laptop and he just has IE 6.  I am here to tell you the lack of “tabs” integration in this browser is a step into the dark ages.  Right now, I have six browser windows open and I am constantly having to slow down to find information.  If I had Firefox, even 1.0, the productivity level would be “off the hook.” 

So, I do “get it” with firefox.  But, about a year ago I heard about a Harvard or Yale (some big University) study that said that by the time a person is 40 years old they don’t like change, any change at all.  The same study said that by the time your 40 you won’t like to try anything new, either.  When I first heard that I thought to myself that through my twentys I would try about anything once.  Now that I am in my thirties (34) I see that attitude slowing down.  But, I do see myself liking spicy hot food more than ever.  But, with Coffee I find myself having to make an effort to try new things like a new espresso blend or a new single origin coffee.  This attitude makes me nerveous, because I am rarely let down by trying a new espresso blend or SO coffee.  But, I am growing older and I have to learn to combat these tendancies. 

With Firefox 3?  I don’t want to fool with it.  It is just another deal with that study.  When I was in my twenties I loved being on Beta testing groups.  I was a beta tester for Microsoft on Windows 95, 98 and XP.  I was a Beta and Alpha tester for Logos Research Systems on their Logos 2 and Libronix (Logos 3) platforms. 

But, let me tell you that now as a 34 year old I don’t want anything in my computer that could possibly cause any problems at all.  I don’t get that much computer time anymore and when I do walk up to the computer I want what ever software I am using to work RIGHT THEN the first time. 

Firefox 2 started a new time of productivity with web browsing and it made Microsoft wake up to what IE should be doing in the future.  The good thing is that Firefox 2 allowed “tabs” where you could have what used to be containted in two ore more windows in one single browser!  The other revolutionary thing that Firefox did was made the software open (aka “open source) to developers, professional or non-pro,  to make customized add-ons.  The later is also the bad thing about Firefox because if an upgrade comes out for the main software sometimes you find yourself being unable to upgrade the browser if you want to keep the add-on.  Sometimes a developer has “moved on” in his life and just isn’t keeping the add-on up-to-date with the browser’s requirments.  Or maybe the developer is working on the upgraded add-on but it will take some time to update the code for the new add-on. 

With the way software is getting more and more and more complicated by the day you can now see why a big corporation would just rather wait months or even years when even a small release comes out of products like XP/Vista or Office XP or 2008.  I have a friend who works for Bechtel Corp, a huge construction conglomerate,  in their IT department.  He will be the first to tell you that if MS comes out with a new version of their OS (XP/Vista) they won’t jump on it for years, if ever (they may just skip over it).

All this being written, Firefox 3 is out.  Too bad I probably won’t upgrade for months.  I have about 10 or so VITAL add-ons and I will have to prioritize their importance and give the developers time to catch up with F 3.0.  And if they don’t ever catch up, I iwll have to ask myself wether or not I will go to F 3.0.  They range from the not so vital weather “on the bar” to the VITAL ”Copy plain text” or various other  ”right click” add-ons. 

My Father-in-law is 48.  Past the age of the Harvard study I spoke about.  I could tell him of the “advantages” of Firefox, or just going to IE 7 for that matter.  But, I could read my own post here and if I did that I would probably just mind my own business

NOTE: Normally I would never do what am about to discuss, but alas, for the love of a woman…

So, I wake up this morning at the house after a couple of hard days on the road and the wife has the Faema warming up. I walk in asking why, because we have only enough CCC Aficionado espresso beans for about three grinds.

She replied, “Give it a shot, you never know.” So, I did. No grinder calibration. No test shot. No nothing. The first shot came out and looked fantastic and I made a cappuccino with that and she swore it was “right on target.”

I was stunned. So, I made a second cappuccino for myself with the second shot. It was great! I was taken away with how great it really was.

At last, the espresso was down far enough I had to take the hopper off of the Mazzer and hold my hand over the neck to grind. This was just a double shot of espresso and it was absolutly the best shot I have pulled in a long time.

No calibration shots! It is amazing to me. I guess the only explanation was as the beans aged they came right up to where the grind setting was. After all, the two days ago I dialed the grinder in on two shots and thought to myself that it could stand just a hair more fine, but I was afraid of going too far and settled for less than immaculate.

Coffee truly is amazing to me.

Happy Birthday WIFE! Twenty Six and counting!

Mmmmm. Helios Cafe was good to me. This Aficionado is right on target. The espresso is just fantastic and it holds up well under the milk of a cappuccino; probably better than Tuscano (I grieve to admit that). To be fair, it probably works better than I poured four capps this morning and the texture was just on target.

If I did this for a living I would be a master, I know I could. Why? My wife says so!