All The Best for the Holiday Season

From, Lori Thiessen

I wish  every one of my dear readers a happy holiday and a bright, prosperous New Year. Thank you for your support of this blog by taking time out of your busy days to read and share your thoughts.

Though I am taking a Christmas break, I will be back on January 6th with more stories about cafe life.

In the meantime, please feel free to read past posts. I’m pleased to say that there are 40 of them to choose from. And do write in to share your own cafe life adventures.

Until the New Year,

May Your Coffee Always Be Freshly Brewed!

New Fashioned Coffee Brewing

Written by Lori Thiessen

There’s this new coffee maker on the market called Tassimo. You may have seen the ads on the tv for it recently.

At first, it looked as though the coffee came from a kind of coffee syrup. I thought that’s what is was from the little jam-cup type things that you need to make the coffee in this machine.

But I’m wrong. The little jam-cup thing is called a T Disc by the company and it’s a packet of ground coffee with whatever else is needed to make the coffee.

I have a sinking feeling the T stands for taste. Ah, marketing. Trying to make everything hip and cool by using an initial.

It’s a bit like the assorted cereal packets I remember from my childhood. You get all the different varieties of sugary breakfast cereals that you love without having loads of boxes around.

Tassimo’s T Disc assortment (like Starbucks, Nabob, and Maxwell House) gives you  the brand coffees that you like without having to load up on bags of beans. Unfortunately, there seems to be only about a half-dozen choices you can make. Where oh where is Timmy Horton?

The problem with this system is that you can only brew coffee with the T Disc. If you want the smell of fresh ground coffee you’ll have to run to your local cafe, or load up on various different coffee machines.

As for me, I think I’ll stick to my french press and my old camping percolator.

Q: What is your favourite coffee maker?

Until Next Time,

May Your Coffee Always Be Freshly Brewed!

Sharing a Cuppa with Those Who Need It

Written by Lori Thiessen

As Dickens’ writes in A Christmas Carol: “At this festive season of the year, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor . . . “.

On bitterly cold days, a cup of coffee just to wrap your fingers around is wonderful. Just think what a street person would think about having just a little bit of heat anywhere on his body.

So here are just a few ideas about sharing a little caffe culture with those who really need some help:

• Donate generously to your local outreach program
• Become involved in serving Christmas dinner through an outreach program
• Approach your local caffeinated watering hole and see if they would be open to donating some of their black gold and goodies to an outreach program
• Get some of your friends together, brew up some coffee and tea, make some rib sticking sandwiches and distribute them to people in need
• When a street person approaches you for some money to get some food and drink, give them some

A friend of mine is organizing a blanket drive among our group and we will deliver them directly to those who need them.

It’s not a solution to this problem but it will provide some temporary relief to a few individuals which is better than doing nothing at all.

Please give the gift of warmth to those who desperately need it.

Thank you.

Taking a Christmas Coffee Break

Written by Lori Thiessen

As the season bears down upon us, the question on most people’s lips is: How will I survive this season?

Now I find the question highly ironic because Christmas is supposed to be about love, joy, peace and goodwill to one’s fellow creatures.

The way Western North Americans do it (everything to excess) is kinda crazy and that craziness can be hard to handle.

My solution: Take a coffee break. Heck, take more than one.

Get out your daytimer or PDA and schedule some coffee breaks for yourself to slow down and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.  This is especially true if you are on vacation during the Christmas season.

I know I can’t make nice for extended periods of time, no matter how wonderful the company. I need my down time. I need my alone time. Otherwise, I may end up saying stuff that will haunt me for many Christmases to come.

So I’m planning on taking breaks. I’ll wander down to my local caffeinated joint and indulge perhaps in a seasonal coffee, like an eggnog latte. I may bring my journal with me or a book, but most of all, I’ll bring with me a sense of doing something good for myself.

Q: How will you be handling the pressures of the holiday season this year?

Until Next Time,

May Your Coffee Always Be Freshly Brewed!

Is Santa bringing you a Rancilio Coffee Machine?

Written by Lori Thiessen

Thinking about buying that special someone a humdinger of a cappucino maker? The makers of these magical machines are hoping you will, if the tv ads are anything to go by. Santa better get an extra strong backsupport this year.

I’ve noticed an increase just lately in the number of ads for coffeemakers. Everything from Black & Decker percolators to the really high end, cafe-worthy espresso machines are being flogged.

Frankly, I’m not interested in buying one because I do like to go to the cafe to get a coffee. But during the holiday season with all the entertaining that comes with it, being able to make good coffee is essential.

I favour the good old fashioned french press for my coffee and tea needs. It’s really easy to use, easy to clean up and makes a great cup of coffee (provided you use good quality beans to begin with).

For big gatherings, I rent a big coffeemaker from my local party supply place. I get the best beans possible, grind fresh and brew away until the wee small hours of the morning.

Here’s a business idea for a bright someone: baristas and their machines for rent. It would be kinda cool to have the ability to offer your guests cafe quality specialty coffees at your seasonal soirees, complete with fancy foam art. Wouldn’t you be the talk of your social set!

Q: How do you supply coffee for really big festive gatherings?

Until Next Time,

May Your Coffee Always Be Freshly Brewed!

Christmas Coffees

written by Lori Thiessen

One of my favourite movies to watch around Christmas is Babette’s Feast. The story revolves around a French maid in service to two elderly ladies in a remote village in Jutland.

After having won a lotto, the French maid, Babette offers to make the celebratory dinner in honour of the ladies’ father ‘ birthday which is in December.  He was a cleric who founded this village. Not surprisingly, he also had a rather austere view of the material world to which his followers adhere.

Reluctantly, the ladies agree. Babette makes a “vrai diner francais”. Such sumptuous fare the villagers have never before seen or tasted in their lives.

This amazing meal ends with a cup of fresh ground coffee and a small glass of champagne liqueur.

In case you haven’t guessed, I am a devout gourmand, or someone who enjoys fine foods, wonderfully prepared and served.  It sounds kinda snobby, but I believe most people relish eating good food, if given the chance. And fine food doesn’t necessary mean expensive either.

During this season of abundance, I’m  thinking about how to end the meal with flare or to entertain family and friends when they drop by for a visit.

Coffee is often the beverage offered to visitors. But just to make things a little more seasonal, here are a few options to spice up your brew.

• Add your favourite Christmas spice. I like to freshly grate some nutmeg into the ground coffee before I perk or press. Lovely hint of extra flavour.
• Add your or your guests’ favourite liqueur to their cup. I favour a wee drop of Frangelico.
• Use eggnog instead of cream. Gives the coffee an extra richness and that spicy flavour all in one shot.

Which ever festive condiment you choose, be sure to use a light hand. You want to enhance, not overwhelm the coffee.

Also, please do respect the wishes of your guests if they refuse an alcoholic additive. They might be coping with addiction or just had enough liquor for one day.  Either way, the point of getting together is to celebrate not inebriate.

Q: Do you have any Christmas coffee recipes you would like to share?

Until Next Time,

May Your Coffee Always Be Freshly Brewed!

Charles Dickens and the Coffee Shop

Written by Lori Thiessen

As I was lying in bed, fighting the good fight against the flu, I was reading a couple of Dickens’ novels. The first one I read was Nicholas Nickelby and the other was, The Old Curiosity Shop.

The coffee shop or coffeehouse featured rather heavily in Nicholas Nickelby. In fact, one of the most exciting moments in the novel takes place in a coffeehouse.

It seems that the coffeehouse still played an important role in English society in the 19th century, if Dickens writing is anything to go by.

I think the main difference between the coffeehouse of the 17th/18th century and the 19th century is the realm in which it occupied.

In the early era, the role was largely economic, serving as an informal office space. By the 19th century, the coffeehouse, I think, played a more social role.  Though in Nicholas Nickelby, Mr. Squeers, the schoolmaster, makes the coffeehouse a meeting place to pick up new scholars and to interview parents who wish to send their children to his lonely boarding school on the bleak moors of Yorkshire. A much more fitting place than a public house.

The coffeehouse is a more genteel venue for getting together with friends, and it is a place to get a meal. Before the appearance of the coffeehouse, the public house would be the only place to get victuals.  I would even hazard a guess that the coffeehouse might be progenitor of the restaurant.

Even though the novels are obviously fiction, it is interesting to see them as ’slice of life’ pieces, showing us where people went and what they did. Victorians, according to Dickens’ work, did frequent the coffeehouses for both business and pleasure.

Until Next Time,

May Your Coffee Always Be Freshly Brewed!