Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A day that will live in INFAMY

A date which will live in infamy…no matter how long it may take us to overcome this, …the American people, in their righteous might, will win through…."

Obviously he was referring to the granting of a U.S. patent 735,777 on 12 August 1903 to the KATO coffee company for “Coffee Concentrate and process of making same”

That right INSTANT COFFEE was unleashed upon the world at the PAN AMERICIAN Exposition in Buffalo later that year. This was probably what led to president William McKinley being shot when he visited the fair in September.

I admit it is a luxury, but a fine espresso is a civilized start to any day and a cup of instant coffee is an abomination.

"No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness". ~Sheik Abd-al-Kadir

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java the thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion” my co-workers get nervous when I start muttering this.

Whose up for a cup?

14 comments:

  1. With a three cup a work day habit, and a limited kitchen I had a choice - standing in lines and $12 a day, or instant and $12 a month. I am a cheapster, so I do partake of instant. At home - espresso all the way.

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  2. Instant - never and by no means. It is non-coffee. It is ANTI-coffee. One of NZ's larger instant coffee synthesising factories has its plant in the student ghetto of Dunedin - on roast days the entire campus smells of burnt arse. I think that's how they make it. Thankfully we have a lab full of like-minded caffienistas and everyone chips in for quality stuff for the plunger, or we get takeaways from one of the places on campus.

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  3. Instant 'coffee' is shite. Defence seems to run on the stuff, Nescafe Blend 43 to be specific. I reckon unless you are hunkered down in a trench there is no good excuse to drink it.

    Bart - do yourself a favour and invest the extra $10 a month needed to get coffee bags. Still not good, but better than instant.

    Alternatively (and better again), invest in small sized plunger and take enough home ground goodness to work each day satisfy your daily needs.

    There is NO excuse for instant 'coffee'.

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  4. The biggest crime? Going to a 'good' coffee place and still getting a terrible coffee.

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  5. Total instant coffee. Still hinting at the missus to buy me a steamer for me birfday.

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  6. Used to be able to get a dodgy alloy stovetop espresso maker and a back of Vittoria for fifteen bucks from Woolies. That and a source of heat is all the coffee making goodness you'll ever need. Maybe upgrade to a better espresso maker once you've had enough of getting scalded by spilt coffee though.

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  7. I have exactly the stovetop special you mention, good doctor. They are the bomb. They still beat all the home machines I've tried.

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  8. Isn't Australian instant coffee a powder? Our instant coffee at least are coffee grounds that are brewed.

    Not premium by any means, but definitely not powder in a packet.

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  9. I too have no stomach for instant. When I did drink the stuff it was Moccona (if it’s instant at least it’s ‘reasonable’ instant). Too much utter crap like International Roast has seen me eschew such crap unless suffering SEVERE caffeine withdrawal.

    We get the good stuff from Paddo Markets, have done for years. Only use a plunger because a)full on machines are too fucking pricey and fiddy and b)it’s faster first thing in the morning. I’d like one of those fancier plunger thingies (can’t remember what they are called…).

    Oh, a Flat White with two (standard NATO!) if you’re buying.
    (This post has been repeated for the benefi of THIS URL).

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  10. Nah better a good shot of hot chilli choc from San Churro thank you.

    or a bowl of chocolate chaud with a pain au chocolate whilst sipping a snifter of cognac preferabley whilst sitting outside of a cafe on Ave de Victor Hugo

    But yes a day to be airbrushed out of history

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  11. YsambartCourtin
    Good call, it’s the line waiting I loath, do other drug addicts have to wait while the Junkie infront stares slack jawed at the dealer before going “mmmmm I’ll have the heroin with the moca low fat?”


    Dr Yobbo
    Good to hear I’d expect nothing less from such a refined creature as yourself sir.


    Big Bad Al
    Get behind me Satan!

    Jyggdrasil
    Shite can at least make stuff grow, instant is toxic. Excellent advice regarding the plunger.


    Domestic Daze
    I agree entirely there are locales in my town that I have consigned to the deepest pits of hell, at least figuratively for this offence.


    Moko 2.0
    I wish you good luck, I have a trick to getting the present I want for my birthday I walk up to my_reason_for_living and say “I want this for my birthday” and point.


    Dr Yobbo
    I completely agree with you advice, and also confirm if you push a plunger down to fast this too can result in scalding.

    YsambartCourtin
    They are cracker for coffee in the field as well.

    jennicki
    None of us are entirely sure what ‘international roast’ instant coffee is made from. However instant coffee that is served up around most workplace offices around the world are made according to the patent outlined above.

    Bondiboy66
    Can anyone ever be in THAT much caffeine withdrawl to for that dire brew?

    Chazfh
    SanChurro, mmm the Azrtex hot chocolate with chilli damn I'm off for a morning visit to San Churro

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  12. All of you guys too lazy to do a full-on barrista course and reluctant to go through the washing and cleaning (and expense) of a home espresso machine should try the Nespresso - clean and fast and yummy coffee.

    Otherwise a steel stovetop is the way to go - I never really trusted the aluminium ones after that whole alheimers scare.

    Now where did I put that coffee capsule again...

    mumble mumble mumble

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