11 Comments

Being old means we started with a Chemex in the very late 1970's. Years later we had a Lavazza machine and an Illy machine followed by the espresso Nespresso. Three different machines for three different strong, bitter teeny cups of coffee. Then the big pod Nespresso. And even though I hate the waiting, I love the taste of single origin light roast coffee that my husband makes for me in a Hario... my one 16 ounce cup for the day ( except for sometimes when I have a second cup in the early afternoon). He drinks brewed tea with half and half. I have to limit my coffee intake because being old means too much coffee equals too much stomach acid. But I won't give it up, I'll just limit it, and I won't give up pour over. Good is good.

The best thing about being old is I can have what I like, even if it takes numerous minutes. I no longer have to be on trend. ;-) Thank you for a delightful look inside your Chemex. And please don't ever get old. Too much acid with nine cups!!

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Thanks for this! (And yes, I drink way too much coffee haha)

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Thank you for the piece! It’s perfect. 😍

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We use individual metal filter holders placed on the coffee cup. The ritual is as satisfying as the coffee. Taking time with coffee, wines and other alcoholic drinks, teas, good chocolates, local, well raised foods and cooking is a wonderful way to spend all the time saved by running red lights and hurrying through all kinds of other thins.

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Coffee… all your senses awakened. The feel of the warm mug or cup. The sound of brewing. The color of the coffee. But the smell, the aroma is the awakening of the senses.

I don’t mind if I do have a cuppa!

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What a great memory this ritual brought to you. Thanks for a wonderful read this morning Jason

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Thanks, Tim!

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A morning ritual, along with the NYT Crossword. We need more moments to slow down each day, life happens too fast. (Probably crossed paths if you went to the Rival Bros on 24th in Fitler Square lol. Daily stop when we lived there on Drive to work)

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They also used to have one at like 16th and Spruce, which is where I went

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Perhaps interesting to the aficionados of the coffee filter that you use for the pour over: it was invented by Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz in Dresden and patented by her in 1908.

Her company, still run by the family in the 5th generation, still makes the filters and the holders along with numerous household goods, including what the Germans call Kaffeemaschinen, which heat the water and drip it into the ground coffee held in such a filter. The machines are found in homes and in the tea kitchens of countless businesses large and small. This "Filterkaffee" is what is here generally considered normal coffee.

The Germans have always loved the Italians, who in turn consider themselves the unparalleled experts on coffee. Germans have embraced espresso. seeking that touch of Mediterranean life that is so rare in this cold rainy country. You find espresso machines in tea kitchens and in homes, in literally every bar or restaurant - Italian or not - as well as in the numerous coffee bars on high streets everywhere. Espresso machines for home use are important toys for boys, and after the Rolex and the Porsche the man of stature must have a gleaming espresso machine on the kitchen counter which he will be glad to explain in endless boring detail as you wait impatiently for your java at the end of the meal.

I have loved Italian coffee since my days as a student in Rome, where I would have my first coffee of the day at the bar of the Tazza d'Oro opposite the Pantheon, along with a cornetto and that feeling that I had somehow found the key to civilization and culture. At home, thanks to my gleaming espresso machine on the kitchen counter and my freshly ground fair trade beans, I can relive that feeling every day. Buon gusto!

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i am 76 and tried every method to have a good cup of coffee over the last 50 years. i now have found my very best method. for some reason my non-coffee drinking wife has a brewer in her kitchen area that does roasted-ground-beans to make coffee. i buy green beans from sweet maria's, roast them on my allio 2.2 lb roaster, and grind them for her. no mess for me no clean up and she seems to enjoy "sharing a cup of coffee with me."

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