Terroir Coffee
terroir: the “sense of place” that geography bestows on the wine, coffee, or tea grown in that place.
My formative years as a coffee drinker were spent at the Coffee Connection in Harvard Square. George Howell, the founder of the Coffee Connection, advocated a lighter roast to bring out the flavor of high quality beans.
When I graduated and moved out to Northern California, I fell under the spell of the darker roasts favored by Alfred Peet. Driven by availability more than choice. And dark roasts were all I drank for the following 20+ years.
So I was thrilled to learn that George Howell was back in business at Terroir Coffee. I ordered a couple of bags and I was very pleased to see that they were roasted only 2 days before they arrived via UPS – apparently roasted the day they were shipped.
The taste – well, I’d have to say that my taste buds are seriously confused. I’ve been drinking dark roasts so long that my decaf La Lapa didn’t really taste like coffee. That being said, I find that I’m actually finishing my coffee rather than dumping out the last third. And I found this morning’s decaf Pike Place espresso quite bitter.
I’m plan to give my taste buds a month to relearn the taste of coffee. I’ll let you know how things turn out.
1000001
I know it is a meaningless milestone, but Take the First Step passed a million page reads last year. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back.
Da Bird
I always have an eye out for cat toys. And Da Bird is Da Best.
Da Bird consists of a feather toy connected by nylon string to a 36” rod. The main feathers are trimmed and mounted so that the toy spins when it is pulled through the air, with colored feathers adding a flash of color. Mark and Annie give it their highest recommendation.
I bought mine on eBay from the nice people at 1 Pet’s Palace. If you have cats, then you need Da Bird.
Introducing Annie
Annie is the latest member of the Ideoplex household. She had been staying at Animals in Distress, but we’re all much happier with her here.
Farewell my Friend
Sam Stevens
Tab of Tabs, Cat about town
Beloved baby to Eileen
Best bud to Dwight
Big bro to Mark
1987 – 2007
He will live in our hearts forever
It didn't happen
It didn’t happen unless you wrote it down.
What you heard may not be what they thought they said. And what you thought you said may not be what they heard. You always need to write it down and share it.
Especially when you are talking to a customer. Because the odds are good that what you deliver will not be what the customer thought they were going to get.
See also:
If you don’t write it down, it never happened.
– Jack Ryan in Debt of Honor.
Made in China
I never thought that this would happen.
Once upon a time, I was pleased to find products Made in China. No more.
Recently, Sam Stevens sampled and savored a new canned cat food. I was ready to add it to his regular food rotation when I saw the words Made in China. And I paused.
I eventually decided to buy the food. But if the current situation is enough to give me pause, then China has a serious problem that they need to address.