Turkish coffee with cardamom recipe

i like drinking coffee
and even if my preferred & daily morning coffee
is made freshly ground, on a French press
i enjoy experimenting and preparing coffee
(and drinking it)
in many different ways when the weekend comes around

i really enjoy the earthy texture and flavor
of a good Turkish coffee with cardamom
so this weekend i made some from scratch



i found the fresh cardamom pods at North Park produce
i ground the small 'balls' inside the pod
but also added a whole pod
ground my coffee very fine
and boiled all with water on a very low temperature
for a couple of minutes

here the complete recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon of extra finely ground coffee (powder consistency)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, or 1 cardamom pod

it was delicious! and with a strong taste of cardamom
[i think i added more than the recipe called for,
but i like it cardamom-strong better]
much better, fresher tasting than the almost powered
Turkish coffee already ground
that comes with the cardamom already mixed

my version is much better!

can't wait for the AM to maybe prepare some more

and please DO try this trick at home
nothing like drinking/eating as fresh as possible
and/or home-made too!

morning coffee stirred with a ray of sunshine

as i grow older
early mornings have become the favorite part of my days
the first traces of daylight delineate the plants outside my window
and the fragrance of the fresh ground coffee
bring a sense of warm freshness
and it wasn’t always like that
i don’t really think i ever paid too much attention before
or asked myself (in sort of a serious way) which was
the favorite part of my days

at first i thought i preferred mornings
because of a bit of addiction to the caffeine
she's been a regular in the mornings for a while now
it could be the routine of grinding boiling stirring straining
that unique taste, that distinguishing smell
then i thought it was ‘cause maladies of both
the soul and the body seem to feed on darkness
they all grow stronger at night
the fears, the pains
vanishing at the touch of the most gentle sunshine
also i thought it was the hope that a new beginning brings
and i guess, in any case
is a mixture of all these things
that makes appreciate the daily sun rising
and even if the dullest or most painful of the nights
occur now & then
the little hope of the morning to come
with its beams of light, its hopes, and cafés
has kept my heart warm every day

a recommendation then
to start your days
ah!! that Peet’s coffee
for the french press
the Major Dickason's blend



Peet's coffee, even if bought at a grocery store
is always fresh!
you open the bag and see and smell these oily, shinny,
full of body, perfect grains...
delicious! give it a try, if you don't find it in your city
you can order online

and a tip, get yourself a coffee grinder
you can find one for about $20, if you look or wait
for a sale you can get one as cheap $10
and it will last you for a long time
and get whole grain coffee
even if it's not Peet's
any good fresh oily bean will do
the taste is rather different from previously ground coffee
now to enjoy wonderful fresh roasted mornings
life's short, and millions, fame, and glory
hard to achieve
(and useless to my point of view, if there's no good cafe
nor sunshine...)
so rejoice on the little pleasures of life!
like a good cup of fresh café stirred with a ray of sunshine

Dunkin' Donuts is not just about the donuts

this whole-bean coffee is a medium roast
and makes the best traditional
American breakfast coffee
that goes very well
with or without the Donuts...

I usually prefer darker roasts
French or Italian, Espresso too
but this lighter roast
is a good fresh change now & then
and being Dunkin donuts
such a traditional brand
it was a good find at the supermarket!
whole bean on sale for $4.99 the pound

very fresh and very nice
now it's gone and while i sip on a darker roasted
i missed having a third cup, which i could have
allowed myself with a mediumer roast...

oh well, tomorrow will be another morning
another warm cup, another humble blend

here an 87 points (out of 100) review
from coffeereview.com
on this popular Dunkin' Donuts Original Blend

coffee for tea

"None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear."
-Ferdinand Foch, French general

I always do the same at the office
when in the midmorning, soporific hours
to my soul, crawling...
i climb the stairs for a cup of black tea
yet
if there's fresh-made coffee
i switch invariably...

but this is the tea collection
zu Hause ;)
so i guess, doesn't really matter

café, tea, whatever to keep my mind
awake and spirited
while these black spots on a white screen
i keep on typing

the intricate systems we humans
have created when it comes to the classification
of the drinking

ah! sabor

mr. coffee

been back to drip brew



for the last couple of days...

home-made cappuccino

& since i am already chronologizing
(one gotta chronologize the stupidity now & then)
here this photo of my Monday morning cappuccino!



I make these cappuccinos with the help
of my stove-top espresso machine here

1. i heat milk in a pot
2. before it starts boiling, i reduce the heat & blend while heating with old-fashioned hand blender, for about 1 minute
3. serve some milk & with a spoon some foam into a cup
4. slowly pour a shot (or more heh heh heh) of the espresso, wait until it separates in 2 layers...

oh! i didn't have a transparent mug before!
so i've been drinking these cappuccinos for a while
but didn't know how they look!

until i got this mug for $1.99
my cappuccinos got the double layer going on!
nice!
oh well &
5. sprinkle some grounded cinnamon on top, for the *starbucks* effect

mmm, can't wait to be tomorrow morning! to wake up myself to one of these

café with press pot

while my aunt was here
I got a french press pot for just $7.99!
the jar glass is not very thick but it holds the heat nicely
but the colander/filter is great
a stainless steel mesh
nothing for breakfast as press pot coffee
it just taste 'earthier' than the dripping method

I also found this mexican peaberry,
that trader joe's (the best grocery store in the world!) has
just $5.99 the can, sadly, a limited edition
I usually like darker roasts, especially for espresso
and in the winter... but this mexican peaberry with medium roast
is, as you can read from the can, bright, smooth, and sweet... sweet!

the hope of a new day, comes along with the smell of a nice cup of coffee
no matter how dark some nights can be...
just have to remember, there will always be another day
arriving with a new morning, and if lucky with a nice cup of coffee
the morning coffee is a sign of a fresh start, everyday...