Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Superior Coffee

Right now I am drinking cup #2 of fine, black American-style coffee made with an incrementally improved technique that I learned on my wilderness camping trip and experimented with over the past few days. Perhaps it was around breakfast at camp that the subject of coffee came up. Big John, aka Grand Jean [which nearly rhymes in French], had brought a real aluminum percolator along and thus we had fresh perked coffee every morning made with good quality ground coffee.

Another of the epicurean campers, nicknamed Condor, was discoursing on how very fine coffee can be made. I already did most of his process on my normal mornings, but when he said that using a French press or simply a fine wire filter instead of paper permitted the natural oils to get into the coffee, my ears perked up. I've had negative experiences with French presses, as they let a bit of the grounds into the brew, and the coffee cools off too quickly. But the fine wire mess ... I remembered that my home "Gourmet Thermal" Mr. Coffee maker had such. In the past I had placed a paper filter into it. So I resolved to try this technique on arriving at home.

Today is the third day of this experiment. I can confirm the flavor is superior. Another friend says that this technique also reduces the caffeine content as the hot water flows more quickly through the wire filter than a paper filter. Caffeine can be a problem if I go on to that fourth cup in the morning, so a reduced amount is a dividend of the process.

Here is the my entire method in full.

1. Use high quality, whole beans from Central America, Africa or Southeast Asia. No Mexico/Columbia/Brazil (those are too plump and less tasty in my opinion). I prefer a medium roast. Mrs. B buys them for me from Community Coffee on a subscription basis.
2. Grind them fresh in the morning.
3. Use a coffee maker that drips the coffee into a thermos to preserve heat, and not a simple pot heated on a hot plate (which overcooks the coffee quickly). While grinding the beans, put hot water into the thermos to heat the glass - this preserves the heat of the coffee longer. [Of course, empty the thermos before starting the brewing.]
4. Put the fresh ground coffee into the wire basket - no paper filter.
5. Brew normally.

This coffee is really, really good in my "humble" opinion. Btw, rinse the wire basket with hot water every day as you dump the old grounds and wash it periodically.

Markets

Big drop yesterday on "good" news. To my thinking, this indicates a "sell on the news" pullback, not a change in character. Traders sold, investors pulled bids to get stock lower, and bears became emboldened, believing that persistent blather of fears of another bad September. I suspect few real sellers are lower, and some real buyers lurk to scoop up shares.

As I've said many times, the beefers [aka big, evil funds] can make Ms. Market dance to any tune they wish for a short time. Wait a few days to see if bad news occurs. I'm preparing a list of US stocks that rely on overseas revenues. I had erroneously characterized them as "exporters" but I don't care if they truly export or they make the stuff overseas. I see the next bull market as lead by stocks firms selling to industries and consumers in China, India, southeast Asia, South American and eastern Europe. That's where the big growth will be.

Word of the Day

"Wen" - noun [$1000]; a Mencken word
Wen means (I) 1. a benign tumor of the skin especially of the scalp; 2. an outstandingly large or congested city; (II) (also wyn) a runic letter in Old and Middle English, later replaced by "w".
Sentence: The entire east coast of the US from Maine to northern Virginia has coalesced into a single sprawling wen.

45 comments:

Spin-em said...

The preceding has been a special public service announcement brought to you by Juan Valdez and his lil mule Conchita....

Bunkerman said...

well, I think Juan was pumping Columbian coffee, which I panned.

Bunkerman said...

maybe Mern will get a coffee plantation in Costa Rica - they grow fine coffee.

Bud said...

good morning Bman !!!!


question for you..........why did we lose 300k jobs in august?? especially since the recession is over..........oh right.......it's a lagging indicator


lagging my ass........there is ZERO chance of any recovery until we create at least 150k jobs amonth..........period

Bud said...

well folks.........the final numbers are in


august was my best month of 2009........hard to believe i did it without an 'ops expo open interest spreadsheet'........i have no clue what i'm doing........remote control indeed



danke vielmals jim !!!!!!!

Bud said...

oh.......how cud i forget


danke vielmals mern !!!!!!!!!!!!




'stocks like NVAX disgust me'


PS......i guess i shud have listened to mern yday.......sh FNM FRE AIG......oh well.............i am sure frosty aka f'ng douchebag was short all 3 from friday


PPS......still wanna be friends ??

Bunkerman said...

I don't understand this big rise in the yen vs. dollar. To me it should fall.

Bunkerman said...

uh, Bud ... maybe in your "danke vielmals" you should say "mein fuhrer" instead.

Bud said...

lotsa talk on bloomberg-tv this am on the Tobin tax...........i'm gettin worried

boob bait for bubba's and bud...........i don't even know what that means

Bunkerman said...

GDP growth is GDP growth.

recessions aren't defined by any one sector, like jobs.

Bud said...

Bman does the japanese election worry you about a global recovery ??

a big shift to the left........anti business and pro welfare revolution

Bud said...

Kudlow was predicting 4% gdp growth next 2 quarters


that's laughable

Bunkerman said...

no ... that old LDP was so sclerotic and corrupt. They need a change to a more consumer oriented economy.

As I've written before: The coming East & South Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere of self-supporting consumer demand.

Spin-em said...

'..........i am sure frosty aka f'ng douchebag was short all 3 from friday"

ace did....

" Bob please stop me from buying AIG puts...I feel like Im drunk....
Date: 8/27/2009 3:25:54 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time "

Frosty said...

AIG puts 55...uh rev have shamerocks that size ppffttt...nailed it Mike, what ya make $.50, nonono man sized bank...well played indeed sir.

mfl59 said...

"Way to go Sal"

"what a douche"

Frosty said...

trader tax jihad...are ya with me Sal...gather a bag o rocks, we are headed to wall street...stone the exchange karachi style....yipyipyipyip 72 virgins.

Bunkerman said...

factory orders up.

up is up.

Bunkerman said...

Boob bait for bubbas = throwaway claims, slogans tossed to boobs [aka homo boobus ala the booboisie] to get them to make contributions to lobbying groups.

mfl59 said...

Bunkerman is the sharkfolio an effective investment vehicle?

Spin-em said...

karachi style....yipyipyipyip 72 virgins.

ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

bring a couch...mern has a good arm

Bunkerman said...

the sharkfolio is a p. o. s.

Bunkerman said...

It amazes me that anyone would pay real money for access to that.

"A Sucker Born Every Minute" proven again.

Bunkerman said...

I hope mern's OK - he seemed rather depressed when he stopped commenting.

Bunkerman said...

I see ads for Costa Rica real estate on TV - maybe he's there now.

mfl59 said...

Bud I see you keep ducking my questions about your handicap...no worries...Ill come to Ft Lauderdale and knock on your door....with sith lord and jsweck....and we'll settle things then...

Spin-em said...

yes poor fn mern.....hope he's in jail

Bud said...

listen bob


don't ever f'ng address me by my real name.......i ain't your f'ng friend


and btw.............nobody....nobody.........gives an F what 'mike' made or didn't make in AIG puts........retroactive motherfuckers



PS.....still wanna be friends ???

Bud said...

also frosty.........a word of advice


don't ever go to karachi..........they'll f'ng behead you

oh wait......i like the sounds of that.......let's go to karachi together


PS......still wanna be friends ???

Bud said...

listen ace


you have fallen lower than douchebag frosty............you're a f'ng traitor............deserter.........judas.......benedict arnold......you need to be 'tarred and feathered'


you know what you need to do...........else........go to hell !!!!!!

Bud said...

mern is doin fine Bman


'stox like NVAX disgust me'


great job mern

Bud said...

" hey Sal..............why you gotta be so rude...........so dirty.........so filthy.........so nasty ? "



cuz i'm a nasty motherfucker !!!!!

Frosty said...

Sal why do you have to be so nasty.

Bud said...

you're right bob


that was mean.....and nasty.....and uncalled for ..............i don't want you beheaded


"sorry"

Bud said...

on the other hand.....ace......

beheaded???? hmmmmmm



traitor...........deserter......judas......benedict arnold......go to hell!!!

Spin-em said...

LCRD,HEAT,UTA,TC,RWC,IEC,CHDX,AIR hey thanks jim....thank you sir may I have another

Bud said...

oh no Bman..........trader tax discussion on cnbc


still think it's boob bait Bman ????

Bud said...

well Bman..........this is bettter...............ibd editorial on the trader tax


http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=505051

mfl59 said...

what does jim care about a trader tax? he makes a trade once a week....

Frosty said...

double the french tickler tax, now that would get Bunky's attention.

Bud said...

i'm glad you idiots find this tax so amusing

you guys remind me of neville chamberlain..........clueless

Spin-em said...

neville chamberlain???..not so badd...scored 100 points in a game once..and the ladies liked his style..if ya know what Im sayin

Bunkerman said...

uh Bud ... Bubblevision is not exactly a fountain of wisdom or insight.

Bunkerman said...

FT had an editorial today on Bud's bugaboo

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/76e13a4e-9725-11de-83c5-00144feabdc0.html

mfl59 said...

chamberlain? isnt that the drunk who pitches for our boys in Blue? man is he the best....