I have a list of maladies that even bores me. I can't have anything that is a stimulant--try that day after day.

Oh, what I would give for a cup of hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows...

Here you go, dori...this is a special type of non-stimulant hot chocolate that I ordered up from those neat little Oompa characters in Charlie's Chocolate Factory, complete with non-stimulant marshmallows.

Uuuuummmmmmmmm, that was goooooood! Hits the spot.

Is there any way to get a cup of tea? Oh how I miss tea...

Did you like the banana nut bread? I also made pumpkin...

Here you go, dori. I hope you like English Breakfast, as that's what this cup of tea is. We also have Earl Gray, Darjeeling, Scottish Breakfast, Jasmin, Oolong, herb teas, decaffeinated teas, organic teas, etc.

We have just a few slices of your delicious banana nut bread left. Many of our patrons have been asking for it toasted to go with their morning coffee. Pumpkin bread? PLEASE make us some pumpkin bread, and a few more loaves of the banana nut bread wouldn't be refused.

types of teas

We'll be offering a special Valentine's Tea between now and Valentine's Day.

There is hope?

My mother was the tea drinker. She and I divided a box of mixed teas many years ago. It contained Earl Gray, my favorite, Darjeeling, also wonderful, and several other teas that were delicious. But of course, the expense was a bit much.

I drank tons of Red Rose, not exotic but very good. Have not been able to have tea now since 1978. I think I miss that more than anything.

The banana bread is being mixed, pumpkin bread is baking as we speak. Isn't that aroma delightful!

I hope you're not snowed in, dori! Looks like upstate NY is getting more than its fair share of heavy snow. Send some of it along the southern route to NC!

We miss you, and we miss your banana nut and pumpkin breads. This bar and grill is about to run out of both!

Not getting snow like the east end of Lake Ontario. They are buried in it!

We get a little every day, but the single digit temps along with 35 mph wind gives a teeth chattering wind chill. This house is over 200 years old, and is pretty much a shack. When those winds come, the place is very cold. That is what kept me away.

Afraid I ate all the banana nut and pumpkin breads. I will bake a new batch.

Does everyone have the coffee they want?

What's for Breakfast?

One cup of coffee with flavored creamer, such as vanilla nut, or maybe white chocolate. And a sprinkle of cinammon or hot chocolate. For the sake of convenience I use instant coffee, and have found the brand kava to be the best -- it's acid reduced coffee and is easy on the stomach while supplying a full caffeine burst.

I say "one" cup because more than one is just too much, and if one (big) cup doesn't do it, then more than one ain't going to do it either.

In college I used to drop a lot of coffee, and it became too much; thus the one cup rule.

When I became a convenience store manager after graduating, I made the best damn cup of coffee anywhere. Some of you might be shocked to know that the best way to get those glass pots perfectly clean is to use Comet cleanser (the original powder). Rinse thoroughly, of course, and dry. But you will be amazed at what beautifully clean glass coffee pots you can get with Comet. And that's one of the hidden keys to an excellent cup of coffee -- clean machines and pots.

For example, the next time you see a coffee machine, pull the filter out and look up. Is the surface clean? Or is it covered with bitter black grinds!

In addition to the accumulation of "bitters," the natural flavor of freshly ground and brewed coffee can also be ruined from overheating. That's why they use those thermos-pump things nowadays, that coffee has become fashionable. To hold the temperature at a certain level.

When there is a 7-11 style coffee rush in the morning, it's ok to combine pots of coffee while new ones are brewing, but the reality is coffee in those glass pots is only at it's peak for about half an hour before it starts to cook down. Catering to the spectrum of customers I served, I set up a system where the combined (stronger) pots were kept on the upper burners and the freshly brewed pots (normal strength, and best flavor) were kept on the lower burners. This -- along with an immaculate counter top and extremely fast service at the register -- kept everyone happy.

So much for coffee.

I've been a fiend for Grape-Nuts cereal for many years, although have gone off it this winter. The key to an excellent breakfast is to have as huge a breakfast as possible. Which is tough when you start the day at 4 a.m. or earlier. But something like the Waffle House is right up my alley first thing in the morning. Along with plenty of water to get rehydrated, a cup of coffee, and some vitamins. I like a multi vitamin and an aspirin in the morning, and I've had a good run with Ginsana brand ginseng this winter. I've noticed my wild mood at work tends to be more under control when I have a Ginsana coursing through my veins. Just seems to provide more latitude, more of an even keel when impossible headwinds caused by the psychological insanity of a million flying monkeys constitutes the order of the day.

Peace,
GR

Great post, GR!

Here in the Chit-Chat Bar and Grill, we're very careful about cleanliness and freshness. We make sure the coffee maker and the carafe are sparkling clean before that first batch of coffee is made each morning. Only the best for us and those we serve!

We're also looking at trying out the coffee from HERE just to see if the flavor is really as great as they say it is. We'll probably start with the flavored coffees, such as the Chocolate Covered Cherry and the Buttered Rum. We'll also order some African Sarari and a few pounds of Fool's House Italian Medium.

Wow, that's cool, man. I started drinking coffee when I was 15 and in Hawaii on a summer vacation with my father. It was quite a jet lag in the airport cafeteria on one of those mornings, so I had some coffee, and it happened to be Kona coffee, from the Big Island. So that variety of coffee has a special place in my heart.

But I've been intrigued by what the exoctic styles from Africa might be like, so yeah that looks really interesting there, Cat!

Before I drank coffee I drank a lot of tea as a kid. I've found Celestial Seasonings to be the best brand. They used to make a really amazing high-octane blend called "Fast Lane," I believe it was called, but I haven't seen it for sale in years. While I don't like licorice, this tea had a round, sweet black licorice/cola taste, and provided an amazing boost of energy.

Today the "Orange Tangerine Zinger" is the flavor of tea I come back to the most. And their Green Teas are very good; I gravitate toward the "Authentic" style, with honey of course.



That would tend to corroborate what I was taught back in the day. We always ground the beans fresh. Now, how recently those beans had been roasted . . . I couldn't tell you! So, using my political research instincts, I would say if the Coffee Fool website can deliver what they promise, it may indeed by the quality experience they promise.

Another interesting footnote is, according to the History Channel's "Modern Marvels," coffee is the world's second most highly traded commodity -- second only to oil.

They also did a segment on that Dr. who grows coffee on the side, and got the coffee plant to grow sideways, like the way grapes for wine are grown, and how the bean produced by the sideways plant is sweeter. Here it is: "Kona Joe Coffee Trellis." He uses a trellis.

I drink my coffee with a little cream...nothing else, even when I'm drinking the flavored coffees. There is a gourmet kitchen store located in a little town about 50 miles from where I live. They sold a flavored coffee called Royal Kona Hawaiian Chocolate Macadamia Nut. I'd drive over to the store just to buy that coffee once every two weeks. I'd buy it whole bean and then grind it fresh for every pot I made. What a treat! The store is still there but they no longer sell coffee.

I put Tupelo honey in my hot tea, but I drink iced tea unsweetened. I like Jasmin tea, Earl Gray, York Gold, and I love Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger.

We have a friend who grew up in England. If he's at our house around 4 pm, I always prepare tea for him. He loves the Scottish Breakfast tea. He refuses to drink the tea out of a mug, which is what I prefer because I can wrap my hands around the mug's warmth while I enjoy the tea itself. Our friend says that bone china cups are essential to letting the flavor of the tea develop. So, he gets his tea in a fancy, bone china cup sitting in a saucer.

On vacation this past summer we stayed for 10 days at Disney's Wild Kingdom (very swank, I must say--it was a gift from my sister) anyhow, they have an amazing african restuarant downstairs and they served African Sarari coffee. It was GREAT. I liked it with half and half (no sugar).

Also, I make this awesome pumpkin spice cake. You guys should try it. It ends up being more on the bread side. Use any kind of box spice cake mix you want, add a packet of vanilla instant pudding and a can of pumpkin. Use 1/2 cup of oil and 2 tbs of water. (If it seems to thick, add another tbs or 2 of water). Cook at 425 for about 30-35 mins. (All ovens vary though, so you really should watch it the first time you make it) It is done when it springs back in the middle. I like it plain, but if you'd like you can put cool whip on top. Once I put cream cheese frosting and it was a huge hit, but personally too sweet for me. I think mixing half cream cheese frosting and half cool whip would be better.

Awesome!

Thanks for the recipe, lefty. I'll give it a try soon. It would taste good with some of that coffee we've all been talking about. Now if we can just get dori to bring in some of her loaves of banana nut and pumpkin breads!

My mother used to make a rather strange breakfast for us when it was too snowy for the schools to be open. Mom could make biscuits that were so light, they would float off your plate if you didn't watch out. On those cold mornings, she'd make up a batch of her biscuits, split them in two, and pour hot, creamed corn over them. Then she'd give us big mugs of her homemade hot cocoa to drink along with the creamed corn and biscuits. Yum! I haven't had a breakfast like that in years. (Mom called creamed corn "cream-style corn.")

BUT I can make biscuits that taste as good as Mom's!

I'll be right over for some of the light as a feather biscuits, smothered with the cream corn, Catherine.
When growing up, Mom would bake the biscuits in the old wood stove (the best for baking), split them in half, take a quart jar of sweat cream corn she had canned, and gravy she had made.. cover the halves with corn or gravy..

After many years of marriage, finally got the wife to do it. She thinks it's awful to prepare such a meal.. She doesn't like cream corn, but I love it, try to have it once a week..