Archive for August, 2005

Posted on August 9, 2005 - by deCadmus

The Present Future

Kottke is getting lots of nifty responses to his “Present Future” post. The responses are about as wide and varied as you might expect… we are all of us amateur futurists.

I’m richly amused by folks in the discussion who offer views like:

“We are saturating limits of what computers on the internet can do. The whole point of the internet is connectivity, and the medium though which this happens is rather inconsequential…”

Sounds a lot like famous last words… and a deep misunderstanding of what a medium means. Will they ever learn? ;)

Posted on August 9, 2005 - by deCadmus

The Jamaica Blues

Fans of the legendary Jamaica Blue may be crying over their empty cups this year… hurricanes have battered the island, with serious consequences to the coffee harvest.

“The connoisseur is definitely in trouble. We’re not sure as yet what is going to happen but it is going to cause havoc.” — Giles Hilton, Whittard of Chelsea Place

Posted on August 9, 2005 - by deCadmus

Kenya’s Troubled Coffee Market

Finding middle ground…

AllAfrica offers a smartly-written overview of Kenya’s troubled coffee market.

“In spite of the pleasure and sense of social cohesiveness that millions of coffee lovers around the world derive from this beverage, in Kenya - and indeed around the world - this is one crop many small growers view with a deep sense of betrayal and bitterness.

“Since the colonial times, the marketing of coffee in Kenya has been heavily regulated, to their detriment. Owing to the many livelihoods that coffee supports - and the big opportunities for profit that it offers corrupt cooperative officials and fly-by-night traders - the crop is so deeply entrenched in local and national politics.”

Posted on August 9, 2005 - by deCadmus

Camp Coffee, Revisited

It’s just you, Mother Nature, and an empty coffee cup. What’cha gonna do, MacGyver?

It wouldn’t be summer without at least one post on Camp Coffee (mind you, that’s Camp Coffee, not Cowboy Coffee).

This ode to coffee would appear to be a newly-made-available-online link from the folks at Backpacker magazine… and I can’t imagine how it could stumble given its preamble:

“Today is going to be beautiful. I awaken to warbling and the cheery glow of sunlight streaming through nylon walls. I lie in my bag, imagining the sweetness that awaits: the miles of empty trail, the triumph of switchbacks tamed, the bracing dip in an alpine lake, the hearty Asian dinner and starry dessert. It’s going to be epic.

“Of course, if I don’t get coffee in the next 15 minutes, all those warblers and switchbacks and even that glorious Pad Thai can go screw themselves. Without a rousing cup of java, there’s no point in unzipping my bag.”

Well said.

Posted on August 8, 2005 - by deCadmus

Good Night, Peter Jennings.

When John Paul II passed and a new Pope was raised to the chair with no sign of Peter Jennings in Vatican Square, it was clear that something was terribly wrong…

Peter Jennings died of lung cancer this weekend.

My generation grew up with Peter Jennings bringing us the nightly news. In time we came to know his every facial tick: every subtle nod, fractionally raised eyebrow, sly smirk… his own non-verbal commentary on the events of the day provided often as much grist for the mill as his script — and frequently much more.

“There are a lot of people who think our job is to reassure the public every night that their home, their community and their nation is safe… I don’t subscribe to that at all. I subscribe to leaving people with essentially — sorry, it’s a cliche — a rough draft of history. Some days it’s reassuring, some days it’s absolutely destructive.”
— Peter Jennings

Through decades of tumult and change–even as the “pillars” of traditional journalism crumbled around him–Jennings demonstrated unflagging dedication, integrity, passion, and compassion. And it was the last that made all the difference.

Good night, Peter.

Postscript: Yeah, Mom… I know I should quit smoking.

Posted on August 6, 2005 - by deCadmus

Reviving Yemen Coffee

Yemen coffees are the stuff of myth and legend. Mocha — the long silted-over port on the Red Sea– is still synonymous with coffees of the region, and with coffee itself.

The coffees of Yemen are notorious and strange; dry-processed as a rule and round in body, their aromas are wild and heady, their flavors variously fruited, chocolatey and winey. When they’re good, Yemen coffees are without parallel. When they’re bad, they can be stunningly awful. (A particularly notable sample of Yemen coffee inspired me to record, “flavors of monkey sweat” in my tasting journal.) Still, they’re most always intense, and intriguing.

For years Yemen coffees have languished… Crippling taxes, water shortages, altogether too low world coffee prices and the encroachment of ready-cash crops, like Qat, have led to a decline in production, and general quality.

After years of relative neglect, the Yemen Ministry of Agriculture has set its sights on renewing the place of of Yemen coffee on the world’s table. Through water projects (dams and irrigation systems) and a sustained effort to reverse the encroachment of alternative crops on traditional coffee lands, Yemen hopes to restore its prideful place in the annals of coffee.

Let’s just hope that the Ministry minds the lessons hard-won by the agriculturalists of Central America and Kenya: don’t be swayed by the temptation of high-yield varieties. Instead, celebrate Yemen’s place as the cradle of coffee by planting and maintaining your own heirloom varieties… they are, truly, coffees like no place else on earth.

Posted on August 6, 2005 - by deCadmus

Rocket Fuel?

Not enough kick in your hazelnut latte? Need a bigger bang from your vanilla mocha raspberry ‘ccino? Look no further than Sky Rocket Caffeinated Syrups! With 100mg of caffeine in each one ounce serving you’ll have your pick-me-up buzzing in no time.

Zoiks.

Posted on August 5, 2005 - by deCadmus

The Vertue of the Coffee Drink

An image of an early coffee handbill, circa 1652…

It will prevent Drowsiness, and make one fit for business, if one have occasion to Watch, and therefore you are not to Drink of it after Supper unless you intend to be watchful, for it will hinder sleep for 3 or 4 hours.

Posted on August 4, 2005 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Ancora’s Kenya AA Nyeri

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We all know the too-common tale of a heady, distinctive origin coffee that’s muted into oblivion by a heavy-handed roast… This is no such tale. Instead it’s a story about a rather nifty coffee that Ancora Coffee Roasters has made extraordinary by a deeper roast that’s genuinely artful. (more…)