Make Monday: good coffee

I’m a total coffee snob. I drink it black, so that usually means I can taste all of its imperfections. If its burnt, old, ect.

Heres some tips on how to make a perfect cup of coffee.

Grind:

• Should be fine enough to allow water to pass through coffee grounds without overflow.
• If you’re able to access a proper coffee shop, just ask them to ground it for whatever coffee chachkaa you use. (meletia cup, drip, french press, ect)

Measure:

• Start with two level tablespoons for every 6 oz cup; adjust to your taste

Water:

• Water should be sweet, without excessive minerals or salt. Use spring water, if you’re not sure.

Temperature:

• 190 Fahrenheit
• The water should never be brought to a boil, because it’ll burn the coffee.

Storing:

• Good coffee will stay fresh for 2 weeks if kept air tight and away from moisture condensation.
• Those waxy paper bags with the twist tie on top, that the coffee usually comes in? yeah. those work just dandy just as long as you squeeze out all excess air. and tightly close it.

A Bushwick Brunch.

My Sundays have recently been falling into a bit of a pattern. The alcohol thats still in my system, wakes me up at the ungodly hour of 9 a.m. I go out to the living room to recollect my actions of Saturday, with my room mate James. It always calls for coffee.

My neighborhood doesn’t have too many sit down restaurant options. Its fine because I could eat at the only one we do have pretty much everyday if I had the choice.

Northeast Kingdom is dimly  lit and looks like a lodge in Vermont. The coffee is good. The food is decently priced. Their waiting area plays Looney Toons by a fireplace. The servers are always somehow familiar and comforting. And best of all, its pretty much right downstairs from me.

James and I go there almost every Sunday. Sometimes its just us staring at the bar in silence, and sometimes we take our out of town visitors to show them that although our neighborhood still looks pretty sketchy, we have the redeeming factor of a classy looking place like Northeast!

This Sunday was a bit of  treat since our other room mate, Naomi, was around. Along with an old friend of James’ from Texas. Speaking of treats, I find it interesting to add in the fact that Naomi had taken a couple of special cookies before we headed down for breakfast.

I decided to document it because Naomi is moving out shortly, and although all three of us are friends, we’ve never all gone out for a meal before.

So this was the first and last room mate brunch in this chapter of my life.

Hoop you have a good weekend

My friend came back from Los Angeles, last night, with TWO POUNDS of Black Cat Espresso beans!

Its like a coke dealer going straight from Columbia to a bar on the Lower East side on Thursday night, over here.

I’ve got so much energy that I’ve decided to show that I can hula hoop for an entire Charles Bronson song without messing up!…well almost.

Coffee Lessons (64/365)

What my friend learned while making us coffee this morning: filling a french press with 50% light coffee grounds and 50% water does not make it taste like a darker roast. It just taste like old man vomit.

Better Never Than Late (62/365)

I’ve already had way too much coffee, and eaten all the chocolate out of some vegan cookie. I’ve been listening to Charles Bronson in my highly caffeinated state and now Im pretty sure I could sprint from Massachusetts back to New York, before dark.

Heres some genius Charles Bronson song titles:

• What The Fuck Are You Going to Do When It’s Cool to Be Yourself?
• Phil Anselmo’s Pain Burns In The Heart of My Little Brother
• Drunk Punks Is Hippies
• Let’s Start A Revolution So I Can Break Some Shit
• The Great Pet Rock Comeback
• Better Never Than Late
• Marriage Can Suck It
• The Painful, Yet Unavoidable, Deathstar Comparison
• The Only Time I Think About Romance Is When I Wonder Why I Don’t Think About It
• Fuck Technology, I’ll Keep My Pocket Change
• Let’s Start Another War So I Sing About Stopping It
• I Just Can’t Avoid The Void In “Avoid”
• So What If I Puked Up McDonald’s?
• Ralph On Ralph
• Cous Cous On The Loose Loose
• I Can’t Be Friends With You Because You Like Epitaph
• They Should Legalize Drugs So You Can Hurry Up And Fucking Die

SPEAKINGOFCOFFEE!!!!!

New Yorkers: Check out this website on places to get free coffee all month long!

Hands Full (17/365)

Tips to Making a Perfect Cup 'o Joe

photo from Javier Jaen

Grind:

• Should be fine enough to allow water to pass through coffee grounds without overflow.
• If you’re able to access a proper coffee shop, just ask them to ground it for whatever coffee chachkaa you use. (meletia cup, drip, french press, ect)

Measure:

• Start with two level tablespoons for every 6 oz cup; adjust to your taste

Water:

• Water should be sweet, without excessive minerals or salt. Use spring water, if you’re not sure.

Temperature:

• 190 Fahrenheit
• The water should never be brought to a boil, because it’ll burn the coffee.

Storing:

• Good coffee will stay fresh for 2 weeks if kept air tight and away from moisture condensation.
• Those waxy paper bags with the twist tie on top, that the coffee usually comes in? yeah. those work just dandy just as long as you squeeze out all excess air. and tightly close it.

A Bit of Sugar in the Coffee

A Bit of Sugar in the Coffee

Upper West Side NY, NY 

2009

Model: Jankins

Photo By: Chloe Rice