Java Jive

Early every morning upon waking, I stumble to the kitchen, eyes barely open, feet shuffling.  The first thing I must do is have a cuppa'.  I can't talk, I can't think, and I most certainly can't make your breakfast before my morning java.  So don't even talk to me.

Me in the dark drinking coffee

My  favorite coffee pot is the French press pot in which I brew the Elixir of Life each day.  I love this pot because when the power goes out, I can STILL MAKE COFFEE.  I discovered this last year when our power was out for a week.  I used an old teakettle to heat water over the barbeque (!) and my French press pot to brew it.   Who cared if it was 19^oF?

Love the cozy my dil made for me!

 I have perfected the art of brewing coffee in my dear pot.  Here's the scoop:


1.  Put on a teakettle of water to boil.
2.  While the water is coming to a boil, fill the coffee pot with very hot tap water.  This heats it up so the coffee will stay hot longer.
3.  Set aside 6 T. of coarsely ground coffee (and it has to be good coffee--I'm from Seattle!)
4.  When the kettle boils, you have 10 seconds to pour the hot water out of the coffeepot, add the ground coffee, and pour in the boiling water from the kettle.  10 seconds.  Or the coffee police will come and arrest you. Just do it.  No whining to me.  I haven't had my coffee yet.
5.  Stir the coffee with a non-metallic utensil.  A wooden spoon, a spatula, or your son's plastic ruler.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.
6.  Put on the plunger top and set the timer for 3 minutes, exactly.  You might want to invest in an atomic clock for this purpose.
7.  After three minutes, s-l-o-w-l-y push down the plunger.
8.  Pour the coffee and drink it.
9.  Meditate on how it is that even though you can hardly function enough to navigate your way to the kitchen, you managed the complex task of making your coffee in a French press pot.  Wonder.


While you sip your morning Joe, you might enjoy a little music.  Listening to this, you will know that there really are people out there who understand you!