What makes a cup of coffee prepared out of doors special is what is absent: the walls, the floor, the familiar kitchen, the morning’s expectations of the day. Sure, you do not yet want to roll out of the warm cocoon inside your tent, but that pull, that desire, that need draws you. The decision to get up is enough, it starts the ball rolling, and, while the next steps may be performed in a semi-stupor, the actions are honed and well-known, requiring no thought. Feeling the quiet outdoor morning surround you, the sounds and smells, brings every movement and breath into sharp focus. And that first sip, taken while observing more closely your surroundings, becomes a meditation. The entire cup is gratefully consumed as you watch the play of light and shadow on the trees and boulders, listen to the chitterings of birds and note the movement of insects. You are the visitor, this is not your home, you are only passing through. That’s the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.
I do not drink caffeinated coffee for many reasons, but as the taste is delicious to me. I have tried many variations in different countries and my current favorite is a blend from Verve Coffee Roasters, a small roaster based in Santa Cruz, California.
From my first sip, Verve’s ‘Vancouver’ blend decaf coffee - ground from the whole bean by hand in our Japanese Purlex manual burr grinder, brewed with our Melitta filter system and mixed with about two fingers of regular whole milk - presented me with a cloudy, wrapping taste, both warm and vigorous.
In second place on my global search for the perfect decaf cup of coffee is Clyde’s Coffee Roasting Company on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe, in the tourist town of Stateline, Nevada. A welcome respite from the chain coffee companies that populate this busy destination, Clyde’s provides not only great beans but will also cleverly pack them in a reusable jar - one we still have to this day.
My husband drinks caffeinated coffee, black, and done up individually by hand in our Melitta from the whole bean, ground in an industrial-strength electric Breville burr grinder that sits prominently in our small kitchen. He won’t even speak with the children until he has at least one cup inside him. Currently, his go-to blend is a Columbian medium roast whole bean put up by Bluestone Coffee in Montclair, New Jersey.
His guilty secret is that he will sporadically go for Peet’s Big Bang whole bean coffee, typically sold at Target for less than $8 for a 12 ounce bag. He tells me this medium roast is excellent and dependable, with plenty of balanced flavor and floral notes.