A Summer of Coffee

• andy
• August 14th, 2008
• 04:25:13 PM

Last week, Kevin literally got on his knees and begged me to write a post for this blog. He showed me my ridiculous keyboard-teeth avatatar and said what a waste to have created that in vain. While I have commented from time to time, I haven’t made a real post. That’s mainly because other than giving poor design advise to Erin#2, I haven’t worked on the internship project at all this summer.

I’ve been calling myself a ‘psuedo-intern’. I’m not even really an intern, although that’s what I interviewed for. (By the way; best interview ever. Hour-and-a-half flew by. Only seemed like hour-and-a-quarter. ) But I have been working on other sweet projects that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

So, now that the summer internship is almost over, I think I’ll reflect… on coffee.

It’s a long standing joke that internships are all about making coffee. This has been true for me. Erin#2 and I have been the main coffee makers all summer. Erin#1 started out that way (she’s usually the first person here) but soon decided to quit caffiene, so Erin #2 & I were left to fend for ourselves. Allyn drinks coffee too, but I’d rather drink doctors office fishtank water strained through a coal miner’s dirty sock than have his coffee. But the other day he got a thermos that looks like a mortar shell and holds more than a water tower. I’m jealous.

We drank Dunkin Donuts original blend until the Costco 33 gallon bag it came in was depleted. Then Erin#1 made a suggestion that brought us new horizon and higher state of consciousness: Starbucks Kopelani blend. Even the pixels spelling the name here taste good.

I’m not a Starbuzz-only guy by any means. I like the other roasters; especially local. But this was incredible. “These hand-selected beans are then roasted to bring out a juicy, crisp taste. And with a hint of citrus flavor you’ll experience the refreshing taste of Hawaii in every sip.” Wow. I kinda wish I’d been a writer for coffee descriptions instead of a crummy designer. (Another fun gig would have been to come up with paint color names. ‘Salmon in the Mist’. ‘Warm Fuzzy Philanthropy Yellow’. ‘Aromatic Fresh Baked Sugar Cookies Beige’. Etc.)

Bummer that Kopelani only lasted a month then Barstucks switched to a new flav-o-the-month and I haven’t found it again. Then I recommended my home brew of choice: Millstone Foglifter - a great blend of light and dark roasts - a bite like Columbian with the robust earthy flavor of Sumatra.

So it’s been a great summer of hot coffee in the morning & iced in the afternoon. With half-n-half and raw sugar, of course.

Challenge: Next time you talk about coffee, use the words ‘bright’, ‘earthy’, ‘aromatic’, and ‘floral notes’ in one sentance. Email me for a prize. Yay!