Team Tea or Coffee? Let's chat...
Are you a coffee or tea person? I am both! I used to be exclusively Team Tea, but am now a loyal coffee devotee (morning only). However, an afternoon cuppa is still my jam. Jesse on the other hand is 100% Team Tea, but maybe I can convince him after he reads this post and comes for a visit.
If you're not a coffee person you might want to skip this post, BUT if you have a coffee fan in your life this post might just help you on your next gift giving mission.
Why am I talking about this? Recently, in an effort to make coffee while camping, I discovered the AeroPress. It's a highly portable single cup coffee maker that produces excellent java. We've now stopped using our 12-cup coffee monster (reserved for crowds only) and use the AeroPress exclusively to produce our weekend bevvies.
I'm gonna run the risk of sounding like a total coffee snob, but this is what happens when you do a deep dive into something.
Here's what I've found after using the AeroPress - aside from the fact that I love it:
a. We drink less coffee. Before we'd fill the coffee machine FULL - just for me and the hubs - and we'd empty it. EMPTY IT. That's a lot of caffeine for one sitting (3 cups each!). However, after getting the AeroPress, we only make one full mug each and that's enough.
b. The quality of the drink has improved. The coffee tastes different - BETTER. It actually tastes like the things the packaging says about it - not bitter, slightly burnt, and kind of stale, which is how it tasted when we made it in our coffee machine. (We didn't know that at the time and only discovered it after we bought the AeroPress.) If you want to wake up from your reality Neo, you need to do a taste test comparison. (That's a Matrix reference - you're welcome.)
We drink it black, straight up, no adornments. When it tastes great we don't need to add milk/sugar/creamer to jazz it up.
c. It's portable! We can now enjoy great coffee while camping and that is something I'll be eternally happy for!
d. No garbage: just compost! We used to have a single pod coffee maker and the cost to buy the pods and the amount of garbage produced just wore me down. The AeroPress has a paper filter, but I rinse it after each use and re-use it until it rips #cheapo, which I like to re-frame as #savingtheplanet.
This is a natural segue into coffee. Can you recommend some great coffee beans and where I can get them? We love trying new things!!!
Right now I'm loving Jumping Bean East Coast Roast (Medium Roast) whole beans. I buy a 454gr. (1lb) bag for $10.99 at Sobeys = deal!!!
MAJOR DEAL ALERT: 1kg (2.2lbs) at Costco is like $18.99 or something crazy.
We try and buy ethical, fair trade and ecologically responsible brands so recommend away. However, I've already tried a bunch of Just Us! roasted beans and I am not a fan. Also, I don't seem to enjoy dark or light roast (soo picky), which taste watery to me, but I could be persuaded on a strong recommendation!
Did you notice that we now have affiliate links in our blog posts? Yup, we're legit bloggers now!
What does that mean? It means that if you click on one of the Amazon directed links and you actually buy the product we've linked, then we receive a small commission. Don't feel obligated: we just link the things we're digging these days and love to share, but only if it's made our lives easier/better/more enjoyable.
If you're interested in trying an AeroPress coffee come for a visit and I'll make you a cup! If you're a bit farther afield I bought ours at the Paderno store in Bayers Lake, NS for like $43 two years ago, but it's available at MEC or Amazon and at random coffee shops and restaurants. I saw it on the shelf at Edible Matters on the Hammonds Plains Rd last week for $39.99.
Want a shout-out and my eternal gratefulness? Send me a recommendation!!!
Carla