Showing posts with label Iced Coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iced Coffee. Show all posts

Sunday, November 27, 2016

The Cold-brewed Coffee Experience

It Started a Few Months Ago



A friend gave me a bag of coffee from Brazil only, he calls it Brasil. OK.

An iced coffee fanatic, I took the ingredients to my office, to make my own home brew.

The first bunch of coffee, got used and, he gave me another one. I just finished it today.


Cold-brew coffee ingredients on a messy table


The mess above, is the way I make coffee, on a spare desk, in my office.

What you see, is some containers, coffee grounds were soaking in, for about a week.

There's a bunch of recycled coffee cans and, some filtering gadgets.


Coffee spilled on floor and newspapers to soak it up


No photography was planned for today but, along came this opportunity.

The first paper type filters, I was using, were taking too long and, clogging up.

When, I switched to a faster filter, the coffee overflowed and, went everywhere.

That gave me the idea, to run and grab a camera and some old newspapers.

Things like this just, don't happen every day around here, you know.


Coffee grounds, pitcher, cans, spilled coffee


Those coffee grounds, turn into mud and make some wicked black coffee.

When people heat their coffee, they don't know, what they are missing out on.

The stuff I got today, looks like some engine oil that never got changed in 10 years.


Coffee cans, cream, sugar


One lump of sugar and a pack of powdered cream, for each can, is my preference.

Some folks might like it straight up or, sweeter but, I was making it, for me.

A glass pitcher of water was nuked, to make the cream and, dissolve the sugar.

Once the cans are topped off, they get capped, rinsed-off and, shaken.



rag, newspapers, girly calendar, pitcher


Then, I grabbed a towel, old girly calendar and some newspapers and cleaned up the spills.

If, it ever quits raining around here, the coffee grounds will go out in the compost pile.

A bucket of water, some vinegar and mop, will be used to clean the floor.

Or, I could just repaint it, with coffee colored enamel.  Huh ?



Coffee cans in refridgerator

Twelve cans were filled with my special brewed coffee today and, they're in the fridge.

Excuse me. Eleven, are in there.  I drank one and, it was delicious.

When the wife, sees this blog post, I bet she'll be glad, I didn't try this at home !


Visit Simply Recipes if, you want to try making cold-brew coffee. I'm still experimenting.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Photo Essay: Brilliant Colors at Tanabata Festival in Okinawa

Riding around on the southern end of Okinawa, Japan today I looked out my window as Doc Graff of ISLAND PEOPLE PORTRAITS FAME was negotiating the curves and spotted these bright colored things hanging from trees.  I don't think he saw them.  So, I yelled out, "What the Frapachino was that"?  

Er, it was something along those lines to get his attention off the highway.

We made a couple of u-turns to get a closer look and some people who had just arrived and parked their cars invited us on in to take some photos. They mentioned that it was "Tanabata".

Some of my brain cells recognized the word Tanabata but, I wasn't sure what it meant.  I didn't want to crash somebody's funeral, wedding, childbirth or 50th anniversary party with my camera so, I looked the word up in my cell phone dictionary.  It's some sort of Star Festival.  Now, I remember.

Look at the decorations hanging from the trees.  There could be a thousand of them covering acres of land.

There were paper chains, cranes, stars,  gift-wrapped boxes, streamers and DVDs hanging from the trees!

This is the kind of stuff I love taking photos of even if the sun is burning the highlights out of the pictures and the wind won't let anything stand still.  I was having a blast and forgot Doc was with me, somewhere.

He had wandered up to the house of this private property we were on and met the gal who made all these decorations.  One Okinawan gal did it all by herself and she's been hanging these brilliant, handmade decorations in her yard for over twenty years.  What a sweetheart !

In Japan it's not rude to ask someone their age.  When  I asked she (ahem) was a bit senior to me.  So, when she asked my age (ahum) I lied and told her I'm 89.  That's just to seem polite.

She was a doll.  Even went in her house and brought out some huge glasses of iced coffee for Doc and I. 

I would have hugged her but, I was sweating like a pig and smelled a lot worse.

There are all sorts of versions on the history of Tanabata.  It is celebrated in China and Japan under different titles.  I won't stick my neck out and pretend to be an expert on the subject. 

I just know it has something to do with the Milky Way, stars and some guy and gal lovers who only get a chance to visit each other on the seventh day of the seventh month every year.

We chatted awhile and got all the gals at the house laughing, thanked them for everything and headed back up north.  But, the gal who made all these brilliant colored decorations for Tanabata invited us to come back again.  So, next year when I (ahem) turn 90, I think I may visit for another glass of iced coffee and shoot some more photos.

More about Tanabata may be seen at:

MUZA-CHAN'S GATE TO JAPAN

WIKIPEDIA ORG