Coffee time

I don't know about you, but I haven't been sleeping that well recently, which makes my morning cup of Joe that much more necessary.  For the rest of you coffee dependent folks out there, just a reminder that my favorite coffee place, Porto Rico Importers in NYC is having one of their two big annual sales starting October 22nd.  The sale continues until October 31st and provides the perfect opportunity  for stocking up on high quality beans at a ridiculously fair price. I haven't received my sale promotion postcard in the mail yet, but during Peter's Birthday Sale prices range from $4.99 to 7.99 a pound for beautiful, intact beans roasted to a gorgeous hue of deliciousness.  My morning blend is generally 3 parts dark roast to 1 part flavored for a subtle taste bud stimulation and my favorite flavored beans (for those of you already considering what to get me for Christmas) are the French-Cinnamon Orange and French-Cinnamon.  And despite critical consideration, I do  prefer to start my mug with a generous glug of half -n- half.  Life is short and I refuse to count calories before 7 a.m.  Don't you tea drinkers feel left out either - there is a comprehensive tea selection in addition to the plethora of coffee beans available, as well as filters, coffee makers and other gadgets.  Mark your calendars and mail order yourself some morning (perhaps afternoon and evening, too - who am I to judge?) pleasure.

Brew

So, a couple of weeks ago our coffee maker died.  It was a Cuisinart and it had served us reasonably well for 5 or 6 years.  I say reasonably well, because Tom was less than impressed by the temperature of the coffee produced and I had experienced a few too many times its tendency for the grinds to clog up the works and overflow onto the counter.  Not exactly what I want to deal with before even having a cup of coffee.  I think this may have been the first time we outlived a coffee maker - prior to owning our most recent machine which had an insulated carafe, we've always had glass carafes which shatter with minimal effort leaving the interesting dilemma to either buy a new carafe for $15 or simply replace the entire coffee maker for $25.

Anyway - after the coffee maker crapped out, we pulled out our wedding gift French press (thanks again, Rachel!) and you know, that French press makes some damn fine coffee - creamy, rich and delicious.  However, we just don't find the French press practical for daily use on a long term basis.  Maybe it is the capacity (4 cups) or the lack of a warming capability, but for some reason we never consider the FP to be our permanent coffee making method, so, it was off to Macy's.  And Target.  And Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I could have purchased the identical coffee maker we were replacing (and maybe I did only to bring it home and refuse to take it out of the box because I really wanted something new and had only succumbed to the pushy, less-than-helpful salesclerk at the "good" Macy's) but felt like I wanted something more - an improvement, shall we say?  At this point, we left for our Euro-adventures, where, incidentally, we made our morning cups in an endless cycle of fill, heat, empty, repeat using a true old school espresso maker, and the coffee maker hunt was put on hold until our return. 

Our criteria was pretty tight - thermal carafe, stainless, minimum 10 cup capacity, well rated.  After way too much searching, we selected a brand we had never heard of - Zojirushi, since it seemed to meet all of our needs.  Our new coffee maker should be delivered tomorrow and we plan to christen it Saturday morning. I'm optimistic that we will be pleased with its performance, but must admit, I will miss the lovely mug of deliciousness from our reliable, low tech French press.  How do you brew?

Porto Rico Importing Company

So, where do you get your caffeine fix? Do you brew at home? Perhaps even grind your beans each morning? And, where are you getting your beans? For more than 15 years we've been getting our beans, Bleeker Street fresh, from Porto Rico Importing Co.

I originally stumbled (probably literally) upon this place when I lived in Chelsea. Now, this was a long time ago - B.S., as in Before Starbucks, but I guess we were still a little late to the game because in the back of my 1966 edition of the New York Times Cookbook, Porto Rico was listed as a recommended purveyor. They've actually been in business for more than 100 years!

I was probably initially enticed by the incredible, rich aroma of roasting beans, but I must say, what has kept us going back is the terrific value Porto Rico offers to coffee (and tea) lovers far and near. You know I am all about the local and independent business, but this is one of those occasions when I can't afford to not go with mail order, because their coffee really is that good and the price can't be beat. A couple of weeks ago we received 9 lbs of coffee, as well as a box of unbleached coffee filters, delivered via UPS, for less than $75! Unfortunately, I've never had local coffee that compares in quality and value, although I'm certainly open to your suggestions.

A couple of things to know when ordering - there is always a weekly sale but the time to really stock up (if you have freezer room) is during one of their two BIG sales in either April or October. During these sales the volume of their business generally slows down the delivery schedule - it may take a week or more to receive your order. They also sell tea, coffee machines and some funky candy, including espresso bean confections. If you have a chance to visit the store there are some cool French presses, assorted creamers, and teapots also available. If it is your first time to the store and it seems familiar, perhaps you're recognizing it as one of the locations used to film one of those Healthy New York television commercial a number of years ago. There are four locations in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn, for you hipsters. Check it out - let me know what you think.