Coffee Thread

Back in 1989 I went down to New Orleans with some friends. One friend of mine had a buddy who lived in New Orleans. His buddy had been waiter up in Ohio, and he had started working on River boats as a waiter, travelling up and down the Inland water ways, and eventually he vibed with NO and made his home there.

He wound up being the mai^tre d at one of the best restaurants in town at the time...The Commanders Palace. As such, he was a little bit of a puff and snob. In the morning, when he made the coffee, he insisted that he had to 'hand-grind' the beans. No grinding machine for him.

I never thought much about it before that.

But of course, after that came Starbucks (exactly designed for his type of hipster mentality). So, when I was a traveling businessman fifteen years later in the software industry, I often started the morning meeting at a Starbucks or a local coffee shop in different towns, and I became more and more aware of the difference in coffee beans around the world. My travels took me as far as Brazil, where the Brazilians are very proud of their beans.

Luckily today, as a consumer in the world's greatest consumer society, I have a wide range of coffee options. I enjoy Seattle's Best 8th Avenue blend. I am a big fan of Sumatran Coffee. I don't mind the slightly more aggressive Kenyan or Guatemalan bean with their bitter edginess.

If you are a true connoisseur of java, please share your opinions, I'm always looking for a new blend to try.