I do love beverages. Even in college when I would sit to study, I would surround myself with beverage options. I would always have a water and a hot tea or coffee. Perhaps a hot chocolate or apple cider. In those good ole days I would make my own latte at home when diving out the door to the next class. And it wasn’t just any latte; it was the size of a Big Gulp. It was a 32 ounce bow to the coffee centered city I come from, a Seattle icon traveling in my mitts to yet another university lecture.

I thought they were the rage; if I made one of those today I would probably hurl. Or close. In equally coffee-snobby fashion my taste buds are all grown up. Now I scoot past the mega-coffee shops and seek out the boutique, specialty coffee. I no longer drink drip, it is all about Americano’s and French Press. In fact, one of my favorite Christmas presents from a few years back was—I kid you not—a French press insert for my Nalgene bottle (a water bottle and coffee press insert sold by REI; check here if you too find this jaw-dropping awesome).

I don’t buy normal coffee, I travel across town to buy my snobby, fair trade, hard-to-find blends. No doubt the escalation and evolution of my coffee appetite will lead me to import my beans one day.

And with a nod to the environment, I try to use grounds in my garden and make sure to use every last drop of specially made, snobbishly appreciated coffee. So when I have had my morning cup and the karafe has some still-hot coffee at the ready, I pour it into a container with my personalized amount of raw sugar, give it a stir and toss it in the refrigerator. Hours later, when one is at a desk studying or working or whatever it is I do, I will inevitably crave a beverage companion. So I grab the coffee, add a touch of half and half and pour it over ice: fabulously French-and-Seattle iced coffee.

Just remember proportions if you decide to make this: 3/4 coffee (with the sugar already melted in), 1/4 half and half and serve in a glass—or jar—laden with ice.

Current coffee snob faves: FUEL coffee, Cafe Vita, Zoka.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 10:20 pm and is filed under drinks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.