i spy: coffee talk.
i got a new coffee maker for christmas – one of those one-cup specialty makers. it didn’t work, and it seemed a bit wasteful to me. so i took it back and got one with a automatic timer, so i can awake to the smell of yummy coffee brewing. now, mind you i also a have a french press, two espresso makers and one chemex drip coffee maker. excessive, right? i’ll admit it, i like the way these old school coffee makers look – they remind me of lazy days having coffee in europe — never a bad thing.
i generally love the slow drip best, but when lucy is hankering for the dog park early in the morning, i need instantaneous coffee. yes, i do. thus, the coffee maker with auto-timer. how do you like your coffee? or, do you prefer tea? i thought I’d round up some photos of our almost-obsessive coffee rituals.
my many coffee makers, as seen by girlhula.
i just got a french press for christmas (that same one from bodum) but i have yet to use it! i’m excited though! i hear that freshly roasted beans are best – and then to grind them yourself right before you use them. would you recommend that? it seems like it could get a bit expensive – only buying fresh and then you’d have to buy your own grinder instead of using the one at the grocery store.
love these pictures, by the way. especially the one that looks like a chemical laboratory!!
I’m a new reader of your blog & it’s so inspiring! I lived a year in San francisco and keep a special place in my heart for that lovely city. Just wanted to tell you that your blog makes me so happy!
As I manage a coffee shop, I have collected a small array of coffee makers! I LOVE my Kontessa for making stove-top espresso on the weekends, I love my drip coffee maker for those weekday mornings, I love my French press for camping and for weekend coffee, and I love my Melitta filters for those afternoons at work when I need coffee and don’t want to pay for it!
I really, really, really want a La Pavoni Europiccola but they’re, well, a little expensive. But SOMEDAY!!
http://www.amazon.com/Pavoni-EPC-8-Europiccola-Espresso-Machine/dp/B00004S9G8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1294928847&sr=8-1
wow this post hit all the sweet spots for me. i am getting a bit ridiculous in my own coffee collection as well. i’ve got a siphon pot, french press, and a chemex and v60 are on their way to me right now. i do love the siphon pot but clean-up is a bitch. :P
loove this collection of pictures you curated here. it turns out i’ve favorited/bookmarked a bunch of them in the past already hahaha.
My coffee time is my favourite time of the day ,especially when I am off work.Early in the morning I sip it in front of the computer when checking on your inspiring blog and the other favourite ones.
there’s nothing better than waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee – it just about entices me to leave my warm bed and get up haha! great post :) xxZ
Haha I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone having so many coffee makers! LOVE it!
I purchased a bialetti espresso maker this Christmas and I love. love. love it! I really enjoy the quiet ritual of brewing a cup on the stove each morning. Beautiful pictures; now I’m dying for another cup!
this just made my day. darn, now i gotta go get another cup!
happy new year, and hope all is well! can’t wait to browse a bit more w/ my big mug!
-kelley
I guess I’m in a different camp, as I love the smell of coffee but don’t drink it really! I’m a tea girl – I make a travel mug of green tea every single morning, add a bit of honey, and drink it once I get to work. Makes the morning e-mail routine so much more bearable.
i love coffee art! I love coffee in the am and in the late afternoon. I use an aeropress, chemex, or bialetti. I would love to have a real espresso machine at home like the La Pavoni or an Astoria.
Love coffee and all the ways to make it. The lovely stove top espresso maker I bought in Rome when I was a student there, is my favorite. I love my French press, too. I’m especially happy with my stove top milk steamer—they are so hard to find. But…alas, I’ve been making my coffee in an automatic drip “machine” that has a programmer on it so I can wake up to the aroma!”
what great timing. I was just deep in conversation with some co workers about different types of coffee preparation. One of them shared a link to a super cute Japanese company HARIO {http://shop.roustaboutproducts.com/}. I especially love the science lab looking contraptions! That being said I’m a french press kind of girl.
What charming ways to get your caffeine fix! I love the look and concept of the chemex!
lovely photographs. I love the look of all of the single serve style coffee makers and have always loved an occasional cappuccino or latte – but have always been and always will be a firm believer in the power of chai tea… it’s sooo delicious!
I love my french press and stovetop espresso maker, but I’ve been wanting a slow drip one, too. I’ve used them at friends houses and think they are lovely. So, no, I don’t think you have an excessive amount of coffee makers :) Each brings different nuances to the experience.
There can never be enough coffee makers or implements for coffee making.
Thank you for including mine.
I love my French press. We also have an espresso machine, and I admit to hankering for a chemex and one of those stove top espresso makers. Totally excessive! Especially since my husband is not a big coffee drinker :)
Hey V! I’m a french press girl myself. Been thinking about getting one of these softbrews (http://www.dearcoffeeiloveyou.com/dcily-the-sowden-softbrew/) and one of these (http://www.dearcoffeeiloveyou.com/pourover-meets-woodshop/). Do you read dearcoffeeiloveyou.com? It’s amazing for coffee lovers!
This is superb, just like a good cup of coffee!! I love all the pics of vintage coffee makers. I’m on the lookout for a French Press….
I’m a huge fan of french press, but totally would love a proper espresso machine. Of course too it’s all about the coffee and there’s some great coffee up in the Bay Area.
My fave coffee photo – http://www.flickr.com/photos/47446040@N00/1837572336/in/set-72157603772953105/
This came at such great timing! We are currently looking to replace our clunky, obtrusive coffee maker with a lighter option both in size and visual appeal. The Chemex is stunning!
We’re tea-obsessed over here + of course there is a ritual to go with.
We have a vintage cupboard I have coined a “tea bar”-3 shelves of teas and the accompanying accoutrements that go with…tea pots, trivets, tea balls, tea strainers, sugars, etc
And everyone who visits knows their way around the “bar” and how to make their own cuppa. It’s actually become a bit of a social spot in our home.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10351446@N06/4349150802/
A few years back my aunt in Japan gave me a jar of a Japanese brand instant coffee–it is remarkably good and rich for an instant. I’d rather use my french press but on weekdays I’m usually in a hurry so the instant does very well as a fallback. Luckily a few of the Japanese grocery stores in my town started stocking the coffee so I am happy!
We have rediscovered the percolator. Last year I picked up a chrome one at a thrift shop and have never turned back. Once my family tasted it they began putting orders in for their own retro beauties. I now have one in both of our homes and have supplied our entire family too. I ‘load’ it up at night before bed and in the morning plug it in.
see – we like our coffee, don’t we!? in so many ways!
andrea – i do like to grind my beans right before i use the french press, but don’t always do it – unless i have some really good beans i want to savor. like ones from ritual coffee. i love their beans.
thanks for sharing all these other coffee links! can’t wait to check them out.
love that laboratory coffee shot!
This is my first comment here–I’m new to the blog and love it madly. I can’t believe it took me this long to add you to my daily blog rounds, but I’m glad I found you.
Now back to the task at hand: I have a small dog, so a lap around the block does the trick for his morning walk. Before we leave, I grind my beans and start my programmable coffee maker (which I never program–go figure). By the time we get back, Nigel Barker is ready for lounging in the sun while playing with one of his knit toys, and my coffee is ready for the pouring. As I’m reading blogs, sipping my coffee and watching my little furry guy stretch out in the sun like a kitty for the inevitable nap to follow, it’s my “everything is right in my little corner of the world” moment of the day. I never miss it.
wow, what is that book? i love old books and diaries… what is that?
elizabeth – welcome!! :)
theresa – it’s just someone’s journal or notebook that they photographed, i believe. :)
I am all about the stove top espresso make. I tried tried the timed traditional coffee maker but it just didn’t taste the same. Also, there is something really great about having a morning routine that slowly eases you into the day.
Simple coffee. Slow drip through my old red filtropa cone, into a tea pot. Very dark roast. Usually black. Drink pronto!
When camping in the redwoods, we use a french press and a manual coffee foamer, and have cafe au lait while our fingers thaw.
I love that photo of the little dog perched on his little stool/pillow! Ha! – he looks like he needs his morning coffee too. That photo made my day – thanks!
I just came back from a visit to Marin and San Francisco. I so glad to have just been made aware of your blog. I am a Brooklynite about to lose my local coffee shop. While I was in SF my friend made me coffee in the morning, loved that he asked me how I wanted it made, he had so many options in his kitchen. Your towns love affair with coffee makes me want to move west!!! For the time being I will have to figure out if my home brewed is just French press or if I need to expand my options. Thanks!
This post is awesome.
great photos! coffee yummm
such a great post idea!
coffee is a huge part of european life, and coming from an italian family it’s just a part of my day. 3pm is coffee time- usually espresso, but i prefer what we call a “canadian coffee” (which really is just your regular drip coffee). i like to use my espresso coffee in my drip coffee maker; it’s delicious.
great photos!
What a delicious post. I got a Keurig for Christmas last year. I like it for the most part and generally only use it in the afternoon when I’m too lazy to fire up the stove for the french press. I am very happy that we bought the reusable K-cup, it allows for a stronger cup of coffee and eases my green guilt a bit. Bought it at Target. We use our french press in the morning and we have a vintage Silex vacuum pot. We had two but gave one to a friend of ours. We also have a FrancisFrancis! espresso machine (refurbished) as well as a vintage Manning Bownam percolator.
Also, eyeing this so hard right now http://www.cooksnook.com/vacuum-coffee.html.
The coffee cups in these pictures are so charming!
Love this post! The beautiful and intricate “equipment” we use to make our jo elevates the fun factor of caffeinating. We went to Ma’velous on Market/10th recently and fell in love with the place because of all of their equipment – 6 different methods of brewing; am hooked on the siphon!
I seriously go to bed some nights thinking (fantasizing)about my morning coffee. sounds pathetic, but oh so true.
I will be following this one! thank you for the inspiration.
i’ve got two french presses — one 12 oz, one 36 oz. i had an automatic 12 cup but didn’t use it for 3 years so i donated it. it tastes so much better to me without the paper filter, no?
I’m a tea girl and the last year all I’ve been drinking is tea from Palais des Thes
http://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/
They have the most amazing teas in all sorts of flavours. I’m never going back to Lipton! You don’t get their shops in the states, but it looks like you can order from their web site. I recommend Fleur de Geisha
I can almost smell the fresh morning coffee!
oh I do love coffee!
thank you for the inspiration…I’m going to refill my mug now ;)
My favorite subject … caffeine! Anyone who comes to San Francisco has to try http://www.ritualroasters.com/ The best coffee out there … I swear by it! We’re so lucky here in SF, I agree! But for that good spot of tea, I break down and order my Whittard Original from Whittard Coffee and Tea in London http://www.whittard.co.uk/. Or for those really decadent moments, our latest discovery in Paris, Dammann Tea, heaven! http://www.boutique-dammann.fr/en/