Anticipation

Twenty-four hours from now I will be heading to the airport, bound for Inyokern, CA. I do not think I have looked forward to a break more in the thirteen consecutive semesters I've completed in the last six years. Law school is draining in a very unique way, but more on that when I have time. This is just an anticipatory post, one reminding myself that this last final, tomorrow morning, is the end of this semester. A little unreal.

Snow is blowing outside as I write a few things that I'm looking forward to over break:

1) Family!!! & Friends! I've missed everyone so, and every year, every thing I learn just builds the love that I have for them & my yearning to spend time with them.

2) Reading: one super-awesome thing about law school, is that we get actual breaks... I think this will be my first break in three years where I haven't had some sort of writing project to accomplish by the beginning of the next semester. Sure we have job apps but those pale in comparison to the amount of work a 30 page research paper or half-hour academic presentation can take. Here are the titles I'm planning on imbibing:

1. All Hallow's Eve by Charles Williams. I've started this one, over a nice break for Jury Duty in November and it is one of the best I've ever read. Without giving anything away, Williams can blend spiritual and physical reality so well, when you 'come back' to the 'real world' you're not sure it is.
2. The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrun by JRR Tolkien. As you all know, my favorite author of all time and this book is his retelling/mix of two old Norse sagas, probably my favorite era of literature. Should be blazingly awesome.
3. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. As a avid fan of Russian literature (Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Solzhenitsyn in particular), that this book has slipped by me (how?) is a crime deep and terrible. Luckily one of my lovely friends from law school Alisa has illuminated my path and even provided me a copy of her most favoritest book to glory in over break. I'm stoked, to say the least. Expect raves.
4. War in Heaven, another Charles Williams :) and an early Christmas present.

Usually I would list many more, but, attempting to be wiser every year, I figured that break being from December 22nd to January 10th, that is a manageable chunk that I can hope to tuck away.

3) Cycling & Running: I've actually been pretty good about both over the semester, until these last few weeks where all my energy was directed at my books. But it will be nice to cycle a good hundred road miles or so in the Mojave, mountain bike a few trails in the Pacific Northwest & trail run in the Sierra Nevadas, as well as the Cascades. Nothing refreshes and rejuvenates like miles flowing under my feet.

4) Coffee: I've stocked up on a few cafes I need to snuggle up w/aforementioned books and sip dry cappuccinos: http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/; http://www.victorscelticcoffee.com/; http://www.zokacoffee.com/index.php/page/Display/Default. One old favorite, two new storied locales :) looking forward to bringing beans back. Cuppings in the spring for sure.

Those are the stand out things at the moment.

What are you looking forward to my friends? Namaste

Konga Cooperative Reserve

After my last coffee post, one of my very good friends, M sent me this beautiful wheel, whereby I will be able to include more tasting detail in my coffee blog posts! Thanks M!

Today's coffee, one that I have been sipping for awhile now, Konga Cooperative Reserve produced in Ethiopia. Terroir Coffee says this about the beans:

"Konga Cooperative Reserve, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia (Fair Trade, USDA Organic)

We paid extra for this small specially prepared lot from the Fair Trade certified Konga Cooperative. The coffee is organic as well. The Konga Cooperative has 1683 farmers of which 133 are female heads of family. The average size of a farm is 1.25 acres on which coffee and various foods for the local market are grown. Yirgacheffe is amazingly lush with vegetation. The coffee is grown at over 6,000 feet in altitude. This Konga also has that lush full-bodied apricot core with exceptionally pronounced clarity and sweetness.

Yirgacheffe is one of the great aromatic coffees of the world. It is often used in the finest Italian espresso blends, such as Illy, to add a critical floral element. The scientist- quality coffee pioneer Ernesto Illy (Illy Coffee) stated at the SCAA Conference in Boston, 2003 that the coffee of this region shared an aromatic component found in Darjeeling tea and Chanel #5.

Favorite of Food & Wine Magazine, March 2006

Roast Style: Full Flavor Roast
Harvest: 2006
Altitude: over 6,000 feet
Soil: volcanic
Arabica Variety: Ethiopica"

Using my nifty wheel, I'd have to say it's nose is certainly fruity, almost to the flowery point, giving me a scent of cherries rather than apricots. The taste is a sweet-mellow-delicate, especially brewed with a Swissgold filter.

One of my very good friends, J came over for dinner last night and had a few questions about espresso makers. She is heading to Marquette in the fall for a PhD in Philosophy, looking to have good coffee on a budget (aren't we all), and driven to the point of really desiring a good espresso maker by the lunatic ravings of our mutual friend P who is currently filling the tweetosphere with mocha talk...

A noble enterprise to be sure. I pointed her to this fabulous site:http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.espresso.php which has a solid offering and even better guidance in purchasing a good machine. I use the stovetop brewer personally, primarily because my tastes still lie in the full flavor roasts, which espresso doesn't bring out well.

Enjoy!