Tag: #Bluebottlecoffee

In An Instant

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As I mentioned in a previous post, my daughter met up with a friend she doesn’t get to see very often. They met on the college campus last year, and the friend moved away to attend another campus. The best thing to come out of college, in my opinion, has been meeting this friend.

They stayed out late shooting pool, so her friend came home with her and crashed here. The following morning, her friend woke up and walked through the house looking for coffee. There’s no automatic brew here my love.

But I can make you a cup of coffee that’s memorable. I stood with her at the coffee bar and went through the choices. Chemex, a vessel of coffee, the French press, or a pour over. She was intrigued by the pour over and asked, “What’s a pour over?” This made my heart sing.

Bluebottle Coffee Dripper

I have a confession to make. I’d become really slack recently about taking the time to make a Chemex, or pour over for myself in the morning. I’d walk by the coffee bar, over to the tea cart and turn on the electric kettle for a cup of instant coffee. Within minutes I was sipping on a cup of rehydrated beans, sort of, and not enjoying it.

That’s just not me. I don’t do anything in an instant.

This morning I stood at the coffee bar, remembering the fascination of the friend and treated myself in the same manner as I treated her. “What’s your pleasure Barb?”

The Chemex is what I made for myself.

Photo by Purple Smith on Pexels.com

I remember the friend sitting at our kitchen table sipping the cup of coffee made by hand. The look on her face after each sip was like she had never experienced coffee like that before. I told her, “That will get you going”, and she responded with excitement, “What are we doing today?!”

Yesterday my daughter told me something her friend said about that morning at our table. She said, “Sunday morning was one the most beautiful morning’s I’ve ever had.” Those words were music to my ears and yet it also confirmed:

Beautiful moments aren’t made in an instant.

Rise to It

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Bella Donovan Hero. The name of the coffee in the featured photo. The photo has been on my desktop for a month as something to aspire to.

The man I work with lives in California. He usually sends an email while I sleep, outlining the day’s assignments. It’s customary to wake up and view the email to help plan my day, but Tuesday morning, there was no new email. I took it as a sign.

Take a day Barb. Just take a day.

And I did. How freeing to let a Tuesday unfold all on it’s own. Recently, I was reminded that before we even get out of bed, God already has our day planned. We can watch for treasures hidden throughout the day, but to do that, I needed to slow the pace.

My morning coffee was treated as an event. I broke open the seal of the box containing two glass cups along with bamboo coasters, purchased a week ago. Swiping this photo from the Bluebottle website, I noticed they are now unavailable.

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Cafe Cup & Saucer for Two

They arrived over the weekend in a box that looked like an over sized jewelry box. I slid open the lid to take a peek. What I saw made me a little bit nervous. The cups looked so delicate, compared to the ceramic mugs we normally use.

The photo inspired me to drink coffee from something delicate, instead of durable.

They looked safe in the box, or I guess you could put them on display, but we don’t display items. Everything is to be used, and enjoyed in this house, but looking at these cups you could tell. They were designed to be a moment, even on a Tuesday.

Life is an occasion. We are designed to rise to it.

Keep Washing Mugs

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It feels like I’ve been washing coffee mugs all week. Walking through the house, making my way to the kitchen and picking them up on the way there. I’m not complaining my darling.

It’s actually a blessing. Used coffee mugs equal out to really good coffee consumed, and magical moments. When the tray that holds our mugs is empty, I see it as a good week!

empty
Empty mug tray.

The tray for the mugs is a cake stand.

I fell in love with it at first glance. Knowing it was a cake stand made it an even sweeter purchase, (‘cuz you know how I feel about cake), but I envisioned it holding our mugs on the coffee bar. When it’s empty, it’s a beautiful reminder of what it holds.

This meme has been on my mind.

becomemoreaware

I was given a subscription to Blue Bottle Coffee for Mother’s Day. Micheal, over at Kuched, reminded me a while back of the French Press. Mine had seen better days, so I ordered a new one for Mother’s Day. The color I wanted was out of stock, but I believe it’s worth the wait. It’ll be here tomorrow.

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Caribbean Blue by Le Creuset

Life doesn’t gets much better than mugs full of Blue Bottle coffee. Walking through the house picking them up to wash, was like gathering up moments. Becoming more aware my darlings of what’s truly worth your one, short, important life.

I’ll keep washing mugs.

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Pretty is Important

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It was time to order coffee. I love Bluebottle coffee and their Hario Cold Brew Bottle.

I asked my daughter to choose what kind. She sat down in front of the computer and looked at the website. Walking into the kitchen I said, “Pick one out and put it in the cart. I’ll handle the rest.” Then she snagged me with…

“I wish everything in life was that easy.”

She’s had a rough couple of weeks.

inside

This weekend, I spent some time being mindful of what might make her life a little bit better. Earlier this week, we had started a puzzle on the coffee table thinking it would help, but it was really challenging. Puzzle is gone.

She loves my bedroom makeover I wrote about in Under the Bed. Especially the faux fur body pillow case I bought at Target. There was a white faux fur one I thought she’d like, but didn’t get.

I must really love that girl go to Target on a Saturday afternoon for a pillow case.

A couple of weeks have passed since purchasing mine and they had added more choices. Having so many choices makes deciding difficult, but follow your heart darling! I didn’t choose the white one. A pale pink, faux fur one spoke to me today.

While at Target I looked for something to put our cotton balls in. We have this ginormous bag of cotton balls and it’s a wrestling match with the bag to get one little ball out. This looks like something that can hold a lot of balls!

boxforballs

A woman was walking in Target as I was walking out. Her t-shirt said, “Tough as a Mother.” I smiled and thought, “Truth.”

My daughter loves that I cross stitch.

She saw a pattern on Etsy that made her smile, so I downloaded it. She knew I needed light avocado green thread to get the cross stitch started, but didn’t know the rest of the colors. While out running errands, she stopped at the craft store and came home with that one color.

After the week she had, I know what it took for her to walk in and find that one. I went this morning and bought the rest of the thread.

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But my most favorite find was this. I’ve never really thought about my toilet brush, or the holder. I’m sure the one we have now is a cheap plastic one we’ve probably had for years. That’s disgusting now that I think of it.

unicornbrush

It’s a Unicorn! I sent her this picture with the message, “They may not lick our windows, but they will clean our toilet!” She said, “Bahaha….Is that a toilet cleaner brush???” I’m happy at 20 years young, she knows what one is!

I’m grateful that our life is pretty all the way down to the toilet bowl brush. We live simply, but every little thing we have is pretty. Especially our hearts for one another. Pretty is important.

To Be Inspired

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To get in the habit of writing again. Taking time off becomes easier, and soon, you find yourself not writing. In speaking with a friend this morning she said, “Write about coffee!”

My daughter returned from Boston with a brown bag of goodness. Out of all the things she could have brought, she knows my heart. It was a bag of Blue Bottle coffee beans.

The way I view coffee has evolved over time. What used to be my morning ‘wake me up’, is now a magical moment.

chemex
The coffee bloom and a Chemex.

My relationship with coffee became quite serious this year.

When you purchase whole bean, check the bottom of the bag. It should have a roasted date stamped on it. Beans stay fresh for two weeks before they start losing their freshness. Only grind the amount you are going to use.

I used to made my coffee at night, and set the machine to brew automatically for the next morning. Stumbling out of bed, after the beep was the start of my day. I didn’t realize what the machine was doing for me is actually a magical moment. Moments aren’t timed or automatic.

Moments are deliberately made in the present moment.

I placed the coffee maker on a shelf to give away, and pulled out a french press. That is how I made my coffee each morning, but eventually I knew there was more to learn. My daughter taught me the magic of a pour over. It took time to get it just right, but what a challenge to learn!

When my daughter brought home Blue Bottle, I graduated to the Chemex. This has been the most challenging, yet rewarding of all! I don’t have it mastered, but I keep trying.

chemex-at-home
The Chemex.

My daughter has the Chemex down to a science, and an amazing cup of coffee is a science. A Burr type grinder crushes each bean, instead of emulsifying them with a blade, so they are uniform. You can weigh the grinds, (my daughter would), but I don’t go that far. Even after using a French Press, Blue Bottle taught me how to improve. To time the steep for 4 minutes, and no more. Then press the brew, and how much resistance the press should have.

In the heat of the summer, cold brew is refreshing in the afternoon, so today I ordered a bottle to make it myself.

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Hario Cold Brew Bottle by Blue Bottle.

There is always something to improve upon. I went from having ‘just coffee’, to altering my morning routine for this moment.

My friend asked me this morning, “What inspires you?” Well my friend, you do, along with a really good cup of coffee.