Perfect Cup 'O Coffee- Pictorial Tutorial

My love affair with coffee started when I was young. I think my first cup was around 12 years old. My dad made it for me the way his mother made it for him, which was this: lots of sugar, lots of milk and a little bit of coffee. This love led me through various jobs working in coffee houses, preferably the mom and pop places, intensifying and justifying my love for this most intoxicating bean.

Like so many foods and drinks, coffee for me equals memories. Its comfort. Its the quiet times in the house before I am pounded with the demands of the day; vivid memories of brewing coffee for my coffee house regulars and chatting with my parents at the kitchen table of my childhood home. All things I hold dear. I love talking with my husband in the mornings on weekends, as we sleepily sip our cups of dark, rich brew. Some of our best talks are over coffee.

My grandma was Neapolitan. If you  have ever had Neapolitan coffee you know this: it's very strong, very sweet and served in a small amount so one may drink it quickly, hence the name espresso. Traditionally they don't bother with the milk. But I like milk in my coffee.

What I want to do for you today is not give you a recipe, but a visual journey of the art of making the perfect (in my opinion) cup of coffee. When Anna, my grandmother's best friend's daughter (I know), showed me how to make it, it was, like most delicious things, done by "eye-balling" it. There are no measurements and honestly, it took me months to get the ratio just right to where it wouldn't spit and spray from the part where the top attaches to the bottom. It was always because I put way too much coffee.

I'm using the coffee pot I bought right there on the streets of Naples, some 13 years ago. I used a dark rich coffee (french roast or espresso roast works well), water, sugar and milk. That's it. I did heat the milk before I added it, until it was just bubbling. So, enjoy. I know I did.

P.S. What's with my glasses? I look like I'm the head of a family...fuh-getta-bout-it! Oh, and my cup- you're probably wondering what that is with the words "I wish I hadn't cried so much"- it's an Alice in Wonderland cup. I love and collect all things Alice in Wonderland. This cup I bought in Carmel, California in the most wondrous Alice in Wonderland shop, called the White Rabbit. Click here to see the site.