Friday, July 2, 2010

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.

11 comments:

  1. Loved it! Great tutorial, makes me love coffee even more:)

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  2. Refilling my cup now and am a little disappointed knowing it's not near as good as your coffee.

    Great pics - love that cup.

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  3. I love coffee. A good cup of coffee makes my day. Great pics.

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  4. I love a good cup of french roast coffee every morning. Drinking coffee early in the morning is the best part of my day! Your photo's are beautiful and capture the simple art of your love of coffee. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. What a great post! Some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around coffee, from the smell of the huge mugs of the stuff that my mom would drink every morning to the coffee milk that I always got to have whenever we visited my grandparents in Louisiana. I can't wait to give this method a try!

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  6. I adore coffee...this is a great post!

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  7. great post... I too love a great cup of coffee and I couldn't agree more with your method! :) The Alice in Wonderland mug is adorable and adds to the charm of your post.

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  8. Isn't it amazing how coffee stirs the senses and memories? I love that. Thank you, to all of you, for your sweet comments. Coffee brings people together, Yay!

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  9. I'm on my way to the coffee shop... right now... Thanks for the pictures. They're beautiful.

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  10. we only got to spend a couple of days in Naples but the coffee was incredible!!
    thanks for sharing the story and showing us how to properly make coffee!

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  11. my grandma is from naples too - what the??? are we sisters????

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