I love coffee. There was a (brief) time in my life when I thought I could give it up. What’s the point? It’s comforting, delicious and gets you going when you need a burst in the morning. Being from Massachussetts, I was practically raised on Dunkin’ Donuts. It wasn’t until later that I was introduced to espresso & lattes, etc. After graduating college, I moved with my girlfriend (now wife of 10 years) to Seattle, WA. She had already had 5 years experience as a barista, so when we got there, she took a job with Seattle’s Best Coffee (before they were bought out by the Evil Empire). Between hanging out at Elliott Bay Books and the SBC at Westlake Center, I soon became a true coffee fanatic.
Jump ahead a decade. Now living in Md, it seems that there is a bit of a developing coffee scene in the Baltimore area. We have the newly opened Lamill Coffee at The Four Seasons Hotel, which also features great pastries from chef Chris Ford. We also have the upcoming Artifact Coffee, which evolved into the great coffee program at Woodberry Kitchen, and is now returning as another seperate entity.
I was recently turned on to Southern Skies Coffee Roasters. Boy, is this stuff good. If you’re a coffee drinker, I suggest you try some. http://www.southernskiescoffee.com/
Sometimes I feel lazy and use the drip machine, but most of the time I use the French Press. If you’re unfamiliar, here is some great info on how to use one http://coffeegeek.com/guides/presspot
Here’s some advice on making iced coffee from the Southern Skies Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Southern-Skies-Coffee-Roasters/305460085471
“Here’s the scoop on cold brewed coffee. This will make the BEST iced coffee. Seriously. You take a pound of ground coffee and add 72 ounces of water. Stir and put it in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. In the meantime, make some simple syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water). After 12 hours, strain the coffee and what you are left with is coffee concentrate, AKA liquid gold. Add 2 parts milk or water (or a combination) to 1 part coffee concentrate and sweeten with simple syrup. THE BEST ICED COFFEE EVER.”