A week without new coffee

I just realized that this is the first week of 2012 during which I didn’t receive any new coffees! Well, unless you count single-serve. A shipment of Fratello coffee pods from the Coffee Artisan did arrive Monday, and a box of Brooklyn Bean aftermarket k-cups I won in a Facebook contest showed up today, but my usual Sun. night/Mon. morning order for whole bean didn’t get placed for a variety of reasons*, which meant that my usual Weds./Thurs. delivery never occurred. I’m sure the mailman was scratching his head! At the very least he must noticed a little more spring in his step than usual.

You won’t see me shedding any tears though. My PT’s B-Ville House Drip (loving it!) is only into week 2 of its post-roast existence, and there are a few other half-bags of light-roasted African coffee staggered behind it—Ceremony’s Ethiopia Kochere entering week 3 and Kuma’s Burundi Gacokwe approaching 4 weeks—to keep me entertained as they age.

Frankly, as far as coffee is concerned, I’m feeling spoiled. I truly don't need any new brewing apparati or gear whatsoever. If anything, I’ve got too many options for making coffee at my fingertips. It might be time to thin the herd somewhat, get back to basics. The problem is that I’m a curious person by nature, someone who takes pleasure in experimenting with the latest toys, despite the fact that there are always discoveries to be made with older ones already on hand.

To resolve this tension, and with the goal of more fully appreciating what I have, I’m considering imposing a personal moratorium on gear-related purchases. Of course, almost ironically, in order to work toward that greater appreciation I’d require more coffee. After all, the Aeropress is not enough of an objet d’art to enjoy simply by gazing upon it. Same goes for my other brew methods—even the Dracula-esque Eva Solo! These beasts need to be fed.

Thus, my brief whole-bean coffee drought will soon come to an unceremonious end. Order placed. To all of the USPS employees who will shortly sort and handle the 5 separate packages heading my way, I offer humble gratitude and, perhaps, a heady whiff of degassing beans.

*For example, my ROASTe Prime had expired, and I couldn’t figure out how to renew. Scott helped me find a work-around while he looks into what’s going on.