Mercury in Retrograde coffee
There are a few different location where I’ve found this stuff. Varies. Varies from location to location.
Mercury in Retrograde coffee
Look: when I first arrived in San Antonio, there was no third-wave coffee. It was either Starbucks or convenience store crap. According to some who are better than me, the difference between the two are negligible. I am — I have become — a simple Starbucks person. I like an Americano, or straight up iced espresso, their styles. I tend to shy away from fruity, blended drinks, and I tend to steer clear of the mostly milk drinks. I like coffee, though, and I’ve gotten to a place where plain, strong coffee serves me best.
I was thrilled when I was in a tonier neighborhood, and their Starbucks had this offering of specialty-roasted, hand-picked, single-source, dime-bags of coffee beans. Artisanal. Artful.
There was a little note clipped to each tiny bag with a short explanation as to the source, the flavors, the notes to look for, and what it meant. Truly third or even fourth wave coffee, at least in presentation.
The packaging and marketing is excellent.
The coffee itself?
Mercury in Retrograde coffee
While I am no great connoisseur of coffee, I know what I like, and I know what I can taste. The difference between the expensive, artisanal bags, and the regular roast that is twice as much coffee for the same price? No difference.
To me, the stronger, darker roasts, actually cheaper, taste better. That might be me, I’m willing to concede.
But the expensive crap, while it looks great? I have a comparison point, and the attempt by the Starbucks doesn’t hold up.
Occasionally, my sister sends me some little bags of expensive coffee from a local roaster someplace close to her in Northern Cal. What I’ve noticed, every time I open the sealed bag of beans, usually an 8 or 12 ounce bag? The aroma of the beans fills the kitchen. The smell, the roasting, the art of preparation is that pervasive.
Lately this has been Red Whale Coffee.
That’s the good stuff.
Mercury in Retrograde coffee
It’s not really an expensive mistake, but one I’ve made more than once, and this popped up with the current Mercury in Retrograde situations.
Heading out to meet friends, drink coffee, and get the day off to a better start with camaraderie, coffee, and conversation?
I have to remind myself, despite having the points on the stupid little Starbucks card, not get the expensive, artfully packaged, dressed up coffee beans. I’ve been let down, every time. No, they’re not bad, but the cost-to-performance ratio doesn’t add up.
Maybe I don’t have that refined of a palate. Maybe I don’t understand the subtle nuanced nose of single-origin, individually batch-roasted beans. Or maybe, since I’ve experienced the good stuff from CA? Maybe a dependable bag of Starbucks Italian Roast is good enough.
Mercury in Retrograde coffee is best in bulk, not rarefied.
the Portable Mercury Retrograde
