Caffeine Writings

CAFFEINE... It's the jolt that many of us rely on to keep us going. For most writers, myself included, that caffeine addiction is coffee. (Hence the main title of this blog.)

Like most addicts, I know quite a bit about my 'drug of choice.' I've worked in several cafes over the years, including some here in Los Angeles--

I'd say that I'm fluent in 'coffee speak', yet even I cannot understand some of the words in St**buck -speak ( an odd dialect) A Tall is a small? Their caramel latte is everyone else's caramel macchiato. How many times did I have to translate peoples' orders for them so they could get our version of their mass-produced, icky, Starbucks drink. But it doesn't matter...

I don't work in coffee anymore, but I can still make a mean cappucino and pretty much any other cafe drink. The idea of a large-soy-mocha-capp-flat-with-an-extra-shot doesn't faze me. I know the optimum number of seconds for an espresso shot ( in order to get the best crema) and a bunch of other coffee knowledge that I've now deemed fairly useless.

However, since I still consume more than my share of coffee, I thought I'd take a moment to recommend some of my favorite gourmet and specialty coffee makers:

PEARS COFFEE www.pearsgourmet.com
( A locally-produced Omaha coffee brand! Luckily, they offer mail order to L.A.)
JELKS COFFEE http://www.jelks-coffee.com/
( Absolutely incredible selection of every coffee flavor you can imagine!!)
MELITTA BRAND COFFEE ( Available in most grocery stores and fairly inexpensive)

Also, thanks to the GOT MILK? Marketing people, I can pass along a great recipe for the upcoming days of summer.

COFFEE GRANITA
(Aka "Make your own gourmet iced coffee slushee!")

4 cups skim or 1% milk
2 T. instant espresso or coffee
6 T. brown sugar
Cinnamon

Directions: Stir ingredients together until coffee is dissolved. Pour into a 13x9" baking pan. Cover loosely and freeze at least 4 hours. Stir after several hours to break up large, frozen pieces. To Serve, Scrape with a spoon or ice cream scoop.
Yield: 6 cups. Makes 4 services. Per serving: 110 calories, 5 g. protein, 20% calcium.

*For more coffee flavor, I sometimes substitute filter coffee for half of the milk.