Coffee and Fridays

On By Rhys FordIn Bloggy Stuff

My life is falling apart. Mostly because it’s GayRomLit and this time, it’s in my home city, San Diego.

San Diego has a lot to offer. I chose to stay in this city because the weather’s nice, it’s central enough for me to fly anywhere I need to without too much craziness and a large enough Asian population that I can find the foods I am used to.

Home base should always centre around comfort. And for me, coffee. Sadly San Diego is lacking in coffee plantations but if you like micro-breweries, we’re the place to be.

You grow up in Hawai’i and in or near sugar plantation families and you’re gonna have a lot of coffee in your life. There are varying degrees of coffee love. Some people are merely sippers, those who have a cup a day while others will down a pot by themselves. I make no judgement. Okay I judge silently but you know, you gotta. *grins*

One of my favourite coffees is Pumehana’s Hawaiian coffee. (http://pumehanacoffee.com/).

monday8Now, I’m going to sound like a pretentious snob. I will admit it. I’m pretty picky about saying THIS coffee is great or that one is bad. I like Starbucks espresso but not so much most of their drip coffees. I prefer a medium to dark roast but not one that smells of skunkweed… I’m looking at you French Roast. I want the coffee to be smooth, a little caramel and cocoa with a bit of a sweet note in it.

Pumehana delivers that. It’s a small, single-source plantation run by a local family whose farm is below Mauna Loa. As coffees go, you honestly can’t get better than this. They’re also pretty cheap… surprisingly so considering the region but then Kona coffee while good isn’t as great as a single source Hawaiian coffee.

Because Kona coffee usually is a blend of a bunch of plantations’ yield.

Now I like a variety of Konas. They’re not bad. Just not as smooth or nice.

There are some mass production coffees I like. Peet’s Major Dickason’s is lovely. Good solid every day brew. There are even instant Vietnamese coffees—3-2-1s—that are great. Vinacafe is probably my favourite of those.

So yeah, coffee. It is like a lifeblood.

Here’s a question for the day… favourite coffee or tea? Share your faves!

56 thoughts on “Coffee and Fridays”

  1. colette

    See you got me hooked on the instant Vietnamese Coffee, I can’t go a day without at least 1 mug. I order it in multiples from eFoodDepot.com and carry the sachets everywhere. I also love chai tea and ginger tea, but coffee is my main drug.

  2. Patricia

    I guess it’s the strong brew at my French auntie’s home, in Draguignan, France. It was served in a little clear glass tumbler. We sat outside of her ancient stone home in the sunshine overlooking the vineyard. The coffee was dark and thick, and unlike anything I’ve ever had since, anywhere. I was eighteen.

  5. Hmmm I am a Peets coffee snob…tho since we moved to the Bellevue area I have become fond of Tullys..quite sad that Starbucks is pretty much the staple in our wee town tho😕….so my usual morning brew is actually Major Dickinson or French roast.
    Hmm speaking of which, I need some!☕️….it should be against the rules to wake up with sinus headaches*pouts*

    1. I love Major Dickason’s for an every day. Starbucks used to make a “RED” which was lovely. Peets and Starbucks have a lot of shared history and for a while were owned by the same company. Tully’s I’m okay with but I’d do Starbucks espresso or Peet’s before that.

  6. Bethany

    Beth got me hooked on coffee with a tablespoon of coconut oil in it. But it MUST be done in a blender, I use my bullet, for the best result.

  7. Jane

    I don’t like the Starbucks French Roast either. It’s too bitter.

    I found a good coffee online at Costco. It’s San Francisco Bay Organic Rain Forest Blend. It’s a medium roast and it has become my favorite. A smooth blend. It’s also a pretty reasonable price. A two pack of three pounds each for $40, which is $6.66 per pound. Not bad..

  9. secretobcession1

    I’ve been buying San Francisco Bay’s Breakfast Blend for my Krueg. I tend to like my coffee weak and full of Cream & Sugar. Can’t stand Starbucks…way too strong.

  12. Sadly, my family is not coffee drinkers. Well, my dad is but he only drinks it at work, so there was never coffee brewing at home unless we were (rarely) having company over who we knew drank coffee. I grew up with tea. I have a sweet tooth though so I sweeten my tea. I love a good Oolong tea, green tea (though mostly in the form of a latte), and I actually really like Tazo’s Wild Sweet Orange tea.

    Coffee I have learned to love mostly from being in LA with you. But it’s limited to Starbucks and Caribou Coffee and certain sweet flavors from those locations. If I have regular coffee, then it becomes creamer with sugar and a bit of coffee. ^^;;; I need to expand my horizons, I suppose.

    XD

      1. hahaha I’m finding more and liking more as I get used to the bitter taste. Funny thing is, I loooooove the smell of coffee. But yeah, I always say I like my coffee Intergalactic: “I like my sugar with coffee and cream.” Sad thing is that no one knows who the Bestie Boys are anymore, so most of the time when I say that, they don’t get it…. T_T

        I MISS YOU TOO UNNIE. T_______________T

  13. Sadonna

    I loved Gevalia’s cinnamon coffee – which the discontinued. I loved their Amaretto coffee – which they discontinued. I am using their French Roast right now which is OK, but I’m still mad about the other flavors – theirs were the only flavored coffees I’ve ever liked 😦

    The best coffee I ever had was in Hawai’i at a farm on Oahu at the Tropical Farms stop on the Island Circle tour. Best. Coffee. Ever. Needed nothing added – just wonderful coffee 🙂 I brought some home with me in fact!

  14. Michelle

    OK, I’m a total coffee..what would you call it? Wannabe? Cos I LOVE me the Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Dunkin Donuts. From September – End of Dec, I have to have at least one a day.

    otherwise I’m a tea drinker. I love jasmine tea, and real chai tea that a friend taught me how to make. LOVE the stuff. And a lovely earl grey on a cold morning is a bit of heaven in cup.

  15. Hunt

    Hot flavored coffee, but sweet tea. I AM from the South!
    BTW – I just read “Rotgut Gin.” Gurl, you can make me weep with just a few paragraphs – bittersweet, awesome story!

  16. Val

    So did I dream this or did I see that you have a book Fishstick Friday coming out? Of so when and where?

  18. Kendra Patterson

    Unsweetened ice tea. Wanted to say your drop down menu is more accessible than how it was on your old page. Was wondering if you ever thought about putting a WIP section in your menu, so your fans would know what your next great story is about. Have a great day! 😀

    1. Snorts. I can barely remember to keep my sidebar current! *grins* I have to put a few more freebie links up and just haven’t had time. 😀

      And unsweetened iced tea rocks.

  19. Reianne

    When it comes to coffee I’m recently new to drinking it. I know I prefer a medium roast to a dark roast and like a smoother taste but haven’t really decided what I really like yet. I do like this instant coffee a friend brought me back from Korea but I can’t remember the name.

    Now tea on the other hand is what I grew up with. I’m not too fond of most black teas but everything else I’ll drink when I’m craving something. The main thing I’m picky about is that I prefer loose leaf tea over any teabag. I find you get much better flavor that way. My biggest tea weakness? Jasmine pearls.

  20. Dee Ash

    The brand I drink about five mugs of a day is a blend of Assam and Kenyon leaves – basically similar to an English Breakfast style. But I love Earl Grey (black tea and bergamot oil blend) and Masala chai (Assam with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and ginger) and I’m trying to have rooibos sometimes in place of my caffeinated cuppa’s!

  21. I love the smell of coffee and tea, but I cannot drink either one. My nose says Yes, please! but my taste buds say, No, thanks! Kinda sad, really.

  22. Marilyn Adam

    My daughter just brought me a pound of raw beans from Ethopia so I have to figure out how to roast it myself to see how it tastes. She said they serve it alongside a brazed of smoking incense which somehow adds to the flavor. Anyone know how to roast coffee at home?

    1. Actually you can probably find a local roaster who will roast them for a small fee. I’d highly recommend having someone with a good roasting oven do it for you. *nods*

  23. I would kill for a supply of Kluang Johor Train Station Coffee. It was just… perfect.
    You know me. I don’t drink much of the stuff, but if I could get it, that is what I would drink.

  24. isisrising4sandra

    I’m a coffee whore, drinking a pot of coffee a day on average. Love/gotta have my coffee. That said, I put up with a lot of bad coffee either because it’s handy or because I’m broke or a combo of both. When I’m feeling rich, I buy brewed coffee with espresso at Caribou Coffee. I’m not much of a fan of Starbucks because they over-roast their beans.

    For tea, I have a cabinet full of different blends and loves, but when I can’t get my morning coffee, I’ll usually brew myself a very strong cup or three of Earl Grey Breakfast tea.

    What I wish I could get again is New Orleans-style coffee with chickory. I haven’t had it for many a year but I love it. Maybe a trip to NO should be in my cards for sometime next year …

  25. Sam

    I’m a tea person. One of my favorites is the brown rice green tea from Chinatown that I can now find at Super H mart. Back tea is ugh, unless there is LOTS of sugar and milk. Or I use it to brew Kombucha.
    Coffee—when and if I drink coffee–it’s a decaf cappuccino with lots of sugar, or a decaf coffee with lots of cream and sugar.

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