20 Comments
Oct 17, 2022Liked by Mark Dolan

A pot pourri of topics. Fun. I am a Starbucks lover, though I know many people feel it's more bitter than Caribou or Dunn Bros. I use Dunn Bros. beans for my in-house coffee needs, but I find the Starbucks coffee shops are where i enjoy going to write and read. There. Sharing. :-)

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Thanks Chuck! As a science and math guy you are right as the marketplace has spoken and Starbucks is tops for most everyone! I buy Starbucks beans sometimes and if I follow my formula I like it. I think Dunn's are the best local beans but not convenient. Just found Peet's at Costco. Looking forward to making it. I love making, drinking n talking about coffee. Thanks for sharing,!

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Your post writings may be getting shorter but with all the videos, etc., there goes 30 minutes that I won't get back again. Is your writing better after a couple of coffee or a shot of scotch?

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When I write these silly ones, there are a lot of stupid content. What did you think of the guy who was catching hornets with chopsticks. That seemed amazing to me! I am now mostly reading at night and have the computer on in the background only. I have shifted my treadmill to the evening so now mornings if not working are times I might write so it is definitely a coffee-driven affair! Because of the kindness of my fellow writers, I now have six different books in various states of progress. Absolutely LOVING the Krueger book. As you might imagine I have a soft rule about books. I DON'T LIKE to have more than three going at once but maybe I am softening in old age. As for the scotch/bourbon. Sometimes in the evening I will have one but most nights just water for me!

Today in the early morning I worked on my profile of you. I am splitting it into two stories! I will keep you posted.

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I like Peet's Coffee among the chains. And I'm a huge fan of tea of various kinds: black, green, oolong, white, pu-erh. It's astonishing they all come from the same camellia sinensis plant, just processed in different ways.

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Ah Stephanie. One of my daugher-in-laws is from Okinawa. Tea has become a greater part of our lives. At one time we had an exchange student from Japan who brought us an enormous bag of Oolong tea. I still like that when I can find it. While not a hardcore history book, in my history bookclub, we read The History of the World in Six Glasses. Tea and Coffee are two of the topics. It was a breezy read and it certainly talks tea for a while!

Alfred is responsible for teaching so many purveyors how to roast the coffee and every step of the process thereafter. I wish we had Peet's here but when it is available I seek it out. One of the other commenters on today's post has family in the coffee business. I theorize that coffee and tea are important fuel for the writing process.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

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The Phone Relief video is amazing! Was 1993 that long ago? The best part is the scene where the guy whips out his credit card to order the gizmo WHEN HES ALREADY WEARING THE GIZMO!

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As long as I can remember stuff sold on late-night has been a thing. The same voice also imploring you to buy now or miss out. I was recently watching something and there was an ad for this idiotic container to bake potatoes in a microwave. Kinda looked like a plastic tortilla warmer with moguls shaped into the bottom. New angle this time. They said you better buy now cause we can no longer make them due to the international supply chain. Once they're gone, they are gone forever!

I am surprised that no one is impressed by the guy grabbing hornets with chopsticks. Now that's a skill! Thanks for reading and commenting.

Also, the only people up to now that I associate GIZMO with are my Dad and one of my brothers who still says it. Now there are three!

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Clearly I'm in good company.

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I love words and get a kick to rediscover words or phrases. For me, it is wild when they then align me with a person. There must be a memory or two associated with gizmo. I have likewise found myself writing and sayings bonkers. It is a great word and makes me smile now.

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This is in my humble opinion the best coffee anywhere, but I also have to say that because half my family is employed by this company: https://coffeetraders.com

(Coffee is huge in my family. My father runs a coffee roasting business and my sister's husband is a coffee roaster -- the cupping sessions when they get together are epic.)

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Which of the coffees is the one a person who doesn't want bitter strong would like? Montana themes are FUN!

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I tend to buy Ethiopian but that's my standard go-to. Montana Blend is pretty popular! I think I liked Grizzly Blend at one point but it tends to be a bit on the darker side.

(Starbucks burns all of their coffee, which is why it's so bad. They roast centrally to maintain quality consistency, so all of it is the same.)

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When someone gives me a Starbucks gift card, I regift. No one has engaged yet but it is just like hot peppers -- it's stylish to say you love it -- people love to pick a tribe and align to an extreme in many things -- I genuinely believe this is often partly due to blocking our cognitive brain and going primitive. Your explanation, ala Occam's Razor is simple and therefore likely true. I occasionally buy SB beans and my coffeemaker is VERY CLEAN and the water is VERY CLEAN and it isn't a very high temperature scald of the beans. Right after brewing I remove the coffee to a thermos so it does not continue to COOK. I'm beginning to sound like a crazy person again.

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Coffee's important ;)

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You might enjoy The History of the World in Six Glasses

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So you are there for the caffeine! That is fun and honest.

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Like many things, this is the golden age of coffee. So much availability. Something for everyone. You sound like the caffeine is the thing

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Alas, Elmer, you appear to be amidst a mid-life crisis and have changed your name :) from Righter to Wrunger!

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That "fact" doesn't seem to stop the rest of us from pretending to be writers. My Dad, whenever he read something he doubted the veracity of would say "paper never refused ink"

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