Paraphernalia

The worst part about not being able to drink coffee has got to be the amount of coffee and related items that I managed to collect over the last two months.  All these goodies lying around, taunting me from a distance and all I can do is watch... and try really hard not to smell! 

My friends who recently got married (the traditional Chinese tea ceremony wedding) returned from Vancouver a few weeks ago bearing coffee bean gifts from two different and very delightful Vancouver roasters.  The entire time I was in Toronto for the coffee and barista course, the Canadians kept raving about the Vancouver roasters.  Have I been able to sample the goodness? No! Instead I’ve had to put those enticing beans into mason jars and lock them away in my freezer.

Father and Mother Dearest have also brought along their temptations.  They recently returned from their European extravaganza (a month long tour of Europe to celebrate their 30^th anniversary) bearing gifts- coffee related gifts.  I’d been itching to get my hands on a Turkish coffee pot or ibrik or cezve for some time now- and they remembered.  My little coffee pot was purchased in no less than an Istanbul market place and now sits next to the Vietnamese coffee filters… Still uninitiated and untouched in my kitchen!

Perhaps the cruelest touch of all has been the bags and bags of European coffee that Father Dearest returned home with.  I’m sure some of those bags were meant for me.  However, upon learning that I can no longer (temporarily) stand the smell of coffee, Father Dearest happily kept the stocks all to himself!  He even appropriated a New England blend that our cousin from Florida had brought for me.

Oh well, at least I still have my Milo and Quik… Whoopee…