Light at the end of the tunnel?

Can it really be? Is the self-imposed coffee ban nearly over?


Our Coffee Bean is just about 15 weeks old now, which means lots of good stuff including a big fat welcome to the 2nd trimester and a happy farewell to most of the morning sickness. The smell of coffee is suddenly not so nausea-inducing after all. Yippee! A few days ago, while at my parents house, I even had a few sips of Husband’s coffee. Father Dearest had pulled out a Café Noir espresso for the afternoon caffeine fix. I’d actually had the Café Noir before in its instant form (not bad for an instant actually) and was very pleased with the bean variety. Although an espresso blend, when prepared as a regular brew (café au lait style) the Café Noir carried a gentle, unassuming flavour that was neither overpowering nor too subtle. I would have asked to try my very own cup of the drink but I’m not tempting the coffee gods just yet! I’ll be taking it a little at a time.

Ovaltine or Milo?

I wrote about my wonderful discovery of Cocoa Tea a couple months ago and listed some of the many derivatives and imitators that we drank as children.  Well, I'm now back to those childhood drinks courtesy my ever expanding Coffee Bean. The morning coffee selection of Dean's Beans and Social blends have been replaced replaced by the chocolaty trio of Ovaltine, Milo and Quik.  While certainly not as exciting and stimulating as the coffee blends, the chocolaty trio has at least been a tasty alternative.

I think perhaps my favourite of the three may be the Milo. Half cup to three quarters cup warmed milk, 3 heaped teaspoons of Milo, hot water to top off, stir and drink! Smooth, chocolate goodness in a cup.  Not too strong, not too sweet.  The Ovaltine is prepared in much the same way but requires an extra 4th teaspoon to release a full-bodied chocolate flavour.  Quik is probably the most cost effective of the lot, requiring only 2 teaspoons for a full flavour.  However, Quik is also, by far, the sweetest of the three powdered drinks.  Each spoon of chocolate goodness packs quite a sugar punch.  The malt present in the Milo and Ovaltine also offers a more complex and interesting taste as compared to the Quik.

Anyway, moving on from the PG stuff:
For a real good kick- and a mochaccino of sorts- I'd recommend caffeine lovers add a shot of espresso to any of the aforementioned chocolate drinks.   For a truly decadent drink, top it off with some whipped cream and chocolate shavings.... Yumm!
If you're in the mood for an after dinner coffee cocktail, add a shot of Baileys to a chilled "mochaccino" before topping with the whipped cream.  Enjoy... and have an extra one for me!

…and Back!

Hi guys! Sorry for the prolonged absence.

It would seem that the time has come for Husband and me to grow our own little coffee bean. Expected roast date is mid May 2011. In one of life’s ironic little twists, despite my deep love of and devotion to all things coffee, I haven’t been able to stand the smell of the wonderful drink - at all - over the last couple of months. How absolutely disappointing! I’d even gotten permission from my doctor to go ahead and enjoy my morning cuppa! And as if to rub salt into the wound, my mind had to go get involved in this wicked trick and even going on to coffee related websites made me feel sick! Even my very own blog was nausea inducing! What a travesty!!!

Anyway, now that my Coffee Bean has had her/his first three months to develop, things are slowly getting better. While the smell of coffee still isn’t my favourite (insert long exaggerated sigh here), I can at least once again visit my own blog on a regular basis. It’s going to be very interesting trying to write about coffee that I’m not actually drinking but we’ll see how creative I can be! Keep reading!