Morning Ritual
I love a good cup of coffee…or two…or three…I don’t remember
when I started drinking it every day, but I do remember my first cup. When I was little my mother used to invite church
ladies over for meetings and she would let me try a cup, loaded with milk and
sugar. I was probably around 5 or 6, so
coffee is one of my earliest memories.
I think I’ve had every possible type of coffee-making gizmo,
from the ubiquitous Mr. Coffee maker, percolator, French Press, Melita filter
baskets and a kind that made a cold brew that one heated it up in the
microwave. Good flavor, but no aroma!
When we were in Italy last fall I relished every
sip of the common cappuccino and came back determined to make something that
comes close without spending hundreds of dollars on an espresso machine. A couple of Christmases ago Emily and Jeff
gave me a Biraletti Moka, the Italian poor-man’s espresso maker. After finally figuring out how to use it,
with the help of many a YouTube video, I enjoyed showing off my espresso
expertise to guests after dinner. And
then, voila! I realized this was the
key to making my morning coffee.
After quite a bit of experimentation this is what I came up
with: fill bottom section with cold
water, up to the escape valve (mine holds 10 ounces). Add 2 rounded tablespoons of finely ground
strong coffee, such as French Roast, to the coffee container. Screw on top and put on a medium high burner
for about 8 minutes. The fun part is
watching the coffee come bubbling up into the top section. While coffee is making I microwave ½ cup of
almond milk for 1 minute, then froth it.
This makes 2 small cups of marvelous coffee, very close to what we had
in Italy ,
with pretty foam on top.
I take my cup to the sunroom and sit quietly for a few minutes,
trying to empty my mind and start the day truly anew. Perhaps this could be called meditation or
prayer, but I can hardly get started without it. Then I read a poem or two and I’m ready to
work. Delicious!
