fall spice coffee

Let me begin by saying I am not a coffee drinker.  Coffee, with it's many roasts and blends can be as intoxicating (or confusing) as chocolate, wine or cheese.  They all offer varied colors, tastes, textures and aromas.

During a class at CIA, I did taste a wonderful French Press coffee along with a rich, buttery, chocolate croissant.  At that point, I decided that maybe I do like coffee...

Crisp morning air, cloudy days, and leaves falling - who could resist a drink named 'fall spice coffee?'

I wasn't sure about the coffee, but the spices and zest......yes!

stir dry ingredients and add zest

waiting for 200 degree water

dripping for 6 minutes

 waiting for the 6 minutes to pass
(The coffee mug belonged to my Grandfather; remembering him on Veteran's day weekend.)

reflecting the morning sunlight

 cream or sugar?

cream

The spices added depth to the warm morning mug of fall spice coffee.  I think the water dripped to quickly, leaving behind some of the flavorful oils of the coffee bean.  Also, even though the water boiled in the tea kettle, it only registered about 170 degrees on the instant read thermometer.  And, since the mug is not heated, the coffee cooled somewhat quickly.

Thus...opportunities to improve upon the drink when I brew my next cup of fall spice coffee.

Fall Spice Coffee
(adapted from Dessert First)

Ingredients:
(yield: one 6 oz cup of coffee)

• 2T ground coffee
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 6 ounces boiling water
• sugar and cream as desired (or sweetened whipped cream topped with a dusting of cinnamon and a spiral of orange rind-how festive that sounds!)

Mixing:

1. I used the unscientific/'what I had in the kitchen' method of brewing this cup of coffee.
2. I doubled the coffee filter, hoping to slow the drip
3. My antique funnel had too large of an opening; a smaller opening would have slowed the drip.
4. Stir together all ingredients except water
5. Pour into coffee filter
6. Add boiling water and allow to drip brew.
7. I added 1 teaspoon of cream and no sugar. (For variation/research, next time, I'll skip the cream and add raw sugar-smokey, brown crystals of sweetness.)

I found a funnel with a smaller opening that I will use in the future.

The picture below is simply comparing the variety of funnels....really....

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