Musings of Coffee – Introduction

April 9th, 2020 | Posted by Laevateinn in Coffee | Coffee and Sweets - (0 Comments)

Part of being a computer savvy person as well as an aspiring writer is the need for some sort of stimulant. Most people choose coffee to be that stimulant. For good reason. Coffee is one of the great treasures of mankind, if drunk responsibly.

Coffee is something I enjoy on a mostly daily basis. I enjoy being what some may call a coffee enthusiast and what others may call a coffee snob. Coffee is a vast world of flavors of scents that just make me happy. As such, I do have some snobbish tendencies when it comes to things like Starbucks coffee or the vast majority of grocery store coffee.

I am lucky enough to live next to a place that will roast beans on demand. I can order 100 grams of coffee that day and pick up a still warm bag in about 20-40 minutes. They also have a decently large selection of single origin beans available so I get the best of both worlds, tons of variety to taste as well as precise control over the roasting level.

I like to try most coffees light roasted at first to better understand the characteristics of the bean before going into the medium and dark roasts. Like anything really, I consider coffee both a great drink and an ingredient. Some people may turn up their noses at certain types of blending techniques or roasting styles but, per the ingredient, it may fit well with a particular kind of bean.

For this section, I want to do very simple reviews of the coffee I can order and maybe a few additional musing articles at some point in time.

These reviews are going to based on the fact that I am tasting near the best quality coffee you can get. My pour over technique is probably not the best but the beans themselves are as fresh as you can get and roasted quite well. As such, even if I give a particular cup/batch a lower score, these coffees are going to be leagues above the grocery store beans or the normal chain store coffee shops.

Note note, I may also do a few bits on instant coffee here and there. WHAT!!!! The horror! Why? Why would I do this? Well, like most foods, instant coffee is a form of coffee but not nearly the same thing as brewed coffee. As such, I consider instant coffee its own thing with its own set of desired flavors and aromas that are different from standard coffee. I also would like to camp sometime in the near future so having a good instant coffee is ideal for light camping.

Introduction

April 1st, 2020 | Posted by Laevateinn in Writing - (0 Comments)

My dream in life to write my own fantasy series. This is hard goal as most writers do not end up being published. Most authors have part time or full time jobs aside from writing, making writing as a profession difficult. With the advent of self publishing the market is also flooded with a lot of mediocre or unedited books in the fantasy and sci-fi genres.

I should probably start with why I want to become a fantasy author. From a very young age I have been a book worm. In grade school, my favorite place was the library. The first series I remember reading seriously was the Boxcar Children series. My elementary school had the boxcar book holder along with most of the series. I recall spending a lot of time both in the library as well as at home being entranced by the series After that, I became very invested in the Seventh Tower series by Garth Nix. Both series had an incredible effect on my early life as well as a great boon to my vocabulary skills

However, the main series I remember overall is the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. My mother recommended the book series to me at around the 4th grade. The Wheel of Time became a great influence on my life in general, including how I swear. I still use “bloody” and “the light burn it” on a daily basis.

I have looked up to and want to become a great writer like Robert Jordan in general but my lifestyle took a very drastic change in my teen years. I become embroiled in technology and computers as well as the English language. I was a natural at computer usage and understanding. My life eventually led to the world of troubleshooting and computer support. I researched and am somewhat proficient at many computer topics such as 3D design, photo editing, log analysis, and more. As such, my career became computer related despite my love of fiction.

Now, as I enter my middling years in this life, I want to look to creating my worlds and leaving them written down on paper as well as the digital world. Hopefully I can reach the same level as Robert Jordan and inspire a new generation of writers or at least spark the imagination of some people out in the world