Coffee. Black.
I’m on blood thinners, and can’t get a straight answer on whether & which tea could screw that up. So...tea, desirable and ritualistic as it is, is out.
So instead I’m a full-on coffee snob.
Ideal cup:
Roast green coffee beans in hot-air popcorn popper just until second crack is heard.
Cool beans.
Hand grind in ceramic burr grinder.
Heat water to 200 degrees.
Press water thru grounds in an AeroPress. (Kona vacuum brewer best but at $300 not happening.)
Wait a minute to cool.
Enjoy, robust & dark. No adulterating substances - this is coffee, not a milkshake.
/johnny
GMDA....Great Minds Drink Alike....8)
For those interested...
“never thought about using a popcorn popper for roasting”
Look it up. It’s fun.
Short version:
Get one with a metal chamber. You’ll melt it otherwise.
Pour in a half cup or so of beans. Too few and they won’t heat enough (perversely, cooled by the rushing air), too many and they won’t circulate enough for even heating. Might wreck the first couple batches as you adjust the quantity (.25-1 cup). Whole process should take somewhere around 8 minutes; longer means too few beans.
Let it run. After a while you’ll hear the beans start cracking as they dry out; this is “first crack”, a light/medium roast. Continuing, the cracking stops - then a few minutes later starts cracking again; this is “second crack”, I stop here as soon as it starts (let it go at least once to understand how the sound changes). Continuing heads into burnt “French roast” territory (ugh).
When “done” to your taste, turn it off and dump hot (!) beans into a cool metal pan. Swish them around, then into another cool pan. Keep swishing and swapping to cool the beans ASAP.
Wait minutes to days before grinding. Flavor changes over time, some kinds different from others.
After several roastings the popper’s plastic lid will start sagging. Yup, gets hot. Wasn’t meant to run so long at once.
Very satisfying results.