Cups 1 and 2: Brakeley Residence

coffee1
Originally uploaded by matt_leclair.

Location: Brakeley Residence, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
When: December 27th, 2004, 7am
Present: Chuck Brakely, Diane Brakely, Jessica Brakeley
Coffee: Maine Roasters Coffee, French Roast
Mood: anxious

The coffee is halfway decent today, though it isn't as strong as it should be. For the past few days I've been drinking Dunkin' Donuts coffee (the homebrew kind, not from the store) that has been sitting in the freezer for longer than anyone can remember. Somewhere people got the idea that things in the freezer never go bad, but I'd say even whole bean coffee that has been in the freezer for more than a couple of months should be thrown away. Dunkin' Donuts coffee is bad as it is, but to leave it sitting around for so long... still, it was all we had til XMas day, when Jessie's mom gave me a BIG bag of Maine Roaster's Coffee. Maine Roaster's is easily the best in the state. Just look at the oily blackness of the beans compared to the chalky brown of most coffee beans. Hold them between your fingers and rub them. They are slick and smooth. Breathe in. The whole beans still in the bag smell richer than Dunkin Donuts coffee, even when it is brewing.

I brewed the coffee in the Brakeley's Mr. Coffee coffee maker. It is an abominable thing. Like most cheap coffee makers it is plagued with terrible heating elements that don't get the water hot enough to fully extract the coffee from the bean, but heat up while the coffee is in the pot enough to scorch it, leaving you with burned, weak coffee. I guess I can't blame the Brakeley's for their lack of good coffee and crappy coffee maker. They don't touch the stuff themselves, but have things on hand as a courtesey to guests who might want a cup. After a number of pots brewed in their coffee maker, I'd finally gotten the hang of it, and could brew a modest cup of coffee.

The coffee was halfway decent this morning, though there being no creamer on hand, I was had to make do with eggnog. Not really to my liking, but it works in a pinch. Really, it didn't matter that morning. My sister and her family were at my mom's house in Orono, and I was 2.5 hours away in Cape Elizabeth. I needed to get back. I'd intended to leave the night before, but it was cold and windy and a storm was in the forecast. Next morning the snow was still coming down, and I was looking at a 4-plus hour drive back, if I was lucky. The roads would be horrible, and the wind was still gusting. Still, my nephew was waiting for me to come play multiplayer Nintendo DS games, and he'd be dissappointed if I didn't make it back.

The second cup wasn't necessary. It was just a way to procrastinate. Jessie hung out and pretended to be awake while I drank it. It was way too early for her to be awake, but she still managed to drag herself out of bed for goodbye hugs and kisses.