for me, coffee is usually thought of more as a treat than as a caffeine necessity. my sister K and her husband M gave N an Aerobie (yes, the frisbee people) AeroPress for holidays in December. I had it delivered to corporate housing (95% of our belongings are still in storage), so we've been enjoying coffee from it in the afternoons and after dinner. It works sort of like an upside-down french press, making a "cleaner" cup of coffee. It uses paper filters that are quite fine -- no grit -- and they are reusable. The coffee is not quite espresso (despite what the marketing would like you to think), but it is more tasty than drip and cleaner than press ... I like it, because it tastes like coffee. I water mine down [!] to make a sort of americano. This is recommended in the booklet.

Ever since getting away from the Ferry Plaza on Saturdays, I've been somewhat reluctant to venture to ANY of the Farmers Markets that we participate in because it tends to be a real pain in the ass. Too many people not watching where they are going and I can only get so excited about vegetables. Sorry, it's a hold over from my youth. Doobie loves them though so we do go every once in a while and it has to be the Berkeley Market because the FPFM is way over priced and you have to wait an hour for anything. It's like skiing in the summertime. And yes, the outfits are just as ridiculous. But we were talking about coffee. This cup of drip was expertly poured by Brendan, a.k.a. The Dark Knight a.k.a. Romeo Nocturne. And despite his dorkiness, the cup was quite good. I had two.