I was reading a book and some case studies on CocaCola (along the lines of green and sustainability), and I was surprised to learn that Dasani is merely cooling waste-water that is thrown off of their manufacturing process. It's put through two ionizers and then filtered down and then labeled as DASANI.
In areas of the world where clean water supply is in dire straits - CocaCola is viewed with true disdain...
Chesapeake Silver Cornet Brass Band
Aldersgate Brass
Besson 982
Mouthpieces-a-Plenty
Funky smelling,dark,exotically named Starbucks,ground at the grocery store,made in my coffee pot,with splenda and half and half.During the day,Diet sunkist and diet pepsi max.At night splenda-sweetened Milo's iced tea.
Pensacola Symphony
Troy University-adjunct tuba instructor
Yamaha yfb621 with 16’’ bell,with blokepiece symphony
Eastman 6/4 with blokepiece symphony/profundo
Espresso, brewed from coffee beans I roasted myself in an old hot-air popcorn popper.
Roasting coffee at home is easy, reasonably cheap, and since roasted coffee quickly loses its flavor, it's about the only way to get reliably fresh coffee.
I mail-order the green beans, from an on-line retail place in California that carries dozens of varieties. The espresso I made after lunch today is from a medium sized Brazilian plantation in Minas Gerais, Brazil. That sort of thing runs around $5 a pound, which after water loss during roasting makes it somewhat expensive coffee, though still a good price for what you get. A more economy oriented approach would probably involve bag purchases; a bag is just short of 150 lbs, if I remember right.
I use a `The Poppery' popcorn popper that a neighbor left out by the street when he moved away. I've also used Wearever `Popcorn Pumpers'. The best poppers are the older ones, from the '80s I guess, just because they're a little overbuilt and can take the temperature. Coffee roasts longer and hotter than popcorn, of course. Most of the time, they will need to be modified to defeat a thermostat or something that keeps the roast from getting hot enough, and also keeps the roaster from burning down your house. So roast outside, for this reason and also because it really smells. Replace the usual clear plastic hood with something more heat tolerant like a tin can with both ends removed. A high temperature thermometer is a nice touch. You can also buy roasters, various sizes and prices.
Put about 3/4 cup green beans in the popper and turn it on. When the beans start to roast, they'll make cracking noises, in two phases. First crack happens when they're just starting to get really brown, a loud crack. Second crack is a quieter crackle that means the beans are really roasting. The longer you let this go, the darker they'll be. Try them just a couple seconds into second crack. The big commercial names in coffee like to promote a really dark roast, which happens to be pretty stable over time. A light roast exposes a lot of flavors that degrade quickly, in a week or two, which obviously would make life difficult for them. Depending on the origin and roast, the coffee is supposed to reach its peak a day or so after roasting.
Tonight I may dip into my Coffea liberica, a different species from the usual C. arabica and C. robusta. It's unfortunately too expensive, and the flavor has some off-putting elements, but it has a flamboyant aroma that's a little like blueberries. Some Ethiopian coffees are a little like that, in a much more refined way and of course much more economical.
I just got home from playing a HS graduation gig and my wife is hosting a bunko party with 11 other women. One of the ladies made me a one of their favorite drinks called a 'Madras'. It's not bad, Vodka, OJ and Cranberry juice. So I'm sipping on this somewhat fruity drink and hiding in the den and surfing the net.
Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ/RF mpc YEP-641S(recently sold), DE mpc (102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank) Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches: "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.