Tag: coffee

Posted on by Dave Bonta

Announcing the Audubon and Igloria pileated woodpecker mug

Audubon's full-color print of pileated woodpeckers paired with a poem by Luisa A. Igloria on a large mug (left side)

In commemoration of Luisa A. Igloria’s first five years of writing a poem a day at Via Negativa, this mug pairs her first poem in the series, about a pileated woodpecker, with John James Audubon’s print of pileateds from Birds of North America. This is the 15-oz. mug from CafePress, ideal for any hot beverage on a cold winter’s morning. Originally made as a one-off gift for Luisa on reaching her five-year milestone, I thought I might as well add it to Via Negativa’s CafePress store. I’ve kept the mark-up as low as possible; I just wanted to provide Luisa A. Igloria fans, John James Audubon fans, or anyone who might be looking for a stylish mug the opportunity to buy it. Click here to order.

Audubon's full-color print of pileated woodpeckers paired with a poem by Luisa A. Igloria on a large mug (right side)

Posted on by Dave Bonta

Mindful of the mindset

Twisted rib:

The best cup of coffee I’ve ever had remains the one I drank in southern Tanzania after spending one of the least pleasant nights of my life (so far, as Homer Simpson would qualify) at a large warehouse-like structure near the Tazara railway station in Mbozi. After sleepless hours of giant fearless rats, lying over my rucksack to mitigate attention from fearless (if not giant) thieves, accompanied by a naked man with floor-length dreads dancing round a fire reciting verse in a mellifluous voice in at least four different languages (I only recognised the Shakespeare) all night – well, almost any fluid would probably have tasted like the nectar of the gods.

Posted on by Dave Bonta

Troubleshooting

After several years without a coffee grinder, I decided to spend some Christmas money and take a chance on another one, my third — the previous two were pieces of crap and broke after a few months. This one might well turn out to be just as bad, but I’m getting a kick out of the user manual. First of all, it’s a flip book, which is delightfully retro, with French on the other side. Then on page 10, I found these insanely awesome troubleshooting tips:

PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE SOLUTION
UNIT DOES NOT GRIND · Grinding chamber
lid is open
· Grinding chamber
is not in position
· Start Button has not
been pressed
· Unit is unplugged
· There’s a power
outage
· If after trying all of
the above the unit
still does not grind,
the motor has over-
heated, thermal fuse
is broken 		· CLOSE GRINDING
CHAMBER LID
· PLACE CHAMBER
IN PROPER POSITION
· PRESS AND HOLD
START BUTTON
· PLUG UNIT IN
· WAIT FOR POWER
TO BE RESTORED
· CALL AUTHORIZED
SUNBEAM SERVICE
CENTER
THE COFFEE
GROUNDS
PRODUCED ARE
NOT PROPERLY
GROUND 		· Grind setting or cups
setting is incorrect

· Insufficient amount of
whole beans used
· Chamber lid opened
during operation
· Unit is not clean

 

· Foreign object is
obstructing the
grinder blades

· SET GRIND SETTING
or CUPS SETTING
CORRECTLY
· ADD BEANS TO
GRINDING CHAMBER
· CLOSE GRINDING
CHAMBER LID
· UNPLUG UNIT, CLEAN
AS PER INSTRUCTIONS
AND PLUG IT IN AGAIN
· UNPLUG UNIT AND
CAREFULLY
DISLODGE FOREIGN
OBJECT
UNIT STOPS
GRINDING 		· Grinding chamber lid
has been opened
· Unit has been unplugged
· There’s a power outage 		· CLOSE GRINDING
CHAMBER LID
· PLUG UNIT IN
· WAIT FOR POWER
TO BE RESTORED