Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

Last night sometime – Showered, change into fresh and clean workout clothes, took sleeping pill and read until I fell asleep
5:30 am – Alarm, hit sleep timer
5:41 am – Alarm, got up. (Already dressed in gym clothes sans shoes)
6:15 am – brewed double shot espresso
6:20 am – Deiced windshield and made my way to gym
6:35 am – Started treadmill and last night’s Daily show on my iPhone

I seem to be missing 34 minutes between getting out of bed and brewing my espresso. I did check my email, deleted a few junk mails that slipped through the filter and confirmed one person on facebook. Total computer time 3 minutes – no more. Maybe another minute to put on and tie my running shoes. I didn’t blackout or fall back asleep, yet I have 30 minutes I simply cannot account for?

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

Does anyone in the DC area know where I can reliably get some high quality freshly roasted coffee beans?  Potomac/Bethesda/Rockville would be ideal; I will venture into DC in necessary.  Most of the boutique coffee shops I have been hitting seem to be hit and miss in terms of quality and freshness.  I would appreciate any suggestions, feel free to comment or email corey@coreyjf.com    

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

Over the years I have had all sorts of coffee makers.  Several iterations of the generic ole standard.  Then the trusty grind and brew.  For a long time I was using a flavia machine.  The favia does a pretty decent job on faux latte type drinks, the creamy packs masking the less then stellar coffee; sugar and milk can be very forgiving.  Alas I have never had much a sweet tooth so I found I was typically drinking it black.  Quite frankly the coffee just wasn’t that good without the special latte packs.  It was however quick, clean and easy.  The favia machine has since been retired to the basement for the occasional latte or late night herbal tea.  The kitchen counter real-estate now holds a blade grinder, hot water maker and my trust old French press.  It is cheap, quick, easy to clean, and makes fantastic coffee.  It doesn’t hurt that I now buy small quantities of fresh beans.  Fresh really does make a difference.  Now I have heard the grinder makes a huge difference as well for a couple of reasons.  The first being consistency of the grind.   The second supposedly blade grinders heat up the coffee and effect to overall flavor.  The consistency I get.  It’s hard to grind for a French press with a blade grinder. Either the chunks are too big to release all of the coffee goodness or it is too fine and a bit gritty in the cup.  I don’t mind a bit of grit, but I typically get a little more then I would like.  The heat issue, well I don’t know.  People swear they can tell the difference.  I am not sure if my palate is that refined.  But I am all for a more consistent grind.  I have asked Melissa for a Conical Burr grinder for Fathers day.  The coffee has been pretty spectacular since the switch, so I guess I can live with a little grit until June.