by Christopher Paul on June 1, 2013 Zachary Seward writing for Quartz on the origin of coffee being called “Joe” comes from Josephus Daniels:
As it turns out, the use of joe as slang for coffee dates to the World War I era. It was then that Daniels, who started his career as a newspaper publisher in North Carolina, became secretary of the Navy under president Woodrow Wilson. As recounted in a new biography, Daniels tried to imbue the navy with a strict morality. He increased the number of chaplains, discouraged prostitution at naval bases, and, most controversially, banned the consumption of alcohol.
“As a substitute, stewards increased their purchases of coffee, among other beverages,” writes Lee Craig in the new book, “and Daniels’s name became linked to the daily drink of millions around the world. A cup of coffee became disparagingly known as ‘a cup of Joseph Daniels,’ and as legend has it, this was soon shortened to a ‘cup of Joe.’”
by Christopher Paul on June 1, 2013 Marco Arment, who is such a coffee nerd he roasts his own beans, was asked how he stores his coffee. Check out the full post for some recommendations but this is core message:
Good coffee storage needs to be airtight in one direction — for the first day or two after roasting, the beans emit small amounts of carbon dioxide, so air should be able to escape whatever the beans are in. But to prevent early staleness, outside air shouldn’t be able to enter.
I’m not nearly as much of a coffee enthusiast as Marco but I do use a good grinder and a French press to get the most out of the beans. If I ever do home-roasting or go to a place who’ll roast them for me, I’ll be sure to store them the Marco way.
by Christopher Paul on June 1, 2013 The craft beer craze is truly the spice of life at an obtainable scale. It’s not as expensive as wine but just as diverse (perhaps even more so) as the vineyards out there. I’ve discovered so many fantastic beers that I never knew existed in college.
In New York, there is a place called Top Hops which is almost like Zeitgeist the video features in San Francisco. But it’s not the only place. There are so many beer bars in New York with 35+ beers on tap.
If you’re of age and can safely enjoy beer, I highly recommend you try something other than Bud, Miller, Coors, or worse, Pabst. There is almost no limit to the variety out there.
Cheers!
via Devour
by Christopher Paul on May 31, 2013 Maria Popova uploaded a recording of James Earl Jones reading Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” which comes from the famous collection of poems in Leaves of Grass.
In college, I read Leaves of Grass and discovered a great appreciation for Whitman and his poems. I think about Leaves of Grass rather often as I read other poems – even if the style is different. In a way, Whitman is poetry to me. If I ever compiled a list of “must read” works or authors Whitman and Leaves of Grass would easily be in the Top 10.
via Brain Pickings
by Christopher Paul on May 31, 2013