Pour cold water, about one press full, into a pot and bring to a boil.

Next, get a grinder and get good at grinding the grounds to the fineness of beach sand (not too fine, like dust, and not too coarse, like gravel) – pour into press container, it’s nice to get a little peak in the center once you go pro. This is where it is nice to smell the fresh grounds. mmmm that’s a refresher, and something you can’t always experience in the coffee shop as a customer.

Water should be boiling nicely for a few minutes, get past the nervous boil. Let water set for a little rest for 30 seconds. Pour water in a thin stream over grounds and wisk with a wooden spoon for a bit, then put on the press filter for three minutes. While you’re waiting, prepare your sweetenings and pull your creams out of the refridgerator. Finally, press down and ideally you will get some resistance of about 20 lbs of pressure. If not, your grounds were too coarse or too fine – too easy is too coarse, too hard to press = too fine of grounds.

Now that the coffee is ready to pour, this is where you doctor it up your own way. I like real raw honey on a spoon in the cup, pouring a nice steady slow stream, lifting the press a little further up from the cup, letting the steam flow. Then I stir in some organic heavy whipping cream.

This is fairly strong coffee, and if you love coffee, a great way to taste the full flavor of the coffee and the roast.

Enjoy the heightened experience while the coffee lasts. It is worth it to have fresh coffee while working on a creative project, catching up on news online, or updating your status. Pastries go well if you have prepared them in advance, or, amazingly, have a cup while making pastries, what a great strategy to have your coffee enhanced even more the next time around!

Let me know what you do to make your favorite coffee, and how do you enjoy it?

luxury enhancements contributing to an enjoyable morning – healthy organic materials in bed and sheets, laying comfortably for an extra amount of time, a strong immune system (no discomfort), bedroom feng shui, organic coffee complete with grinder and french press waiting in the kitchen, pjs and slippers near bedside.

A few potential discomforts – construction outside, non pleasant alarm clock, forced to get to work/go to class feeling.

Some varying effects – pets licking face, children needing attention, birds singing/crowing, presence of other people/privacy. Some people love to wake up for these reasons, some dont mind every now and then, and some dread, depending on the day.

Some factors that go into creating a waking experience – emotions, relationships, dreams, ritual, healing, rest, anticipation, shelter, space, responsibilities, discipline, temperature, materials.

essence sleeping – shelter, floor, mat, dream.
essence waking – cast away the mat, rise.

If things all work out, what is the best way of awakening into the day?