Gee whizz, that makes alot of sense.

The other course is find the coffee you like the most, learn that way, refine it, and have your own style...

I've always been a bit of a cabernet ho myself. There are a few merlots I like (notably spy valley), but cab sav, cab franc, merlot, petit verdot blends. That's the stuff which gets me through winter. That said I did have a bottle of Mt Difficulty Riesling last night at a restaurant. Possibly the worst wait staff I've ever come across. Luckily their incompetence also covered financial aspects -- I almost got a bottle plus two glasses for $21 (I asked for a bottle, he poured two glasses, I pointed out that I wanted a bottle, so I got the lot, then they tried to sell it to me for 21, but being kinda honest, I pointed this out).

Surprised that no-one is pimping Shiraz/Syrah - someone clued me in on this varietal earlier this winter, and so far its been a great little voyage of discovery.

I like blended wines and with a good aging ... garnacha/grenache variety gives them a special point .... anyway, young ones and/or not blended are good too... its a good way for knowing a variety.

Spanish wines are classified depending on the aging
Crianza: 2 years, 6 months minimum in barrels (oak generally)
Reserva: 2 years, 1 in barrel, 1 in bottle
Gran Reserva: 4 years, 2 in barrels, 2 in bottle

and obviously, pricing is proportional ... and wine's taste changes a lot

I have drunk wine regularly since I was 15 ... my grandma introduced me to that world ... and I haven’t stop. :D I’m just an amateur, and I hate snobby discussions about wines, but not opinions and shared thoughts like these.

Ah. well, Im lying ... I started my relation with the wine when I was a child ... sometimes my grandpa made me an afternoon snack ... a slice of catalan bread soaked with wine (I think he tricked me and he added lit bit of water but) and sprinkled sugar .... we call it "pa amb vi i sucre" (bread with wine and sugar). TRY IT ... delicious.

unluckly, actually children just eat junk and cholesterol ... what a shame

a Rioja? its the most well-known ... whats ur opinion? u liked it?

anyway, you're welcome, feel free asking me about spanish wines :D .. I think its reciprocal

Cava is typical from Catalonia ... made in the same methode champanoise and aged for a minimum of 12 to 24 months ... varities most used are Macabeo, Xarello and Parellada... Im not a fan of champagne/cava but.... bloody hangovers :D ... I prefer a red wine or a fresh white (Moscatel and Gewürztraminer blended, excellent)

Horay for Bacchus!!

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oh for crying out loud!! are you mad???

sounds good to me. blonde + 4 lumps even better.

Sorry, what I meant to say was
orangemochafrappacappalatteespressocino w/ 2 caramel shots

can't beat a milo

//no, but i've got two lumps which is more than you'll ever get your hands on

Not interested anyway. From what I heard they've been manhandled enough.

We make coffe with this (its my favourite if u havent an expresso machine): http://www.vittorio.com.mx/cafetera.gif

Filtered is like an american, for babies, ... I havent listened good references about the plunger ... too much sediments ... but well, maybe u like to read ur future with them, like with tea leaves.

Instant is like a crime against humanity

And an italian friend (well, sincerely, his sister did it) explained how to get that creama on the coffee surface. You put a teaspoonful of sugar into the glass, and u add a drop of coffee (very very short) ... then u mix it quickly for 1-2 minutes til u get a substance like a concentrated creama... and later u can add more coffee. Delicious ... the creama, I mean

Ps: just opinions, the true is out there

The best way to make coffee at home (short of buying a pump espresso machine) is a stove-top espresso (those lovely ocatagonal retro silver things). There are a couple of disadvantages: espresso has less caffeine than filter/plunger; you can't vary the volume easily (you can vary the amount of water a little, but it's not like a plunger where you can make 1 cup or 8 cups in the same thing) so not so good for entertaining. I've never had good percolator action, but that doesn't mean you can't. Filter coffee is not too bad. But I prefer just a filter contraption, rather than an electrical machine to do it. In practice (I have most options available to me), I use a plunger every day. I have a small filter that sits on top of a mug that I carry when travelling. If I have a carload of friends, I'm likely to be the person outside Chard Farm or at some vista with a stovetop espresso sitting on a gas burner. I also have a home espresso contraption, but I don't find that the extra cleaning palaver justifies the increased flavour. And I can't remember the last time I used my percolator.

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I burst out laughing in the middle of an appliance shop when I saw one of those. It seems so pointless. I'd much rather take the extra money from the electric one and have a big one and a little one (currently I only have a kahuna one).

//Can't you also just get nozzle thingies that make the crema as the water goes through the coffee?

yeah, of course, oviously ... and u can also get an orgasm with a dildo much more easyly than with a member (redundant) of my species, right? but it doesnt mean u would prefer the first option, right? :P :D

ps: with all my due respect

speaking of tea ... I like tea with fresh mint leaves and sugar.. those arabs do it very well ... and its my usual drinking while I wait for a khebab/shouarma ... yummm

shawarma ... wow that word brings back memories of scandinavia... my first meal in europe was a falafel kebab

agreed, i'm really a tea drinking fiend at home..... and soemtimes its better to drink a pot of tea than one coffee when in a cafe because it doesn't make me look like such a cheapskate.

that's where those teapots where you can remove the basket of tealeaves comes in. otherwise you just have to treat it as an adventure!!

Speaking of tea, there is a weird variety (maybe russian caravan) that they claim has a distinctive tarry flavour, but in reality is more like smoked fish.

// teapots where you can remove the basket of tealeaves

oh. so that's what they're for!

i'm a little slow on the uptake.

// I find it weird to drink it these days

you mean that green tea is weird or the act of drinking it is weird?

i am still sucked in by some cosmo article i read years ago telling me about how it eliminates free radicals... whatever they are... something carcinogenic I think? and now I'm completely in the habit.