20 Days of Chill - Hot Beverages

Welcome back to 20 Days of Chill - the overall theme of this writing challenge certainly goes hand in hand with hot beverages, today's topic. I like to think that coffee, tea, chocolate or mulled wine, they all spread some warmth, not only physically, but mentally.

To me the best part of going for a walk when it's cold outside is to come back inside and have coffee! 

Do you have an expensive, fancy coffee maker? No? Still want to make world class coffee? Let's do this, I learned this and everything else I know about coffee during my tenure with Starbucks) you most probably have everything you need:

• Whole bean coffee, ground coarsely (grade 9 on a regular coffee grinder)
• Water kettle or regular pot
• Kitchen scale or measuring cup
• Small sieve
• Cup, preferable with a spout
• Your favorite mug
• Kitchen timer - iPhones work well ;-)

Instructions (originally posted in 2015):

Measure your ground coffee. It's 10 grams or 1/4 US measuring cup:

Put the ground coffee in your spouty cup.

Boil your water. Actually it should not be boiling-boiling! 

Temps between 80 - 90°C (176 - 194°F) are perfect. 

That's what you usually get if you live around here. 

Please do your own research if you want to brew coffee while trekking in Nepal!

Back when I made milk bottles for the little guy I used a meat thermometer to measure water temps. The things a first-time Mom does...

Start your timer (4 minutes) and pour in 180ml (6oz) of water.

When 4 minutes are over, pour contents over the sieve.

If you're a gardener you can use coffee grounds to fertilize your earth. 

Otherwise dump it in the trash. Not the sink, it'll clog your drain with time.

Enjoy your coffee! 

Here are a couple of things that enhance your coffee drinking experience:

1. (Cup)cakes
2. Chocolate
3. Cookies
4. Gingerbread
5. Yougetthepicture
6. Candles, preferably scented ones, like vanilla or cinnamon
7. Fluffy socks
8. Blankets
9. Pillows
10. Music

If you like the way I think ,check out last week's Secret Subject Swap: it's a list of ten things to do in 2018, one of them is to build a blanket fort!

Here's another thing: I like to think that beverages, hot or cold, should be thoroughly enjoyed, not just gulped down while being busy with something else (think work, and yes, I'm guilty of it as well. Of course.) 

Try to be mindful about it and create some atmosphere, even if it's "just you":

Those Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecakes were part 3 of a bake fail. I know I said I'd spare you, but I changed my mind, I'm gonna tell you tomorrow.

So make sure to check back. In the meantime my fellow bloggers are serving more hot beverages over there.