CoffeeStudyTalk

I wanted to spend more time at that Used Bookstore I found last week and was fun exploring their selection of books.  I picked up a few more works by Yukio Mishima.  The prices are very reasonable and barely $5/each (Amazon wants double for a Used Copy or several times that for Brand New).  I'm not able to find them at my local library so this seems to be the next best thing. I could only snag Book# 4 of his Tetralogy and will need to stay on the hunt for Book #1 & #2, which kinda makes it fun like a mini-treasure hunt.  I'll be in LA and Vegas in a few months so I'll try find those books there (already scoping out where the major Used Bookstores are in those Cities...) For Coffee, took the SideCar as I was undecided whether I wanted an Espresso or a Cappuccino.  I love whoever invented this thing as I get the best of both Worlds and somehow the Cappuccino tends to taste sweeter when you can readily compare/contrast it with a bitter Espresso, although this particular on

It was surprisingly difficult to find some books by famous novelists at several local bookstores and by chance I stumbled across a small used bookstore that had the mother lode in terms of many great works I've been wanting to read from Mishima, Chekhov, Hemingway and more...all for a low price!  For now I restricted myself to just three (3) books and one of them is by Yukio Mishima 'The Temple of Dawn'. This is the 3rd book in his 4-part epic 'The Sea of Fertility' that was to be some of his last published works before his abrupt death.  While I would have liked to start from the beginning, they only had this one available and it proved an excellent choice. For starters, it's a mere 330 pages (much shorter than a Tolstoy colossus) and surprisingly the first few chapters read more like a Traveler's Guide as the main character Mr. Honda travels from Thailand to India and back to Japan with very detailed descriptions of the life & culture of each of these

Was surprised at how cheap this Old Fashion was at a local bar.  For Happy Hour they charge a mere $4.75, about the price of a regular beer.  Other Bars would charge $10-12 for the same drink.  Granted it's not as fancy using plain ice and whatever fruit & ingredients they have in stock, but it tasted decent. The only danger was at this price it's easy to drink a half dozen of these and not realize you consumed that much alcohol.  Cheap, but Dangerous.

Another chill weekend enjoying a Cappuccino, Tolstoy and Music.  For lunch had a simple Bento + Beer.  Great Weekend.

I've developed a habit and it's become a ritual to enjoy a nice Cup of Coffee @ a local shop and enjoy a Novel and Music.  This helps keep me on a schedule & routine to balance out my day and also help me have some motivation to wake up early on a Saturday (I get up @ 7 am!) The best part this little ritual while only about an hour or so helps give me almost the full day to enjoy whatever, otherwise I would have got up @ 11 or past Noon and wasted half the day...sticking with this routine.

I'm now on my 5th Coffee Drink concoction...a Gibraltar that is an Espresso with some Milk.  It's similar to a Cappuccino minus the Foam.  Overall, I'm getting the hang of this thing as there are just three (3) basic ingredients [Espresso, Milk, Milk Foam] between the various Espresso based drinks.  So far the Cappuccino is my favorite as it embodies all three ingredients, but the Gibraltar is a close 2nd ahead of the Macchiato.

In my quest for the perfect 'Old Fashion' I've been trying one at every Bar and decided to give Nordstrom's a shot.  Based on what I'm reading online this is closer to a traditional Old Fashion with the choice of glass, square ice cube and garnishing.  The drink was quite strong and I didn't start to enjoy it until the halfway mark with the last sip being the best.

This is becoming my new 'Coffee Shop' and going down the list of drinks.  Tried a 'Sidecar' which is a single shot of Espresso paired with a Macchiato.  The difference as far as I understood the Macchiato doesn't have the 'milk' and only the foam compared to a Cappuccino.  The Sidecar was interesting, but I prefer the Cappuccino from last week.