I am now a coffee snob

According to Abbey, with the purchase of this hand-cranked burr mill, I have become a coffee snob. "Not so," I huffed. "The espresso machine is the coffee snob. It's very finicky about the grind consistency." and I realized those were surely the words of a coffee snob. So, I'm embracing it. I also prefer coffee that was ground the day, or day before, I buy it. In Jefferson City, that can mean only one place: Dunn Brothers.

Although I caved and bought a bag of Kaldi's French Roast beans at the supermarket today because I was already there. I'm glad I did.  Although I am very fond of Dunn Bros.' Tanzanian Peaberry, this Kaldi's French Roast has surprisingly complex flavor for a dark roast. Not a hint of burned taste, just sweet and buttery, with hints of blackberry. It's one of the few coffees I've tried that really live up to the "chocolate" description that gets heaped onto so many beans. It blows anything I've gotten from Dunn Bros. out of the water.

I'm not sure if it's smugness I'm feeling, but the use of this mill does provide satisfaction. It takes about five minutes of serious cranking to get enough finely ground coffee for a double espresso, but the effort is very much worth it. Not only is the flavor startlingly fresh, but I appreciate it all the more having applied a little elbow grease to make it. And there is something meditative about the milling of each bean exactly as long as needed for a good cup. I'm not sure if I will feel so at one with the universe on a morning when I'm more desperate for instant gratification, but  I think the inconvenience will be good for me. Help me build some character.