Sunday, September 14, 2008

Willow's Weekly Word

Sadly, I thought my coffee drinking days were over. The caffeine
was doing a little number on me, so I switched to tea. Don't get
me wrong, I love tea. But it's just not the same as a strong
aromatic cup of java. And decaf, to me, is like drinking hot stale
brown water. Well, to make a long story short, I found the perfect
brand of decaffeinated! Yippee!! Believe it or not, it's Sam's Club's
Member's Mark "Marques de Paiva Estate Blend" whole bean
decaffeinated. Seriously, I can't tell it's not the real thing! It's
robust, flavorful and even has that kick. And just in case you're
wondering, the English word coffee was first used in the early
1600's from the Italian word caffe. Europe was introduced to the
word from the Turkish kahve, which is derived from the Arabic
quhweh, "wine of the bean". So, there you have it!


If this is coffee, please bring me some tea;
but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.

***
Abraham Lincoln


photos borrowed from Flickr

41 comments:

  1. You don't know how happy I am to have my morning cuppa back!! :D And I still can't drink even the decaf too late in the day or I am up all night. Oy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Willow, sorry that I haven't been by in a few days (or longer). Life has been hectic and I've had too many tasks on my plate. I'll be back on the blog circuit tomorrow. Many heartfelt thanks for checking on my whereabouts! David

    P.S. Love your ever changing header.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love those ginko leaves! I'm also happy you found some java that jives with your taste buds! That Abe, he was a hoot!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't give coffee up...it is practically my only vice.

    Love the quote from Abe!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm glad you are able to enjoy your cup of Joe in the mornings once more.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've just come across your blog via Caroline's wonderful widget and I just wanted to say Hi and that I will definitely be coming back...your blog is fab!!

    C

    ReplyDelete
  7. hi Willow - love your blog! and now get yours to me about the teasmaid!!
    the black box - a portal within a portal!
    thanks for yours :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello Willow !

    You have sleepy near the cup !

    Brrr ! Cela ressemble vraiment aux vieux manoirs...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fortunately I can still manage the caffeine bit but certainly in smaller doses than before. I can hold my drink like a man - a cup of coffee late at night, my head touches the pillow and I am away to dreamland. Oh, and I posted a poem in honour of your quirks. Love Eleanor

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good on you, willow! I love a nice, steaming cuppa early in the morning and after lunchtime. That's all for me, two cups of coffee per day.

    And nice word, too. I knew about the Arabic origin of it, but had never seen it written. Apparently it was in Ethiopia where they first found the coffee bean.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hehe.. what a lovely picture that is.. We've been trying to give up coffee too but it's very hard isn't it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi, blackboxed my way here :-)

    That decaff sounds good but coffee and I are enemies - sad, isn't it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can't stay long. It's time to go and brew a pot of "Bean Wine". Mine will definitely have a kick. The Sam's Club selections are really pretty good. I am using their breakfast blend this morning. Pappy

    ReplyDelete
  14. Brought to you by the stunning black boxes widget thingie.

    I love coffee too, but I shake when I drink too much and am inclined to slurp it over my saucer when I have one.

    I drink Fair Trade Decaf, and that's fabby.

    After work on Friday, I had a strong urge just to read a paper with a coffee outside a wee deli and let the world pass by. I am so glad I stopped by to visit your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'll have to give that a shot. Thanks for the tip!

    And I also wanted to thank you for dropping by my blog and taking the time to comment.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I had a cuppa coffee once - about 40 years ago. Didn't like it - never bothered again.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Found you via the black box. As a coffee addict I can just imagine how awful it must have felt to contemplate giving up coffee. Glad you found a solution.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I so relate to your java post - it's ritual here - I can't imagine not starting the day with a cup of dark rich coffee - I put a dash of cayene pepper and a bit of brown sugar in mine with half and half

    ReplyDelete
  19. love the quote ~ I so understand but i have to have it....I have very few vices!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yeah! Welcome back to the coffee club!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well, the blackbox has brought me here twice today, so maybe it's fate! (or we just choose the same answers?)*grin*

    I've never had a cup of coffee. I'm 31. I've been a tea drinker since I was a child and although I love things that are coffee flavored (ice cream, YUM!) I can't bring myself to enjoy a cuppa. Could be the cafeine...it doesn't agree with me in the slightest. Thanks for a good alternative suggestion though...

    ReplyDelete
  22. Very funny comment from honest Abe!!
    I'm a tea drinker myself.
    Lovely new banner at the manor.

    ReplyDelete
  23. You know that I'm a tea girl all the way but I don't mind saying that when I was in line at Kroger on Friday and looked up at the Starbuck's menu that I nearly screamed for joy( OK... Not nearly,I did actually squeal) when I saw that they have Pumpkin Spice Latte again...:-)..

    ReplyDelete
  24. Good word Willow but your new header is absolutely marvelous. Those yellow ginkgo biloba leaves are outstanding.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh my dear friend! I am not very well read as you are aware of from one of your comments to a post of mine.... but I am well coffee'd (that french or something). My wife has to drink Decaf and she buys a "water decaffinated" blend from Starbucks called Komodragan. But they have many other great decaf coffees. Sam's Club? eeeooo.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Love that quote by Abraham Lincoln! Found you on the Black Box! Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Strider, I am kind of a coffee snob and actually, the Member's Mark is exceptionally good, especially for decaf. I will have to try Lucky's favorite Komodragen, too, though. But I bet it is a tad pricier than the Sam's Club!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Decaf or Straight it all tastes better in a Mukka! I keep meeting you at the end of the BB vortex. I've been to Bills 6 times now, Mother of Shrek 8 times but I have found some neat places. Are you having fun? Hilltop... What time of the year?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Kudos!

    It's been a while and I see you have a gorgeous new photo up for the masthead. I'm guessing it's taken on your property, no less. Lovely.

    "And decaf, to me, is like drinking hot stale
    brown water. "

    --That is so true for tea, especially. I try to only drink decaf but can never find tea that is black enough. I just tried Twinings English breakfast decaf and it was sooo weak--horrid, in fact.

    Hmmm... will have to try this coffee you rave about. Sounds good.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yep, I put caffeine right up there in the hard-drug catagory...   I gave it up (along with beer) about six years ago.   No regrets.

    I should try to get some of that Sam's Çlub brand decaf -- the stuff I drink (Nescafe Taster's Choice (instant) is pretty awful, but I've gotten used to it...

    ReplyDelete
  31. coffee and etymology...these are a few of my favorite things...

    ReplyDelete
  32. On a topic completely unrelated--I just read your comment on Strider's blog about 11:11 but didn't see the post about it. What was that about? I often wake up or see the clock at exactly 11:11 and 1:11 too. Weird. I will even do that if in new time zone for that time zone.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I take photos of abandoned farm houses as a hobby. I even started a group on Flickr- Ontario Rural Ruins. Anyway, I really like that photo of the coffee cup in your post. Do you know which Flickr account that came from? I'd like to see more of what they have done.

    My first trip to your blog, from the Black Box. I've bookmarked it for more. I like the atmosphere of old things and good things. :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Good quote by Abe. I love a good cup of coffee. Sometimes when I fall asleep, I smile knowing that coffee awaits in the morning.

    I'm adding you to my blogroll, too because I love it here.

    ReplyDelete
  35. By the way, I love your new header.
    Although I thought I was botanically pretty cluey, I fail to recognized the purple leafed plant supporting the Ginko leaves. Could you graciously find it within yourself to enlighten me please.
    Yours as ever respectfully,
    Arija

    ReplyDelete
  36. Yea! Welcome back to the world of coffee! We've missed you! ha! :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Bless those beautiful little Beans! Well expressed, indeed. Thank you for the virtual 'moment.'

    ReplyDelete
  38. I've found the "Eight O'Clock Bean" decaf is not to bad either, and cheap too.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I had a quiet giggle at that quote. There have been a few times I have had that experience. Is it coffee or is it tea? Yuk!

    ReplyDelete
  40. So what do the Turks call Turkish coffee? ;-)

    My favorite coffee is from Lebanon and it has ground cardamom in it (you can find it at Middle Eastern groceries) and it smells and tastes like heaven. It makes great iced coffee, too.

    ReplyDelete

Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)