Sol warned "you should be swinging from your ceiling fans in no time". Thanks for the heads-up BUT no one warned me that I would speed and risk getting stopped by the sheriff! I usually drink my addiction as soon as I get up but this AM I was late and drank it before getting in the car to go to the gym. Thankfully it was the same sheriff from the turtle incident; he gave me a verbal warning. I guess he thought speeding wasn't as harmful as turtle relocation. Michael, I was hoping you would chime in as you are the coffee guru. I'm two months in and still experimenting using various suggestions you all have offered. I... like medium roast purchased a grinder prefer medium ground add a pinch of salt to the batch add sweetener and flavoring to the batch so I don't have to bother with that every morning just add the creamer don't like Fresh Market coffees accidentally bought a pound of decaf and notice the difference but didn't know what the problem was until my batch was used up and I went back to the bag to use the remainder of the pound and saw that it was decaffeinated bought 2 pounds online from CoffeeAM; haven't tried it yet but the company seems to offer many options I am definitely hooked which is scary 'cause what if this was something harmfully addictive?

We normally drink a local brand, Peet's, selecting the Italian Roast (a lot stronger and more bitter than French Roast) and have it preground in a #2 grind, which is one small step above powder (Turkish). A standard drip grind is #6 and espresso is #4, for comparison. We do a Melitta drip with Melitta woven filters, which make a much better brew than standard paper filters. For iced coffee, we do a double-strength brew: make our usual coffee, then immediately use it to pour through a fresh batch of grounds. DH grew up in Hong Kong so he prefers the taste of sweetened condensed milk in iced tea and coffee drinks. If we make a large batch, we chill it in the frig for a few hours so that no ice cubes dilute it. But if we're desperate, a few ice cubes in a glass chill it quickly, and this brew is so strong, a 1/4 cup of water is barely noticeable in a tall glass. Chocolate syrup is a nice addition, except you have to add extra for it to make any impact on what is basically a triple-strength espresso drink. Unbelievably, my DH can drink this right before going to bed and drop off to sleep like a baby....yeah, I'm jealous of that!

Oh yes......and I have already planned to go get one. It will round out a trip home from the library very nicely. Thanks for reminding me casey....although I did see the advert on TV last night. I'll wave it towards you wayyyyyy over on the other side of Canada...we'll let the part in the middle look after themselves!

Isn't it awesome??? I've made it I think 3 times now! Yep I am a piggy and I drank all 3 pitchers of it myself!!!! Well, I did give DD a taste of it last weekend and right now there is a glass poured and sitting here beside me. Terri-PacNW posted it. I posted to tell her the same thing you said Vikki, but I don't think she saw it.... yooooowhoooooo Terri where are you???