Coffee 2 ways

Here are two recipes for coffee from Meals for Small Families. The second one is both fascinating and revolting.

Coffee

For 1 person:

2 tablespoonfuls ground coffee

1 cup cold water

Mix the coffee and water together, cover closely and let stand all night. In the morning bring this to a boil and serve. When poured carefully it will be as clear as amber.

For a small pot:

1 cup ground coffee

1 egg and shell

This amount will make 3 pots for 3 successive mornings, by using one third and keeping the remainder closely covered. Take one-third of the mixture (the egg and coffee mixed together) and add 1/3 cup of water, mixing well; pour into coffee pot and add 1 pint boiling water. Let the coffee boil 3 minutes. Remove from fire and keep hot on stove for 5 minutes (not boiling) and serve.

Mug Musings

I've been contemplating the difference in coffee cup sizes from the 1950s to today. They seem to have gotten quite a bit larger in the last half century or more.

Just look at the size of the cup this fella hoists, obviously forced on him by a loved one hoping to sober him up:

DiDi and I tend to like mid-century modern dishware, and so have a small collection of cups from that era.

We have some like this:

And like this:

And even this:

We don't have these but I wish we did because they are very cool:

I'm also hearting these very hard:

We have a number of other styles as well, but Google images isn't helping me find them but we moved and some are in storage or in our garage (which I like to call the Fourth Dimension).

The mid-century cups typically hold about 8 oz if you've got a steady hand or don't mind a periodic morning scald. 6 oz is better if you prefer to play it safe.

Contrast that with today's mugs:

Ok so this is a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I'm talking about. Walk into your local AstroDollars Coffee Shop and take a look at their options. Assuming you understand the language they use to make you feel hip, the smallest one is typically 12oz, and the large is 20oz.

That's a lot of joe, no matter how much they've frothed the milk and decorated the top with hearts and flowers.

The mugs most people use at home are similarly ginormous.

What happened in the intervening years? Do we really need that much more caffeine now?

Did the coffee mob strong arm cup manufacturers?

Here's what I discovered. When I'm at home, the amount I drink in a small cup is satisfying. When I'm on the road and pull over for a jolt, I still tend to go for the 16 oz medium.

Which is weird. Somehow just looking at the larger cups make me think I need more.

But I don't.

Silencing Solution for Critical Guests: Gaily Colored Ice Cubes

One of the interesting things in this introduction is the mention of people flocking to soda fountains. If it were written today I suppose it would talk about coffee shops, and the resurgence in popularity of tea.

The other thing that strikes me is how worried the author is about critics. Personally I don't believe in inviting critical people for dinner and drinks. But that's just me. If you like the kind of sniping criticism that these people bring to the table, be my guest. Just consider your ice cubes, as advised below:

Beverages probably furnish more pleasure at meals or between meals than any other single course. The early morning aroma of fine coffee makes a day start right. Beautifully colored and delightfully flavored cold drinks bring joy and happiness to meals served in hot weather. It is the punch bowl that forms one of the chief attractions at parties. The large numbers of men and women--old and young--who swarm into the soda bars in every part of the world provide ample testimony to the craving of everyone for fine drinks. The clever homemaker can serve in her home as delicious and refreshing drinks as can be found at the best-equipped fountains.

A good general rule to follow in serving beverages is, "Serve hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold." Never serve lukewarm hot drinks nor slightly cool cold drinks.

Make all beverages as lovely and colorful as possible. Select garnishes and ingredients in beverages for color as well as taste. Your critical guests will remember the beauty of your punch bowl long after the flavor of the punch is forgotten. Particularly study the possibilities of gaily-colored and garnished ice cubes as an accompaniment of cold drinks.