#michelle ott

[shortywithaforty]

"blasting it" by Michelle Ott

[sprinklefingers]

Coffee, Friends, Books

Coffee and baking are best friends. They were made for each other. I know for a fact that early morning baking can't possibly happen without coffee. I personally can't even imagine it.

Back when I was working daily production my favorite thing in the world was to arrive at the bakery first. I'd immediately start the coffee then relish my alone time before the craziness of the day began. And speaking of crazy, this all took place at 3 am. Of course coffee would be my best friend then. Who else would wake up that early to keep me company?  

Still, there's a huge difference between the kind of coffee you make at 3 am when your body is literally screaming for it and the kind of coffee you make at 1 pm when your body is willing to wait a bit longer. Both types still have elements of ritual, but 1 pm coffee allows for more focus. And I love focus.

Speaking of focus, NPR recently ran a story about coffee that I loved. I adore anything that Harold McGee has his hand in, so hearing his take on the science of the perfect cup was fascinating. He even manages to bring the Maillard reaction into it. Seriously fun stuff.

And as for taking your time with coffee, on my much storied recent visit to San Francisco I was lucky enough to hang out at Blue Bottle Coffee a bit. This is a business that's truly all about focus. Even a simple cup is created pour over style. Unless there's no queue there's really no such thing as a quick cup of coffee at any of their cafés. Which I think is a grand thing. A certain shall-remain-nameless coffee giant has us all convinced that waiting longer than 3 minutes for a cup of coffee is a crime...and good lord, isn't that in itself a shame?

Blue Bottle recently published a really, really great book called The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee and if there was ever a time to geek out over this divine beverage, now's your chance. The book literally teaches the science of the perfect cup - and not just one way, but several ways. I found it particularly helpful for brewing with my Chemex. As a baker I'm naturally drawn to weights when working in the kitchen and now that I know the weights involved in brewing pour over coffee I feel pretty legit.

Now that I'm out of the grind of daily production, I appreciate the time I can spend brewing coffee. My daily ritual no longer starts with an empty bakery, but with my kitchen countertop, a few tools of the trade and the anticipation of the perfect cup. Of course all of this is thanks to the Blue Bottle book.

And while I'm thankful for better coffee, there is one other element of the book that I adore: the illustrations are by a prize winning friend and former employee of ours, the talented Michelle Ott. Ms. Ott is really one of the best people you'll meet and her illustrations are simply perfect for the Blue Bottle book. (Plus, when visiting San Francisco Michelle took us to the Blue Bottle café at the SFMOMA and we ordered every single cake on the menu. And then ate them. Prize winning indeed.)

Here's a handy pour over guide from the Blue Bottle website. Plus a chance to see Michelle's illustrations for yourself:

(click the picture)