Next week one of my favorite podcasts, Build & Analyze, will be concluding its two year run. For a while I’ve been thinking of how to commemorate this event.
The perfect opportunity presented itself yesterday when I received my batch of Snob Blend* in the mail. During the After Dark for Episode 105, Marco announced that he was going to do a special home roast and send it to a few lucky live listeners in the 5by5 chat room. Finally, all the speed practice I have from submitting titles paid off and I was one of the first to send him my address.
My affection for coffee was actually started from listening to Build & Analyze. After listening to the early episodes I decided to buy an Aeropress and give it a try. The result was rather remarkable. This is the email I sent Marco after trying it for the first time:
I just wanted to write to thank you for talking about coffee on your show with Dan Benjamin. For my entire life to this point I’ve viewed coffee much like I do those ‘monster’ energy drinks. Something you tolerate only when you need the caffeine but generally something to suffer through. On your advice I went out and purchased a burr grinder, Aeropress, and some nice beans. All I can say is you’ve changed my mind, apparently what I’d been drinking up to this point wasn’t Coffee. It was some kind of coffee colored sludge. [March 15, 2011]
In the hopes of duplicating this experience more widely, I present a brief demonstration video of how I make my coffee these days (featuring the Snob Blend*).
My thanks to Marco and Dan for making Build & Analyze. While I’m sad to see it go, it had a great run.
*As pointed out on the packaging, Snob Blend isn’t actually a blend. It is a single origin Kenyan bean…but only someone with a Siracusan level of nitpick would need to make that distinction.