Post #1 of the coffee blog.  Ready go.

We.  Love.  Coffee.  I take a Japanese language class every Wednesday, and last night my husband's and my coffee obsession shone through.  When asked what kind of company I would like to own, it came to my head in .0048 seconds.  Kohi no mise!  Coffee shop!  Easy answer as it's been our long-time dream.  When asked what I did last week, I discussed how I went with a Japanese friend to Kappabashi, Tokyo's Kitchen Town, and bought a coffee mill that made my week and a professional french press.  One of the other students laughed at my unmistakable coffee love.  Carrie san wa kohi o dai suki desu!  This girl really likes her coffee!  

So here we are.  Curt and Carrie Gaynor.  Exploring the world of specialty coffee and drip methods.  And documenting it here.  We're finding that coffee can be rich.  It can be thick and flavorful and as my husband says, it can make your lips 'zingle.'  Which apparently means a rushing tingle.  Intense.  Coffee is an art, and everything matters.  Roast.  Ratio.  Age.  Grind.  Even the water, for crying out loud.  It's delicate in every step of the brewing process, even storage.  And we're finding it's only good if it's made by hand.  It should be good enough to take black.  

Japan is the world's 3rd largest importer of coffee beans, after the United States and Germany.  So there's a lot to find here.  We've already trekked up hills, wandered around neighborhoods, and struggled through menus of some of the greatest specialty coffee shops of Japan.  We've marveled at the flavor filling our mouths and how 3 ounces of really great coffee has the potential to make you feel it all day.  Wherever we travel, we will find those great coffee houses.  See the journey here.  And hopefully you'll still be with us when we settle back in the great US of A (cue Minnesotan accent) and open a little jewel of our own.  

Here's to the bean.