New Health Food Store in Ariel Grinds Coffee

When I went to Ariel yesterday for a "lunch date" in BIGA in the new mall across from Ariel University, I spotted a nice big, clean, orderly attractive Health Food Store. Of course I walked in to check it out. I bagged some raw nuts, good prices, and then I spotted... 

coffee beans, priced less than I've seen in Jerusalem

"Do you grind the coffee beans?" I asked the staff.
"Yes, of course," she answered.

I took a look at the selection, about four different kinds of beans. I chose the strongest flavor they had. They weighed the beans, subtracted the weight of the plastic containers*, asked me how fine or coarse I needed the coffee and then went to their coffee grinder to grind for me.

There are a lot of products, and I hope people shop there. For me it's a great location, since I can get to and from that part of Ariel very easily. The owner and staff were nice and helpful, too. And the nuts, which I bought, taste nice and fresh.

Here are photos to give you an idea. The Health Food Store is on the lower level of the shopping center. There are elevators in the building.

*Actually, I had to request it, explaining that it was the normal procedure, and when they saw how much the two containers weighed, they understood.

I Bought Myself 3 Treats

I generally like beer when I have the opportunity to drink some. OK not all beers. I prefer darker with strong flavors. For the past few years, I've been mentored by Doug, the Beer Maivin, in the culture of Israeli craft beer. I'm even on his "tasters panel."

We almost never have beer in the house, because I want to patronize only the Israeli craft beers, and they aren't sold locally. The best place to buy it is in the shuq, Machane Yehuda, and since bottles are dangerous/difficult to carry, and I rarely go there on my way home... Buying Israeli craft beer is one of those things I think of doing but never do.

Power Coffeeworks

Yesterday, while walking down Agrippas Street on the way to get a new stock of coffee for my French Press* before going home, I was drawn to the beer. So, I gave in and bought myself those three bottles seen above. It was hard to choose. I was tempted to buy six, all different, but it was risky enough having three glass bottles in my bag. I asked the guy at the cash register to bag each separately, and then I tried to stabilize them with the blue and gold (to cheer for Jerusalem Big Blue Lions) pom poms for the Israel-Bowl XII. And then I went to Power Coffeeworks for the ground dark blend coffee. There wouldn't have been room in my bag for three more bottles of beer.

Will report/review the beers in a future post, Gd willing.

* #morningcoffeehaiku

Nu, Power Coffeeworks Dark Blend?

Last week, just in the nick of time, I bought half a kilo, must over a pound of freshly ground to order "power dark roast" coffee from Power Coffeeworks.

I had very correctly guessed that my stock of American ground coffee was grinding to an end for the first time in a very long time.

I debated between going to Power Coffeeworks and another coffee place. But since I needed to go to Rechov Agripas (Street) for something else, and I fondly remembered to aroma of their roasting coffee... Yes, Power Coffeeworks was my destination.

Just as I had remembered from an earlier visit, the roaster was full of coffee beans, and the strong coffee aroma was a perfect pick-me-up for mid-morning, or almost anytime but bedtime. I bought their "power dark roast, " and this week I began making it in my unbreakable stainless steel French Press.

Nu, I guess you're waiting for my reaction, opinion about the coffee. OK, in one word, I'd say "PERFECT."

Yes, of all the ground coffee I've bought in Jerusalem, "power dark roast" coffee from Power Coffeeworks is the best! I hope that answers your questions. The flavor is great, and the coarseness suits my French press.

Enjoy! Bottoms Up😋

Errands, Coffee and Shoelaces

Yesterday I ended up having to go to Jerusalem for an "emergency" dental appointment. And since I travel mostly by bus, I ended up with time to spare/waste, which was actually perfect. Our bus service isn't all that frequent, nor is it on a systematic, every --minutes a bus. We can have two buses in one hour and then two hours without any public transportation.

I had two errands to do in Jerusalem, and lucky for me, they could be done on the same street.

1-My French Press coffee stock is getting low, and I'm not expecting any gifts from the states. That meant that I had to go to one of the coffee places that grinds the beans on the spot for outrageous prices. It was that or to buy some American coffee in one of the few stores that sells it at inflated prices.
2-On Sunday, one of my shoelaces ripped. The shoes, Rockports, are probably a decade or more old. I bought them on sale in Malcha Mall, and they still look pretty new.

Both the tasks could accomplished on Agrippas Street in Machane Yehuda. First I searched for shoelaces. I asked in a few stores, but they didn't have, so I continued in the direction of King George Street, since there are a few shoemakers, repair places there. I finally found one open, and he ahd a slew of laces hanging by the door.

Luckily, I had pulled out the "good" lace from my shoe and had it with me. This way I bought the right length. NS5 per shoelace, a bit expensive, but I wasn't going to walk around with mismatched laces in quality Rockports.

After getting the laces, I walked in the other direction along Agripas Street to the big white building on the corner of Shiloh Street. That's where I bought my coffee, at Power Coffee Works. I got their dark roast, which is a blend.

I spent NS54 for half a kilo, not cheap, but they roast their coffee in the store, which makes me feel that I'm buying quality. It smells great.

And then I went to the dentist. Got there a half hour early, and B"H, the repair wasn't as complicated as I had feared.

A day in my life...

Power Coffeeworks Passionate About Coffee

 A few days ago I finally made it to Power Coffeeworks to see what they could offer me for French Press and Cold Brew coffee. The visit started off on the right foot, since they were roasting coffee beans just as I walked in. It smelled soooo good.

That was the first time I ever found coffee beans being roasted in a coffee place. I don't know where the other coffee places do their roasting, but I was reassured to see that in Power Coffeeworks it's done on site. For that alone, I will return to Power Coffeeworks when I need ground coffee.

The shorter the time the roasted beans are stored, the fresher and better the coffee.

When I told the person in charge what I needed the coffee for, French Press and Cold Brew, I could see that he was passionate about coffee. To be honest, we argued about the best way to cold brew the coffee. I've been doing it in my French Press most of the time, and he insisted that a simpler way makes better coffee. Just put the water and coffee into a jar and use a simple paper filter or tea filter/strainer.

There is a nice selection of coffees to choose from. I chose Ethiopian and their dark house blend and decided to start with the Ethiopian. So, that evening I did my usual cold brew prep in the French Press. The following morning I had a wonderful cup, ok cups, of nice strong coffee. It kept me going for very long day of studies and lots of walking. By the time I got home that night, the last thing I wanted to do was to wash out the French Press, so I made the simplified version for the following day.

I just put the ground coffee and water into an ordinary glass jar, gave it all a stir, covered and put it into the fridge. The following morning I took out an old tea strainer, placed it over a glass and poured coffee in. Then I added my usual sugar and milk.

Since cleaning the simple strainer is a lot easier than cleaning out a French Press and its strainer/plunger, I'll stick with this method. The ground coffee was coarse enough, so that it didn't go through the strainer. The cold brew coffee was perfect.

It's clear that Power Coffeeworks has an excellent coffee-grinder. And as long as you have a simple tea strainer you can easily prepare cold brew coffee.

Enjoy!

American Ground Coffee in Israel, Where?

After years of filling my suitcases with American ground coffee before returning home from the states and having friends and family bring me more, I just heard that there is at least one store here in Israel that sells it.

Photo by Ruti Eastman

My friend Ruti not only insisted that her local grocer in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion, sells American ground coffee, she later sent me a photo of the shelf. Of course, it's almost double the price it would cost in the states, but carfare is cheaper than the flights...

Does anyone know where else they sell Folgers here in Israel? Since it's available here, I'd try the Kroger, too.

Even though it cost lots more per 100 grams than in an American supermarket, it's very similar to what the custom-ground coffee cost me here in Israel. And as you know, I'm not very satisfied, to say the least, with the various coffees I've bought. And if anyone can get the importer's info, I'd like to try to get my local stores interested, too.

You Need Coffee #3, Ethiopian Gima

This post is the third and for the meantime final in the series of coffee reviews about You Need Coffee. From the size of the bulk of the impressive bag of Ethiopian Gima coffee, I was sure that I had bought quite a bit of it. A discernible aroma wafted out the minute I opened it, but so did the air. Yes, there was lots of air, too much packed together with the coffee.

Ethiopian Gima coffee served with milk and a bit of sugar

Finally, I realized why their, and other Israeli freshly ground coffee then stored for a few weeks or even days, tastes so disappointing. They make no real attempt to vacuum pack it. Other shops haven't a chance, since their bags are of cheaper materials. But You Need Coffee uses quality bags, and even if the sealing included very low-tech pressing to attempt "vacuum-pack" pushing out all the air possible, the coffee would keep fresh much longer. When I return to the shop, and I probably will some time after the Passover holiday, I will request better bag sealing.

In the meantime, I'll finish what I have and then perk simple Israeli Turkish coffee until after Passover. Gd willing I'll be getting some good American ground coffee from a friend. Then I'll even be able to "cold brew" coffee, though I do need a new French Press... but that's another story.

"You Need Coffee" Review Colombian

 Ever since it has opened, I've wanted to get ground coffee from "You Need Coffee." I love the name. It now has two stores both on Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, one near the Municipality and the other across from the shuq. This week I finally bought myself some ground coffee from there, three different ones.

I really must make it clear that I only buy the least expensive coffees available. NS10 for 100 grams of coffee is high enough a price, as far as I'm concerned. I try to always buy the strongest smelling of the least expensive.

Yesterday morning I opened the Colombian coffee. First of all, it was properly ground for the French Press. No powder. But although the beans seemed to have a nice aroma in the shop, it didn't fill my kitchen with even a faint scent. Maybe that's why it's one of the least expensive they sell. In terms of flavor and aroma, nothing here seems to be on the level of the packaged American ground coffee. What can I say, other than that I love the American packaged coffee. Its flavor beats pretty much everything I've bought in Israel.

Unlike every other place I've bought freshly ground coffee here in Israel, at the least the packaging in You Need Coffee is excellent. The other coffees I bought are safely stored.  I'm looking forward to trying them, too.

The staff was friendly and really seems to care about the coffee and customers. Gd willing, I'll be back.

Making Do After Breaking French Press

It was obvious to me that it was going to happen, inevitable for sure. It was always more an issue of when, than will. Yes, I broke the carafe/bowl/pot or whatever you want to call that glass part of my French Press. Kappora...

Davka, I had just bought a new stock of ground coffee to be made in the French Press. Of course, I could perk it in the percolator... But I decided on an experiment using coffee-making accessories I have sitting in the closet.

I decided to use the same principles as in the French Press, leaving the ground coffee to combine with boiling water and then filter it before it hits the mug. As you can see in the photos illustrating my morning coffee today, I used an old heat-resistant carafe/bowl/pot from a long dead and mourned electric coffeemaker. The filter was the simple, low-tech one I bought a few years ago in New York.

If you like really hot coffee, this isn't for you, but I don't have such a requirement. And coffee never comes out super hot from a French Press.

The only real change I'd make would be to add more ground coffee; I'm still experimenting with the actual coffee taste. I don't know how they roast/prepare the beans for commercial ground coffee in the states, but there's lots more flavor.

In conclusion, this is a reasonable solution to my morning coffee needs. And happily I had all of the equipment in the house. I do have a small, one cup French Press, too. But when do I ever drink just one small cup of coffee?

old parts new coffeetemporary replacementsmorning coffee "chai"#morningcoffeehaiku

Coffee Report, The Dregs

www.coffeeble.com
just like mine

As promised, this is a report about the ground coffee I bought in Jerusalem to use in my new, humongous French Press which has an excellent filter/plunger. If you remember, I felt the ground coffee after it was put in the bag and complained about the powdery feel. The commercial American ground coffee has larger granules and no powder.

My coffee-making experiments have taught me that the finer the coffee is ground the less suitable it is for a French Press, since it clogs up the filter. The powder, like Turkish coffee, is fine in the percolator, though and can also be used with the simple low-tech super-fine filter, which makes amazingly good coffee regardless of the type/quality.  The filter is also easy to travel with if you need to make your own coffee and don't want instant. I, davka, did that yesterday.


The Bashkovitz coffee didn't clog the filter, thank Gd, though it did leave some sludgy dregs aka mud on the bottom of the cup, which doesn't happen with American commercial coffee. No doubt they filter the powder out from the larger granules before packaging. The Kenyan beans didn't give the taste/flavor I like, but there were many others to choose from for next time I have to buy ground coffee in Israel. I'll probably also try a different store. Recommendations are welcome, thanks.

In the meantime, enjoy your coffee, however you prepare it.