Floral Overtones

I have a simple, if rudimentary, method for dealing with the obvious mercurial miscues foisted upon us by Mercury in apparent retrograde motion — my catch-all solution?

Coffee.

My own wee mum, trying to impress me with superior epicurean coffee, picked up a couple of nickel-bags of fine, locally-roasted, free-range coffee.

One package was marked with “nutty, chocolate, floral overtones.”

Floral Overtones

I started drinking, what was then second-wave coffee, espresso on a Sunday morning from an Italian Espresso machine that looked like it could launch rockets.

Little twist of lemon rind, next to the tiny cup of condensed coffee, coffee made by shooting high-pressure hot water through finely ground Italian (roasted) coffee beans. Usually on a Sunday morning, in the bright light of a Texas slightly-before-noon-hence-no-booze hour. (Subtitle: follies of youth.) Cafes where we could hang out with our cafe racer styled motorcycles.

That didn’t end well, either. But I recall the coffee, and I recall that first sip of true Italian espresso; a gleaming, hulking machine gurgling behind the bar.

That was second-wave coffee, with, eventually, the gilded mermaid (Starbucks) leading to the third wave, I mean, whatever generation that was, is, we’re on third, fourth, or fifth wave now?

Starbucks led me to individual coffee shops, and that’s where the subtle nuances of the bean, and its extraction processes, that’s where I learned more.

Floral Overtones

So my sister would sometimes ship California Coffee to me. Good stuff, and she assumed, rightly so, that I prefer the darker roasts. That would be correct, often as not. I do tend to prefer the dark roasts, maybe not always the French or Italian Roast, but a darker roast suits my humors and flavors. However, for sampling, there are times when the lighter roasts are better.

As a plus one, for part of an afternoon in North Austin, I did sample a couple of the local places, and found them entertaining, requisite third-generation coffee, and good enough coffee. For the espresso, they all seemed to use a slightly lighter roast than what tradition dictates. Not bad. Not good, just, well, different? Certainly enhanced the ability to detect floral overtones, but other than that? I was tad miffed: espresso should be dark, rich, bitter, and creamy.

Floral Overtones

I can, vaguely, detect floral overtones, but I’m no coffee purist. I never claimed to have the refined palate. However, when Mercury is Retrograde?

I have a preferred process for dealing with emergent exigencies. Mercury Retrograde Ritual, as it were.

Coffee.

Someplace, I had a sticker that said, “COFFEE: make more mistakes, faster!”

However, as a notion, coffee plays an integral role in the way to deal with circumstances, especially, when Mercury — Venus are spinning out.

I wouldn’t know a floral overtone if it smacked me. It is good coffee, that’s for sure, and it does provide a requisite answer to dealing with Mercury’s concurrent conditions.