Jamaican Blue and the French Press

There are times when coffee is more than coffee.

After thinking about it for months, then talking about it for weeks... I finally bought my very own 4-cup Bodum French Press yesterday. I felt so liberated... my very own French press! Mine. Just for me. No one else. It was a cause for celebration. I even indulged myself and bought a half pound of Martha & Bros. Jamaican Blue Mountain at 22 bucks a half pound (that is quite a special treat when you're a self-employed artist).

This morning I decided to skip my run and brew my first cup of Jamaican Blue on my Bodum. It is a fine spring day out, the sky is clear, the trees are bright green with young leaves, and my allergies hasn't bothered me yet. And yes, the coffee is as smooth and mild as described in the brochure. I contemplate Jamaica and its mountains as I sip my coffee...

What's the deal right? What's so remarkable... coffee is coffee.

But today is different. Today I made my own coffee in my own Bodum. Not the "conjugal" Bodum. But my very own cute, compact, 4-cup press... because it's just for me... singular, not plural. Coffee and press purchased with wages made as an artist of dance and as a production manager for an upcoming concert. It is a damn good feeling.

It took me a year to finally buy this smaller Bodum since I left the house where my 8 cup Bodum of many years still makes coffee. But that one isn't mine anymore. Just like all the kitchen stuff I had to leave behind (don't even get me started on the knives and the pots and pans that I so depended on for many years).

Why did it take so long? I don't know. I didn't feel ready for the smaller, 4-cup version... until yesterday. It's a psyche thing... it's about transitions... it's about letting go of the past, it's objects and symbols. It's about finally embracing, fully and completely, my new life and the future. It's about timing. This is part of the final frontier. I've let go of my previous life in many ways prior to buying this french press. I've experienced repeatedly the excruciating agony of death of what once was, and today continue to revel in the growing pangs of re-birth. Just as leaving the corporate job of 8 years, or ending the marriage of 15 years was necessary ... buying this french press is another step towards self discovery, self awareness, self realization. Not as cathartic... it's just coffee beans and glass and wire mesh after all. But it's a step nonetheless.

Jamaican Blue Mountain
"The finest bean in the world is grown on the volcanic soils of Jamaica. The bean is characterized by its mild taste and smooth aroma, and most important of all, it has no aftertaste."